
Few (perhaps) remember it. Jovanotti for President was the first studio album recorded by Lorenzo Cherubini and published on January 15, 1988 by FRI Records. Since then, the boy from Cortona has come a long way.
Today, he can no longer be called just a musician, singer, rapper, artist, or influencer. Jovanotti is much more. If Italy had a direct presidential election system, it's safe to bet that the Tuscan rapper would enter history, just as former actor Ronald Reagan did when crossing the White House, which Jova knows well, at least from the outside.
He was living in NY when Obama was elected (November 2008) president of the United States and swore in front of an applauding crowd. Jova, who was part of that crowd, cheered. He had taken a train to Washington (4 hours of travel) not to miss the historic moment. Months later, in front of 800 students at Marconi High School, he said: "I'm not here to do political propaganda, but to promote the idea that things can be changed, which is essentially the fundamental value of democracy. Thinking it's not possible is one of the greatest defeats of our society. You have your whole life ahead and you must believe that the future is in your hands, each of us can change the world".
In this perspective, one could read Jovanotti's journey from Cortona to Lake Fusine where tomorrow (Saturday, July 26), in the middle of the afternoon (and this is almost a novelty), his concert, reserved only for cyclists, will take place.
This week we saw hundreds of people of all ages going to Mont Ventoux, symbol of Provence, to catch at least a moment of the (real) duel between Pogi and Vingo. A joyful crowd, which did not generate smog, moved by the desire to be there. Now imagine those same people who, for Jova, the music, and the call of a beautiful lake, move by bicycle to get there and write a piece of history, not just of music, driven by the collective will to change things. In Jova's journey itself, this message is inherent. A return to life after the pain caused by the injury two years ago. Jova got back in motion, sharing the experience with seven thousand cyclists. The die is cast, as is the new trend he is generating. Jovanotti for President, therefore. At least for a day.