To hateful comments and insults? She responds by rapping with determination and irony, without being affected. In the past he suffered too much, but he decided to raise his head instead of succumbing. Marianna Mammone, aka BigMama, is not only a musical talent, but has become an icon for the world for many victims of bullying and for the LGBTQIA+ community. BigMama – born in Avellino in 2000 – uses her body and her voice as a living manifesto against stereotypes and fights so that all people, regardless of their size or sexual orientation, feel seen, respected and recognised.
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As he sings in the song “Anger is not enough for you”, brought to Sanremo 2024, “believing in your dreams saves”. She wanted to believe in music completely, which proved to be her lifeline.
The trauma of bullying and refuge in music
BigMama’s childhood and adolescence were anything but carefree: bullying stole her serenity and security. Because of her physical appearance, she was the target of heavy insults and teasing.
“When I was a child, I felt very alone because I didn’t talk to anyone about my problems. – she said a few weeks ago on the One More Time podcast, a guest in Luca Casadei’s living room. – My childhood was marked by bullying that came from everywhere. Big, small, there is a word that is in my brain. There is one of those words that hurts me, the word ‘whore’ and I have heard it so many times, like every day. I thought I was the last wheel in a certain point, and that certain point already in elementary school, I had already reached that moment of ‘I suck’. It made you suffer a lot”.
The climax was reached when a group of bullies threw stones at her: “That day of the stones I said ‘enough’. I took pen and paper and wrote Charlotte: it was my liberation, the first real beginning.”
But this dark period was a catalyst for his art and rap music became his shield, as well as his megaphone.
“Music really saved me. I healed, and that time finally taught me that I deserve first place.” said the artist, during a touching speech on body shaming and bullying, which he gave last year in the hall of the UN General Assembly in front of 2000 young people.
And last year we saw her in Basel as the Italian co-host at the Eurovision Song Contest.
The disease is like a bolt from the blue
Another fundamental test in BigMama’s journey was the fight against a serious illness. At just 20 years old, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. This experience, faced at a crucial moment in her nascent career, forced her to take a break and undergo cycles of chemotherapy.
I had to sign the contract, I was small, I had long hair that I would have lost. – he revealed to One More Time – But my manager was great. He said to me: ‘Okay, we can do a shooting and sign the contract’. I went up to Milan before starting the chemo, with the scar on my neck from the biopsy and I signed that day. The next day I returned to Avellino to have the first chemo and then the other eleven, six cycles.
The anti-hate speech we should all listen to
At last year’s May Day concert BigMama wanted to bring a powerful monologue to shine the spotlight on the hatred and inhumanity circulating online.
“In the last period there is a lot of hate. A lot. I will talk about the topic of hating, about all those who feel free to comment negatively on what you do. – underlined the rapper – It’s all becoming too exaggerated. I ask myself: why do you have this sadism, which perhaps comes from dissatisfaction?. If you don’t like me, change the channel; if you don’t like my body, make sure you never become like me; if you don’t like what I say, block me: but let us live.
What do you know about my story? My body made me suffer, but I forgive it, why can’t you forgive it? I have never asked anyone to be like me, what I say to you intelligent people is to look at the faces of these people who insult and say: thank goodness I’m not like that.”
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Sources: UN/One More Time
