Manuel Franco Rocati (born 30 January 1998), known professionally as Rosa Chemical, is an Italian rapper, singer, songwriter, graffiti artist and model.
Biography
Rocati was born in Rivoli and grew up in Alpignano, in the metropolitan city of Turin. His pseudonym is a portmanteau of the terms "Rosa", his mother's first name, and "Chemical", from the American band My Chemical Romance.[1][2] Before becoming interested in hip hop music, he was a graffiti artist, as visible in the programme YO! MTV Raps, around Europe.[3]
His music career began in 2018, when he released the single "Kournikova", becoming at the same time model for the Italian fashion label Gucci.[4][5] In February 2019, he began a collaboration with Italian rapper Greg Willen, releasing the single "Rovesciata", which anticipated the release of the EP "Okay Okay!!". From the EP the single "Tik Tok" was extracted, in collaboration with Radical, which reaches Spotify Italy's Viral 50.
In 2020, he released the singles "Alieno", in collaboration with UncleBac, and "Polka", which anticipated the release of the first studio album "Forever", released on May 28, of the same year.[6] On March 25, 2021, the album was reissued under the title "Forever and Ever", containing five bonus tracks, which was preceded by the single "Britney", in collaboration with MamboLosco and Radical.[7]
On 4 February 2022, he was a guest on the cover night of the Sanremo Music Festival, where he performed alongside Tananai a rearrangement of the song "A far l'amore comincia tu" by Raffaella Carrà, entitled "Comincia tu". On 4 December of the same year, it was officially announced that Rosa Chemical will participate in the Sanremo Music Festival 2023.[8] "Made in Italy" was later announced as his entry for the Sanremo Music Festival 2023.[9] In the final of the competition, he came in 8th place. On the final night of the competition, during his performance, he approached the rapper Fedez in the audience and the two mimed having sexual intercourse. The two were denounced for indecent acts in a public place,[10] but the courts did not uphold the complaint.[11]
He performed as a guest on the second night of the Sanremo Music Festival 2024, performing his 2023 entry to the festival, "Made in Italy."[12]
