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Irish Hip Hop | The rise of Irish rap ☘
There's a new breed of Irish rapper taking the Hip Hop scene in Ireland to the next level.
The Irish Hip Hop Scene
Irish Hip Hop isn’t a new phenomenon, with artists like Lethal Dialect laying the foundations down on the underground scene for years. Recently however, the genre has been catapulted into the mainstream with the unprecedented success of a new school of daring MC’s. They say numbers don’t lie, and, if we’re going by streams, video views and crowd numbers, it’s clear to see the burgeoning demand for the genre. We already know that Ireland are listening, (Denise Chaila’s recent RTE Choice Music Prize win proving that point further) but recent signs have shown an international crossover.
Outside attention
Rejjie Snow scored collaborations with US stars Amine and Joey Bada$$ on each of his first two album releases. Rap group Versatile tapped Coolio for the single ‘Escape Wagon’ and are performing on Snoop Dogg’s upcoming tour alongside Warren G, Obie Trice, D12 and, Tha Dogg Pound. Kojaque is not long off tour with the Mercury award-winning Slowthai. Louth’s A92 crew have racked up a whopping 27 million views on their PressPlay freestyle and, their main man Offica’s fire in the booth has been viewed almost 400,000 times to date.
Although validation from their counterparts in the US and UK isn’t needed, breaking the barriers of regional attention is no mean feat. It’s fair to say that the scene has now outgrown its humble roots and doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.
Irish rappers you can see live
Versatile
To quote Hot Press, Ireland’s leading music media outlet: “A bunch of wide-eyed, but not in the least bit innocent, Dubliner’s whose music perfectly captures the time and the place they’ve grown up in. Forty-years ago Hot Press were saying those sorts of things about U2.“
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Offica
Having made a unique entrance to the scene with his ‘Naruto Drillings’ he has created a name for himself as one the most diverse and creative minded rappers in both Ireland and the UK scene.
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JyellowL
The lyrically conscious rapper received critical acclaim with his debut album 2020 D|Vision which bagged him a nomination for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize for album of the year.
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Kojaque
Kojaque’s directorial vision continues to create incredible videos for his tracks, vignettes that explore intimacy, isolation, hedonism, and offer a brilliantly surreal immersion into the Soft Boy world. In 2020, Kojaque performed a COLORS show with the track Shmelly, the first single from forthcoming debut album Town’s Dead due for release on June 25th this year.
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Malaki
Experimenting with a variety of hip-hop styles, including poetry and spoken-word, Malaki synthesises a rich and original interpretation of Dublin life and seamlessly fuses personal expression with sharp social and political critique.
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Kneecap
Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí have built up a notoriety for themselves which hasn’t been seen in Irish music, possibly ever. Kneecap are a frighteningly articulate rap group. Merging Irish with English, satire with socially conscious lyrics, and reality with absurdity, theirs is a voice which comes screaming from the too-often deprived areas of the North, speaking in a language which is too-often ignored.
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Lethal Dialect
Musician, actor and spoken word artist Paul Alwright has released four albums to date, three of which were released under the Lethal Dialect moniker. Paul has collaborated and toured with artists such as The Game, Action Bronson, Damien Dempsey and Maverick Sabre and has landed roles in the award-winning Cardboard Gangsters, as well as films written by Roddy Doyle and John Connors.
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Dubzeno
The Finglas native has been making waves of late, with his raw sound, vigourous flow and unapolagetic lyrics. The Dubliner recently linked up with well known producer New Machine (who has production credits with Ed Sheeran, Kojaque, Kano & Slowthai) for the celebratory track ‘Fresh Home’.
Find TicketsCheck out our Irish Hip Hop playlist including the above artists and some other gifted rappers that have been flying the flag for Ireland 🎤
For a full list of Hip Hop artists playing in Ireland, (whether Irish or otherwise) check out our Concerts and Tours guide HERE. If you’re more of a Rock fan then take a look at all of the amazing Metal act’s that are performing in Ireland HERE and, all of the Great guitarists playing in Ireland HERE.
