The rapper, comedian, and passionate basketball fan shares insights into his career, his deep connection to sports, and his thoughts on the national team, suggesting that Belinelli deserved more with the Azzurri and aspiring to be the `Most Improved Player` in life.
Gianluca Picariello, better known as Ghemon, has always fearlessly reinvented himself: rapper, singer, podcaster, and now a comedian with his show “Una cosetta così” (A Little Something Like That). He jokingly says on stage, “I did everything a moment before it became fashionable,” but behind this quip lies a simple truth: “No one is just one thing,” as the title of his latest book states. Amidst all these transformations, however, sport remains an unshakeable constant in his life.
Ghemon: “My music? A mix between Heat and Spurs. Kobe-signed shoes and meeting Spike Lee in NY.”
Today you are also a stand-up comedian: sport was present in your rap and is now also in your monologues.
“Sport is definitely the activity I`ve pursued with the most continuity throughout my life. It`s my true constant, always in the background of everything else: I play it, I stay informed, and I`m deeply passionate about it. And, as with many other things, I`m curious… In sport, I jump from one discipline to another seamlessly. I enjoy learning and becoming an expert.”
You narrated your transformation in your book `Nessuno è una cosa sola` (No One Is Just One Thing).
“It was great therapy. After performing on such significant stages like Sanremo – I did two in three years, giving a lot because I released two Festival appearances and two albums consecutively – at a certain point, I felt the need to explore other facets of my personality. Comedy was already very present in my private life: I knew I could give it an artistic touch, to observe the world through a different lens. If I was melancholic in my songs, with stand-up, I could stop being sad and laugh about it. Certainly, after such grand stages where you feel somewhat drained, I sought and found another way to express myself. But it was already there within me.”
Running, initially, was a pure physical necessity for you, then it became a marathon. How did that happen?
“Suddenly, by running. One thing led to another. In running, the appetite comes with eating: you want to challenge yourself with new distances, new speeds. It`s a forward-looking journey, but you can always go back: like when I ran a 10 km in the province, in Atripalda, near Avellino, a few months ago, or when I went to the other side of the world for the New York and Chicago marathons. I don`t remember how long the transformation took: not too long, but progressively. The initial enthusiasm from improving, the feelings you experience with yourself, make you discover running and push you to take that extra step… or those 20,000 extra steps.”
Ghemon in training.
In running, you always set concrete goals for yourself. A recurring word in your life…
“Yes, that`s true. Goals are fundamental. From running, I`ve learned that in the rest of life, it`s also wise to proceed by small achievements. When you`re anxious about the future and don`t know what to do, if you focus on an achievable goal, you think step by step. Running taught me this: you refocus on what you can control, not on what you can`t. Sport-wise, the goal is to do an ultramarathon. I admit they often ask me to try triathlon, but for now, I wouldn`t know where to start with the other two sports, also because I`m too bad at swimming… And I like to do things well.”
You`re a big basketball fan. How do you see our Azzurri (Italian national team)?
“With the retirements of Gigi Datome and Belinelli, things have changed, and we are in a full renewal phase. Gallo, fortunately, had a beautiful season in Puerto Rico; he has always been a champion but is now also fully aware of his capabilities, due to age and experience. Melli is one of Europe`s strongest players, and Fontecchio is exceptional.”
Speaking of Belinelli, how did his retirement affect you?
“As a fan, it`s a shame to know he`s retired, but on the other hand, I`ve admired him from the start of his career in Italy until the end: today he`s an adult, a father, and he`s won practically everything. My only regret is that he didn`t achieve with the National team what he deserved, but you can`t have everything. On the other hand, as a friend, maybe I`ll get to catch up with him… it`s time we saw each other.”
Marco Belinelli with Ghemon. Bozzani.
If Ghemon were a basketball player?
