Franco Ricciardi

Franco Ricciardi, born Francesco Liccardo, is an Italian singer-songwriter from Naples known for updating the tradition of Neapolitan song with contemporary, rap- and rock-influenced sounds. Singing both in Neapolitan dialect and in Italian, he emerged from Naples' urban music scene and became one of the leading figures of the so-called «nuova sceneggiata» and the broader wave of artists who brought Neapolitan popular music into dialogue with hip-hop and street culture in the 1990s and 2000s.

His songs, including «Malammore», «Primmavera», «N'ata notte» and «'A storia 'e Maria», are built around melancholic melodies, storytelling rooted in Naples' streets and daily life, and arrangements that mix traditional Neapolitan sensibility with modern rhythm sections and rap cadences. This fusion helped him reach audiences beyond the traditional Neapolitan song circuit while remaining deeply tied to the city's musical identity.

Ricciardi has collaborated widely within the Neapolitan and Italian urban music scenes and is regarded as an influential bridge figure between classic Neapolitan songwriting and younger generations of rap and trap artists from Naples. His long career and steady catalog of songs about love, loss and the city have made him one of the most recognizable voices of contemporary Neapolitan music.