Pay It Forward: Verraco on Robert Del Naja

TraTraTrax co-founder Verraco on the seismic influence of the Massive Attack co-founder.

One moment from my university days really stuck with me: I was in my early 20s, circa 2014, and one night after class, a friend asked, “Hey, why do you have that white bracelet stuck on your arm, over your shirt?” I was silent for a few seconds, then made up some vague, fashion-related argument. But deep down, I was very clear on what it was about. I wanted to look like him, imagine myself like him, feel like him. I also wanted to amplify messages like him.

From a superficial detail emulating his aesthetic to gradually understanding and incorporating a protest-led discourse – a means of resisting systemic forces in all areas of life – Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja was a transcendental figure for me, because, as we know, our twenties are crucial in shaping our character and militancy. Of course, at that age there is also a lot of naivety around la lucha, but Robert’s influence was key. He left me a lesson that went beyond music: ultimately, everything is political. If I created any artistic project, it had to be aligned with decolonial militancy – one that would benefit and amplify artists from my region who face obvious disadvantages.

Massive Attack might be my favourite band of all time. Mezzanine was my gateway into trip-hop, and became a one-way ticket to Bristol sound system culture and my first fundamental lessons in Black rhythmic diaspora. The only time I got to see him and the OG members of the band was in February 2019, at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. That day, they were performing a 25th-anniversary reinterpretation of Mezzanine, accompanied by the visuals of documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis. It was a reaffirmation of how to discomfort and raise your voice through art.

I don’t have space to go into all the personal details of 3D that resonated with me, but I can’t overlook that we have the same deity: Diego Maradona – another supreme voice who represented and embodied el pueblo like few others. I was moved to learn that his Neapolitan father took him from the UK to see his idol, to live and feel through football, and witness SSC Napoli beat the wealthy teams and classist tifosi from the north of Italy. A victory over the elites. Again, almost everything is political.

Anyway, I could write at length about the unique myths and sound manipulators that have influenced me, but I have to be honest with myself: more than sound, there is nothing I find more inspiring than artistic integrity.