Pop Icon Discusses Music, Activism

Italian pop star and cultural icon Lorenzo "Jovanotti" Cherubini spoke at the Harvard Kennedy School last night about his experiences as a musician and a proponent of human rights.

Jovanotti, who is a member of Amnesty International, emphasized the role of music in making positive change on both a global and individual scale.

"I always thought that the power of music, especially the power of pop music, [is that] it is music that is talking maybe just about kisses and about dancing and about having an ice cream together with your girlfriend in a bar," he said. "[But] that music is perhaps the most powerful because it promotes a sense of freedom that connects to the freedom of expressing yourself as a human being."

Technical difficulties with the sound system during Jovanotti’s talk prompted many smiles from the audience when the musician had trouble maneuvering the microphone.

"I am a singer and a musician—I prefer [to] have a drumbeat when I speak," he said to eruptions of laughter.

When an audience member asked Jovanotti what cause he fought for most adamantly, he was quick to answer that his main focus was combating poverty.

"I think that cause would be poverty. Extreme poverty," he said. "Extreme poverty is that condition where you cannot desire a better life—it’s a poverty where you don’t even know that there is a better life."

"Why [do] I say that? Because extreme poverty can be solved," Jovanotti added.

Jovanotti began his career as a rapper, but quickly undertook a musical transition into a style that focused much more on world music and ethnic rhythms. Jovanotti said that this shift in musical style was accompanied by a realization that his music could also be applied to social and political activism.

"This is fantastic, I thought, this is great—I can do this with my job?" Jovanotti said.

"Music has this power, more than the Pope, you know?" he added.

Last night’s talk was a break from the normal schedule for Jovanotti, who spent the last few days on the East Coast touring for a series of shows and concerts. The talk was part of a larger initiative produced in collaboration with the Carr Center’s Measurement and Human Rights Program.

Before returning to his concert tour, Jovanotti said he wanted to impress upon his audience that great social change is more needed than ever.

"Today we are in a critical moment," he said.