Italian Rap | Joe Sciorra | Joseph Sciorra

A BIG Shout Out to all those who made this site possible.

That's me, Joe Sciorra — born and bred Brooklynite, Italian American, folklorist, former web producer, Italian rap aficionado.
My mother is from the town of Formia and my father hails from a small town called Carunchio in the Abruzzo region.
I first traveled to Italy as an adult in 1975 and returned two years later to live for a year in Milano and Bologna, where I took part in the occupation of the university, the

student protests after the police killing of Francesco Lo Russo under the Communist-controlled government, and the national student conference.

It was during that politically charged year of 1977 that I discovered the music of the Italian cantautori (singer songwriters), who were influenced by American folklsinger Bob Dylan, French balladeers Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens, as well as local ballad traditions like the stornelli. I also dug groups involved in the Italian folk revival scene like Neapolitan ethnomusicologist Roberto Di Simone and his group la Nuova Compania di Musica Popolare. After returning to New York City, I followed the work of artists like Lucio Dalla and Pino Daniele. I never did get into popular rockers Zucherro or Renato Zero.

Back in the States, I began the long and arduous life as a student of folklore and vernacular culture. I studied at Brooklyn College's Anthropology and Art History, got my Master's Degree from New York University's Performance Studies Department, and finished up my dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Folklore and Folklife.

Over the past 20 years, I have produced numerous projects documenting NYC folk and vernacular culture resulting in publications, exhibitions, concerts, and media projects. I have conducted extensive research and written about Italian American popular expressions like yard shrines and the giglio feast in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. During 2000-2002, I successfully nominated the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel grotto in Rosebank, Staten Island and the Lisanti Family Chapel (in italiano) in Williamsbridge, the Bronx to the New York States and National Registers of Historic Places. In 1990, I co-edited a bilingual collection of verse by Sicilian American poet Vincenzo Ancona.

I've also written about Puerto Rican casitas de madera (little wood houses) and community gardens in East Harlem, the Lower East Side, and the South Bronx.

In 1994, I published a book called R.I.P.: Memorial Wall Art with wonderful photographs by graffiti historian Martha Cooper, which is a six year survey of NYC memorial walls.

Dancing the giglio and boat in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (1981). Photo: Martha Cooper

I've been working on a video documentary about New York RIPs.

The field of public folklore is tenuous at best — little work, shitty pay, no future. I have worked as a fundraiser at the National Auduon Society, and as a web producer for Smallworld, iXL, and briefly for ICE. In October 1999, I started at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of Queens College (CUNY) heading up the Academic and Cultural Programs.

East Harlem casita. Photo: Ejlat Feuer

HOME

Over the past 20 years, I have produced numerous projects documenting NYC folk and vernacular culture resulting in publications, exhibitions, concerts, and media projects. I have conducted extensive research and written about Italian American popular expressions like yard shrines and the giglio feast in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. During 2000-2002, I successfully nominated the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel grotto in Rosebank, Staten Island and the Lisanti Family Chapel (in italiano) in Williamsbridge, the Bronx to the New York States and National Registers of Historic Places. In 1990, I co-edited a bilingual collection of verse by Sicilian American poet Vincenzo Ancona. I've also written about Puerto Rican casitas de madera (little wood houses) and community gardens in East Harlem, the Lower East Side, and the South Bronx. In 1994, I published a book called R.I.P.: Memorial Wall Art with wonderful photographs by graffiti historian Martha Cooper, which is a six year survey of NYC memorial walls.
	Dancing the giglio and boat in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (1981). Photo: Martha Cooper
	I've been working on a video documentary about New York RIPs. The field of public folklore is tenuous at best — little work, shitty pay, no future. I have worked as a fundraiser at the National Auduon Society, and as a web producer for Smallworld, iXL, and briefly for ICE. In October 1999, I started at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of Queens College (CUNY) heading up the Academic and Cultural Programs.
East Harlem casita. Photo: Ejlat Feuer