Franco126

Franco126, stage name of Federico Bertollini, is an Italian singer-songwriter and rapper from Rome and a member of the Lovegang126 collective. His nickname was given to him by fellow collective member Drone126, and Franco later described it partly as a tribute to the classic Italian singer Franco Califano, a major influence on his own melancholic, romantic style.

Having grown up within the Roman rap scene, Franco126 was discovered around 2015 by the label Smuggler's Bazaar together with his collective. In 2016 he released the mixtape «Buchi Neri» with Il Tre, and that same year began a steady collaboration with fellow Roman artist Carl Brave, with whom he had already crossed paths as members of the Guasconi collective. As the duo Carl Brave x Franco126, they released the acclaimed album «Polaroid» in 2017, a project that helped define a new, melodic strand of Italian rap rooted in nostalgia and everyday Roman life.

Franco126's songwriting blends rap phrasing with pop melody and a wistful, conversational lyricism, often evoking memory, longing and the streets of Rome. Tracks like «Ieri L'Altro», «Stanza Singola» and «San Siro» showcase his soft-spoken, melodic delivery, and he has continued to release solo work that has made him one of the defining voices of the Italian indie-rap scene of the late 2010s and 2020s.