Of Sicilian background, Frankie Hi Nrg was born in Torino, lived many years in Caserta & in Umbria. He hung out at the now mythic Regio, hip hop central in Torino. Frankie was one of the first Italian rappers who was not assoicated with the centri sociali, or cultural squats. In 1992, he toured Italy sharing the stage with Run DMC and the Beastie Boys. In 1993, he released his first full length CD Verba Manent which helped introduce acid jazz and a more funky sound to Italian rap. As a master of the ironic sample deriding official discourse, Frankie's first release took on the mafia, racism, and right-wing terrorism. He was immediately attacked by old school rappers associated with the militant centri for signing with a multinational, something that that became all to come for the Italian HH scene.