Michele Zocca

Michele Zocca, professionally known as Michelangelo, is an Italian record producer, songwriter and musician, best known for his frequent collaborations with Blanco. He became interested in music at an early age and later joined a conservatory, but soon left to study music production as an autodidact. He rose in popularity after producing Blanco's debut studio album, Blu celeste, and his entry for the Sanremo Music Festival 2022, "Brividi", a collaboration with Mahmood. In 2022, he was the third songwriter with the most certified copies in Italy, having sold 1.8 million copies across all his collaborations.

Life and career
Michele Zocca was born in Cremona, Italy, in 1994 and lives in the comune of Vescovato, where his recording studio is currently situated. His mother, Raffaella Mari, is a PE teacher and a sports manager. His maternal grandfather is sports shooter Italo Mari. A self-taught musician, he became fascinated with the drums when he was in elementary school and went on to learn multiple instruments, including the electric guitar and the bass. Among his influences, he cited the duo Battisti⁠—Mogol. During high school, he joined several bands. He pursued his education at the Conservatorio Arrigo Boito in Parma, but he quit a year later to dedicate more time to his growing career. He started studying music production and audio mixing as an autodidact. From 2016, Zocca started working with renowned artists such as Loredana Bertè, Paola Turci and Niccolò Agliardi. He first met Blanco at a studio in Milan in November 2019. After working together for a year, Blanco released his debut studio album, Blu celeste, featuring Zocca as the main producer.

In 2022, Zocca produced Mahmood and Blanco's entry for the Sanremo Music Festival 2022, "Brividi". The song ended up winning the contest and Zocca was subsequently awarded by the administration of Vescovato. That same year, he was the third songwriter with the most certified copies in Italy, having sold 1.8 million copies thanks to his partnership with Blanco and his collaborations with other Italian rising artists such as Ariete and Rkomi. In April 2023, Blanco released his second studio album, Innamorato, written in collaboration with Michelangelo. In June 2023, he wrote and featured on Drillionaire's song "Bon ton" along with Blanco, Sfera Ebbasta and Lazza, which reached number one on Italy's FIMI Singles Chart. In September 2023, Michelangelo appeared on the third season of the Italian edition of MTV Cribs.

The following year, Michelangelo wrote two entries for the Sanremo Music Festival 2024, "Casa mia" by Ghali and "I p' me, tu p' te" by Geolier. At Sanremo, "I p' me, tu p' me" finished in second place, while "Casa mia" placed at number four; "I p' me, tu p' te" also reached number one on the FIMI Singles Chart.

Personal life
Zocca married stylist Cecilia Molardi, with whom he had a daughter, born in 2021.