Don Joe

Combining ’80s electro and Italo house with pop, hip-hop, rock, and soul, beatmaker, rapper, producer, and DJ Don Joe is one of the leading figures of the contemporary Italian urban scene. Born Luigi Florio in the small town of Bresso, just outside Milan, in 1975, his music career began when R&B singer Irene Lamedica invited him to be her official tour MC, and after a short stint in collective Le Sacre Scuole, he formed Club Dogo with two of the collective’s members, Gue Pequeno and Jake La Furia. The trio released its 2003 debut, Mi Fist, before joining forces with a whole host of other rappers and DJs to create the 17-strong Dogo Gang crew. Don Joe continued to alternate between the two projects, while also producing records for bandmates Marracash and Vincenzo da Via Anfossi as well as established American names like Cassidy and Styles P; collaborating with Grand Agent for the 2005 album Regular; and releasing several mixtapes under the Dogoinfamous brand. In 2011, he achieved his biggest success with Thori e Rocce, a studio album with Italian-Argentine producer DJ Shabla, which featured a “who’s who” guest lineup of his homeland’s biggest hip-hop stars. ~ Jon O’Brien