Born in Margherita di Savoia, Italy on September 19, 1959, Raffaele Riefoli entered the music business in 1983, when his debut album Self Control was released as Raf. The album proved successful on the Italian charts, with two singles — "Change Your Mind" and "Hard" — performing very well. Almost five years later, Raf delivered his second album, Svegliarsi un Anno Fa, and 1989's Cosa Restera followed quickly afterwards. During the '90s, he released several albums, including Sogni...E' Tutto Quello Che C'e in 1991, Cannibali two years later, Manifesto in 1995, and Collezione Temporanea by late 1996.