“I often think about that. In the NBA, the Most Improved Player award is given out every year. Well, if I could be a player, I would always want to be the one who improves compared to the previous year. Who knows, maybe one day they`ll invent such an award in Italy too, perhaps for artistic merits…”
You grew up in Avellino, where sport and identity are intertwined. What did you learn from that sports culture?
“For me, growing up in a city where sport, between basketball and football, is so vibrant, was a great source of pride. In Avellino, everyone supports Avellino, whether it`s football or basketball. This allowed me to grow up in an environment where sport is paramount. I learned everything: the sense of teamwork, individuality, commitment, effort, fun, and play. Seeing Avellino return to Serie B after 7 years and many struggles was emotional, as is seeing the city`s two basketball teams – the old Scandone and Avellino Basket – performing well. The basketball tradition is fundamental for me. I hope to see both of them back in Serie A soon: we`ve already paid enough purgatory in both sports, now it`s our turn.”
As a rapper, your relationship with basketball was linked to the American aesthetic. Now that you`re a stand-up comedian, can it be said that the parallel is the same?
“I think stand-up and rap are two sides of the same coin: one is musical and rhyming, the other is not, but both narrate the present with a fast pace. They have a very strong root in the United States, they are two permeable and very rhythmic languages. A bit like basketball. That`s why I can also navigate this new environment, even as a young comedian, feeling more or less the same as when I only did rap.”
Can we consider you our Adam Sandler?
“An Adam Sandler dressed better (laughs)… Let`s just say it`s hard to dress worse than him. But maybe to be like him in everything else, both as a basketball player and a comedian.”
In America, Blake Griffin took to the stage for stand-up. If an Italian basketball player were to do the same, who would you see doing well?
“In Italian basketball, two players I`d see doing great are Gigi Datome and Nicolò Melli, as a duo. It`s not common in stand-up, but together they could do an improvised show. Anyone who`s listened to the National team`s podcasts from a couple of years ago knows that both have a quick wit, are likeable and intelligent. Melli, by the way, I`ve seen in the audience at stand-up nights multiple times. He and Datome would certainly be excellent comedians.”
Melli and Datome CIAMILLO.
With this mix of music, running, and stand-up, isn`t it possible you`re in the wrong country?
“It`s possible. But I was born here, and I adapt. I try to `annoy` as much as possible to broaden the definition of an entertainer: someone capable of being on stage and making people feel good by doing different things. Americans are masters at this. In sport, as in entertainment, technical skill always goes hand-in-hand with spectacle, whether you`re a comedian, a singer, or an athlete.”
Video: The greatest player in NBA history? Ghemon`s answer.
Stand-up is like a boxing ring: you can`t hide behind a music track there…
“I see it more like tennis: you fight for every point, which are the jokes. If the joke lands, the audience cheers; if it misses, you lose the point. But you can`t get discouraged; you have to move straight to the next one and keep going until you win the audience over.”
Your greatest sporting heartbreak?
“Certainly, the failures of Avellino football and Scandone basketball. After relegation to Serie C (2009), Avellino went bankrupt and was completely disbanded. Then, a few years later, another bankruptcy. These are things that make you lose a bit of passion: not the attachment to the team, but to the system. The same was true for Scandone`s bankruptcy.”
And the greatest joy?
“All the last-minute victories. When Scandone moved up from A2 to A1, I was away watching the game, which was won with a last-second three-pointer from half-court by Capone. The same for Avellino`s promotion to Serie B with a last-second goal against Foggia, scored by Rivaldo (not the famous one, he laughs). Unfortunately, I`ve seen many years in Serie B and Serie C… I hope soon I can say that my greatest joy will have been seeing Avellino in Serie A.”
If you could choose between: finishing first in the New York Marathon or filling Madison Square Garden?
“I feel sorry for the running world and for what it would mean to be immortalized by winning a marathon, but I believe filling Madison Square Garden is a dream reserved for a select few. It would be the most beautiful achievement. After something like that, one could even retire to the countryside to grow tomatoes.”
