https://www.corrieredellacalabria.i...e-il-mito-dellonorata-societa-su-tiktok/mafia symbolism
Music and 'Ndrangheta: Cancelled Concerts and the Myth of the "Honoured Society" on TikTok
Cancelled performances and controversies that promptly return. Meanwhile, songs with references to organized crime go viral
Published: 05/05/2025 – 7:02
«Io cateni non ndi vojju, appartengo all’onorata società». The “jingle” with a tarantella-like rhythm is viral on TikTok: the audio reaches hundreds of reproductions and thousands of views in just a few days. The expression onorata società , especially in a context of words that refer to “chains” and “carabinieri”, does not leave much room for interpretation: the reference is to the environment of organized crime, to those “values” and symbols that are now rooted in the 'ndrangheta (anti)culture. And it is not the only song that has gone viral on social media and is also sung by the youngest, always with references to the symbolism and legends handed down in crime: some call it simple “folklore” and Calabrian traditionalism, others denounce it as music praising the 'ndrangheta. Controversies that also have repercussions in reality with mayors and police chiefs who go as far as to ban concerts of those who make explicit references to organized crime in their lyrics.
Recently Cancelled Concerts
Two episodes in a few days: first Samuele Nisi's concert "blocked" in Anoia, in the province of Reggio Calabria, by the mayor Alessandro De Marzo, then Teresa Merante's in Grotteria. Both accused of making music or videos that wink at crime. If for Nisi, a young "trapper" who built himself on TikTok, it is a recent consequence of his videos filmed with relatives of organized crime, in which he attacks informants and magistrates, the name of Teresa Merante is not new in the debate on the topic. The Calabrian singer had already ended up at the center of controversy in the past for her lyrics, including "u latitanti " (another viral song on social media). "My songs talk about tradition, I don't sympathize with the 'ndrangheta" she defended herself a few years ago. Even the neomelodic singer Andrea Zeta, son of an alleged Catania boss, had been “blocked” by the Vibo Police Headquarters for his concert in Limbadi, with the singer’s subsequent social outburst. Several concerts were also canceled for Niko Pandetta, nephew of the boss “Turi Cappello”, and a few days ago “caught” with phones in the Rossano prison, where he has been held since 2022.
The songs are popular on social media
Inconvenient relationships and questionable videos, but above all the lyrics are the ones that raise controversy. For some, it is just folklore, symbolism and now remote uses for organized crime. Rules of silence and stories of blood and revenge that would be far from the reality of a changed 'ndrangheta, less archaic and more modern. The songs of the Calabrian underworld have a musical history dating back to the last century, then spread in the "popular". But the "traditional" songs passed down over the years are coming back into fashion with social media: so on TikTok and Youtube "Canti di Malavita", "'Ndrangheta 1,2,3,4" are very popular, references to the 'ndrangheta religious symbols, to honor, to respect and insults to the repentants. The music is the soundtrack to as many photos or videos that recall 'ndrangheta symbols, such as San Michele Arcangelo or the mountain of Polsi. In some cases, even photos of renowned Calabrian bosses. The risk that from tradition it becomes a real viaticum for criminal culture, especially among young people, given also the recent investigations from which it emerged that the 'ndrangheta has not completely lost those rites and archaic symbolism. The fact that social media are proliferating with videos and songs praising crime is well known to both the prosecutors and the platform, which – according to Gratteri – had set up a task force to block their diffusion. Even on Youtube, playlists dedicated to the 'ndrangheta are “grinding out” tens of thousands of views. A phenomenon that is difficult to contain in the boundless virtual world. ( ma.ru. )
