Percussion and Buddhism are the two cornerstones of Ciccio Merolla’s life. Active for over twenty years, he has become the favorite percussionist of many leading figures of the Neapolitan music scene, including Bennato, Senese, Osanna, Sepe, Zurzolo and, above all, Enzo Gragnaniello.

After years of experience as a session musician, in 2004 he released his first solo album, “NUN PRESSA’ O SOLE” (Taranta Power / Rai Trade), an album entirely based on percussion, where ethnic rhythms blend with hip-hop, funky and techno beats.

In 2007, Ciccio starred in the theatrical musical “Festa di Piedigrotta” by Raffaele Viviani, directed by Nello Mascia.

In 2008, Ciccio Merolla released his second album “KOKORO”. This time he also successfully ventured into rap vocals. The album received wide acclaim from both audiences and critics and won the Premio Lunezia Etno Music.

In 2009, the track “Femmena Boss”, taken from “KOKORO”, became a music video directed by Toni D’Angelo. It was awarded at the 6th edition of Roma Video Clip and entered MTV’s playlist.

In 2010, Ciccio Merolla starred in the theatrical production “Dio ci ha creato gratis”, directed by Mimmo Corrado.

In 2011, he released “FRATAMMÈ” (Jesce Sole label, distributed by Edel). The title track remained in the Top 20 of indie music charts for several weeks, receiving airplay on over 500 Italian radio stations and gaining success also in Germany and Switzerland. Two music videos were taken from the album: “FRATAMMÈ” and “’O PITTBULL”. The latter was screened at the 68th Venice International Film Festival, won an award at the 9th edition of Roma Video Clip, and was a finalist for the PIVI 2011 Award.

In 2012, he collaborated on albums by two major artists of Neapolitan music: Nino D’Angelo and James Senese.

In the same year, cinema discovered Ciccio Merolla: Alessandro Gassmann chose him to act in his directorial debut “Razza Bastarda”, presented at the Rome International Film Festival.

In 2013, he composed the soundtrack for the short film “Appuntamento con Eduardo”, directed by Nello Mascia, presented at the Naples Film Festival.

In 2014, the Manetti Bros. offered him the role of a ruthless drug gang leader in the film “Song ’e Napule”, which became a true cinematic phenomenon.

On June 16, 2014, together with saxophonist Riccardo Veno, he released the album “ISTANT DIALOGUES” on the Jesce Sole label.

From November 2014, Merolla was involved in the theatrical production “Pascià” with Peppe Lanzetta, which premiered on November 21 at the Teatro Augusteo in Naples.

In 2015, he also took part in the TV series “Rex VIII”, directed by the Manetti Bros.

The video “’O Bongo”, remixed by American DJ Tony Touch and directed by the Manetti Bros. and Claudio D’Avascio, shot between Naples, New York and Brussels, turned him into a web star. As a preview, he released a video in which he plays percussion on a model’s body, using it as a precious instrument with unique and extraordinary sounds. Reaching 60 million views online, newspapers worldwide talked about the Neapolitan percussionist and his solo performed on a woman’s body.

He also appears in a cameo role in the film “Ammore e malavita” by the Manetti Bros., highly acclaimed at the Venice Film Festival and recently nominated for the David di Donatello Awards with 15 nominations.

In January 2017, his one-man show “Sono Solo Suono”, directed by Raffaele Di Florio, enchanted audiences at the Teatro Sannazaro, where Merolla, alone on stage, plays all the objects in the set, telling a story made of sounds and songs.

In 2017, Ciccio Merolla was one of the founders of the collective Terroni Uniti, co-writing successful songs such as “Gente do Sud”, which led the group to perform against racism in Pontida, the stronghold of the Lega party.

He performed on Rai Uno at the Concerto dell’Epifania, interpreting “’O Viaggio”, a song recounting the tragedy of migrants. He was also highly applauded on the show “SuperBrain” on Rai Uno, where he took part in an entertaining body percussion performance, playing bald heads as if they were drums.

In July 2019, he released his latest album “STO TUTTO FUSION” (Jesce Sole). Critics hailed him as the heir to Gegè Di Giacomo.

In 2020, he composed the music for the three-year project dedicated by Teatro Trianon to the great playwright Raffaele Viviani, titled “Viviani per Strada”, directed by Nello Mascia, in which he also appeared as an actor.

In 2021, he launched the live project “Future Music” with Pietro Condorelli and Davide Afzal.

In 2022, he launched the project “Pelle e Voce” with the song “Malatia”.