"Non sono stato me stesso mai": rappresentazione, autenticità e racconto del sé nelle digital identities dei trap boys italiani

The study of contemporary popular music could profit from the idea of a self-media dimension, in order to reflect on how new media have changed the way we listen and evaluate music, and to promote a methodological update, overtaking an outdated model of cultural industry and mass media which still seems predominant in popular music studies. The case of Italian trap music is particularly significant to understand the ongoing changes. Trap has developed in Italy since 2014-15, and emerged in the mainstream by the end of 2016. Italian trap boys reached success mostly through social media, promoting their music – and their complex (and often criticized, as they seem to encourage antisocial behavior) digital identities – via YouTube and (especially) Instagram, overturning the usual promotional processes of music industry. The article proposes a preliminary study on Italian trap music, from the perspective of self-media studies.