No Stress is a collaborative studio album by Italian singer Irama and rapper Rkomi, released by Atlantic Records and Island Records on 7 July 2023.[1][2]
| No Stress | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 7, 2023 | |||
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| Length | 33:40 | |||
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| Producer |
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| Irama chronology | ||||
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| Rkomi chronology | ||||
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| Singles from No Stress | ||||
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Composition
editThe record project is the artists' first released together, following Rkomi's solo projects Taxi Driver and Irama's Il giorno in cui ho smesso di pensare.[3][4][5] The album features the collaboration of numerous songwriters and producers, including Takagi & Ketra, Shablo, Guè and Ernia.[6][7] In an interview with Rolling Stone Italia, Irama talked about the creative process behind the project and the meaning of the album:[8]
"We were coming from a time when things were going well, our respective records were going well, we were happy with the results not only in terms of numbers, but also of the perception by people. This, as often happens, had created expectations and tension, and we wanted to exorcise them by naming the album No Stress. The album photographs a moment we lived together in Los Angeles, where we found ourselves. The writing also happened naturally because of the sharing of travel, homes and musicians made No Stress come to life before there was already the idea of working on a record together."
In the same interview, Rkomi explained the album artwork and the decision of the title:[8]
"No Stress is a way to remind me to stay calm and to experience this project with tranquility, also because it was born very light, fast and with an international approach. [...] We wanted to represent the title and we wanted to convey the feeling of claustrophobia that we felt. And so, we are inside this car with beautiful girls inside. It's the other side of the coin, it explains how much we like this stress. We make fun of it, we downplay it."on a record together."
Critic reception
editFabio Fiume of All Music Italia gave the project a score of 6.75, writing that although the duo appears to be "one of the least likely pairs" for a shared record project, this "objectively really sounds like the result of a good friendship, a real acquaintance," calling it "enjoyable and expendable." Fiume stressed that the production work turns out to be "impeccable," although no real instruments are heard, tending in some tracks to emulate Blanco or Clementino.[9]
Marco Macchi of Newsic wrote that in the project the two artists managed to "merge while keeping their sound matrices and characteristics intact," making an album with "a sense and credibility," although there are tracks with "hit propensities" that are less successful overall.[10] Claudio Cabona of Rockol described the project as "light and summery," finding in it numerous musical references, including "[music] from the 1980s to the multi-layered sound of Drake, and new-generation international pop, passing through Italian singer-songwriting and some Latin influences," describing it as a "playful experiment" that nevertheless will not remain "in the history of rap and pop."[11]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hollywood" (featuring Shablo) |
| Shablo | 3:05 |
| 2. | "Sexy" (Featuring Guè) |
| Robert Ner | 2:36 |
| 3. | "Quando piove" |
|
| 3:52 |
| 4. | "Sulla pelle" |
|
| 2:50 |
| 5. | "Gravità" |
|
| 2:25 |
| 6. | "Petrolio" |
|
| 3:59 |
| 7. | "Un'altra bugia" |
| Junior K | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Urlami addosso" |
|
| 3:16 |
| 9. | "Precipito" |
| Takagi & Ketra | 3:09 |
| 10. | "Con gli stessi occhi" |
|
| 2:52 |
| 11. | "Figlio unico" (featuring Ernia and Kid Yugi) |
|
| 4:05 |
| Total length: | 33:40 | |||
Charts
edit| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[12] | 2 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[13] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Dondoni, Luca (5 July 2023). "Esce "No Stress", il joint album di Irama e Rkomi: "Un melting pot di generi, dal rap all'easy rock"". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Naccari, Tommaso (6 July 2023). "Irama e Rkomi con «No stress» inaugurano la stagione dei dischi di coppia". GQ Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Saltalamacchia, Stefania (7 July 2023). "La coppia che non sapevamo di volere: Irama e Rkomi nell'album No Stress". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Irama e Rkomi, quattro mani per un solo disco: arriva 'No stress'". La Repubblica (in Italian). 6 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Alicandri, Alessandro (13 July 2023). "Rkomi e Irama, la parola d'ordine per l'estate è "No stress"". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Rkomi e Irama annunciano la tracklist di "No Stress". Billboard Italia (in Italian). 3 July 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Mozzati, Martina (29 June 2023). "Rkomi e Irama sul nuovo album No Stress: «Ci siamo incontrati a Los Angeles e da lì è nato tutto»". Cosmopolitan Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ a b Borioni, Benedetta (7 July 2023). "Irama e Rkomi hanno fatto un disco per non sentire il peso delle aspettative". Rolling Stone Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Fiume, Fabio (7 July 2023). "Irama & Rkomi - No Stress, un album fatto davvero assieme". All Music Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Macchi, Marco (6 July 2023). "Recensione: Irama e Rkomi "No Stress" traccia per traccia". Newsic.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Cabona, Claudio (12 July 2023). "Irama e Rkomi: un disco leggero pensato per i live". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Classifica settimanale WK 28 (dal 07.07.2023 al 13.07.2023)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Italian album certifications – Irama & Rkomi – No Stress" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 24 June 2024. Select "2023" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "No Stress" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".