Translocational belonging in urban peripheries among the postmigrant generation: San Siro and the trap/drill subculture of Milan

Abstract

This article investigates the construction of translocal belongings among postmigrant youth in urban peripheries, by analyzing the latter’s musical subculture treated as expressions of identity for racialized and marginalized young individuals. Focusing on the case of the trap ensemble Seven7oo associated with the San Siro neighborhood of Milan, an intertextual reading of everyday urban spaces, personal narratives, musical and social media content is undertaken to unpack core themes shaping identity constructions of postmigrant youth living in peripheral landscapes. This is done so through the triangulation of ethnographic fieldwork in the neighborhood of San Siro, online ethnography of Seven7oo members and their followers, in-depth interviews, and song lyrics treated as personal testimonies of children of immigrants growing up in marginalized areas of a rich European metropolis. It is argued that three themes are salient across different sources of data, namely a. situated childhood suffering as a glue for translocal collective identity, b. prevalence of translocational bonds against the negation of national belongings, and c. (digital) marketing of fast-track mobility in overcoming stigmatization and marginalization.