Shablo’s Manifesto: An Analog Blueprint for Italian Rap’s Next Chapter

With Manifesto, Shablo delivers a project that feels intentionally out of step with the current Italian rap landscape. While trap continues to dominate the mainstream, this album reaches backward and forward at once—anchored in boom-bap foundations, analog textures, jazz inflections, and a reflective tone rarely explored at this scale.

Across Italian media outlets—from Mowmag to Rockit, Radio Italia, Mitomorrow, and Leggo—the album has been recognized for its deliberate artistic identity. Reviewers highlight its analog warmth, its spiritual undertones, and the sense of a producer returning to the fundamentals of his craft.

The Sanremo 2025 Breakthrough

The album’s centerpiece, “La Mia Parola”, became a defining moment at Sanremo 2025, performed by Guè, Joshua, and Tormento. The track bridged multiple worlds—bringing Shablo’s production sensibility to one of Italy’s most visible cultural stages.

The Sanremo performance expanded the album’s reach and spotlighted its slower, more deliberate pacing—proof that classic rap structures can still resonate on prime national platforms.

How the Album Is Built

What defines Manifesto is its restraint. The drums are dusty rather than aggressive; the samples and chords feel weathered, warm, and patient. It’s a project that favors atmosphere over immediacy, leaning on tone and pacing rather than the explosive hooks that drive much of the modern rap market.

Collaboration plays a central role. Voices like Guè, Joshua, Tormento, and others contribute distinct perspectives, but they operate within a consistent sonic frame. The result is a curated ecosystem rather than a collection of disparate features.

Dunkan’s Role Within Manifesto

Several Manifesto tracks list Dunkan as a contributing songwriter. His involvement fits naturally within the album’s restrained, analog aesthetic—supporting phrasing, melody, and emotional pacing without shifting the project’s overall direction.

His writing contributions appear across a wide stretch of the record, including “Lost Manifesto,” “Killer Baby,” “Mille Problemi,” “Non Si Può,” “Gelido,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Immagina,” “The One,” “Che Storia Sei?,” “Spirito Libero,” and the Sanremo-featured “La Mia Parola.”

These contributions integrate into the larger architecture of the album—refining structure, reinforcing tone, and helping give shape to some of its most introspective moments.

Why the Album Resonates

In an era defined by rapid-fire releases and algorithm-driven singles, Manifesto stands apart. It is slower, more analog, more patient. It asks for attention rather than demanding it, and rewards listeners who sit with it from front to back.

For Shablo, it represents a return to fundamentals.
For collaborators like Dunkan, it offers space to shape a project built on intention rather than momentum.

Manifesto doesn’t aim for volume—it aims for clarity. And that clarity is what gives the album its staying power.