Whats your opinion on irish hip hop?

urbanize

hey whats up

i recently joined to promote my show this friday at the crawdaddy (see the link up thread) im just curious what your guys opinions are of irish hip hop?

Evzer

Don't want to come across too backpackery here but I listen to most of the irish stuff at least once and I honestly think its gone backwards..It was better back in the day imo.Scary eire had a lot of classic stuff and Mjex were better when they were creative controle imo, Exile eye had a class album out,homebrew were a really excellent group and i think relevance was a really excellent emcee not just decent for an irish one. Might be going off on a bit of a rant here but i basically think it was of a higher standard back in the late 90's early\noughties. Nowadays a lot of it seems very throwaway and theres seemingly more rappers then fans (this is a fairly hypocritical argument on my part btw as ive too made fairly amateurish tunes for amusement but yeah yknow what im saying anyway haha)


Nowadays I Like maverick sabre, rob kelly,Some nucentz and The infomatics, Think jee4ce is fairly quality aswell but i havent heard much from him Mjex are obviously talented but im not really into them but besides them lads i wouldnt listen to a lot of it more then the once.

buck65

saw majestic j and the expert last night supporting Buck65 and thought they were good bought the album afterwards and that sounds good 2.

Thought Buck was excellent really stripped down and natural.

spacecoyote

Ive listened to a decent amount of Irish Hip Hop, and it can be a bit hit & miss to be honest. MJEX, Collie, Redzer & Rob Kelly's albums are all worth a listen. The Homemade Bombs mixtape has some nice tracks, but a lot or sh1t on it too. Nu-centz, urban intelligence, man & the machine & the gudmen all have some nice tracks.

Some Irish hip hop can sound a bit gimmicky, and production values can be fairly weak. Heard a few guys who seem to be trying to sound like american gangsta's a bit too much (ie using american slang, rather than Irish). They generally come across as pretty sad really, but fair play to any of them doing it really, the scene needs people trying to make good music in order for it to gain recognition and improve

Mickla-T

Ive listened to all those acts over the last 4 years and the only ones worth a mention are,

The Elements
Maverick
Mjex
Infomatics

REALLY cant hack the rest especially kelly, its all the usual hiphop bull**** with them.

vespahead

i listen to alot of old school gangster rap aswell as all the new stuff,
but the only rapper that really doesnt sound gimmicky and wannabe is
the man redzer he sounds raw in a good way he uses irish slang instead of american,and he has the only album of any genre of music were i dont dislike a song on it every track is golden

Its a waste of space.

Orizio

Deleted User wrote:

Its a waste of space.

Thats a stunning analysis right there.

Orizio

Is it me or is every Irish MC who doesn't rap with a thick paddy accent condemned as American?

I'm a middle class Corkonian who doesn't have a thick accent(a bit of slang, little more), am I just some yank imposter or what?

Jimbo808

what about J and the Messiah?

I actually havn't listened to any of their stuff but they seem to have critical praise?

J

Mickla-T

Jimbo808 wrote:

what about J and the Messiah?

I actually havn't listened to any of their stuff but they seem to have critical praise?

J

Yeah Messiah J and the Expert are good, actual skill ya know. None of this "have to sell coke so me kids dont starve" bull**** ,when ya dont even have a bird and live in Dalkey.

clio_16v

MJEX are quality, prefered their earlier stuff too.
Scary éire are pioneers of the game, album was way ahead of its time imo.
Collie's pretty good.
Lung Donors from Cork / Kerry / Clare are absolute quality.

Check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thelungdonors

Also, check out http://www.myspace.com/corklongy


Any heads in Cork would seriously wanna check these lads out... Also, support their gigs! I'm sick of poor turnouts at cork gigs, yet people still say there's no good hip hop to see in cork! There's plenty hip hop lately in cork!

Tha Gopher

Orizio wrote:

Is it me or is every Irish MC who doesn't rap with a thick paddy accent condemned as American?

I'm a middle class Corkonian who doesn't have a thick accent(a bit of slang, little more), am I just some yank imposter or what?

For whatever reason hip hop is the least acceptable genre in which to alter your voice. Take Bono for example, when singing he could pretty easily pass as an American artist on some songs, doesnt get stick though. But some of the put on accents are ridicilous.

Evzer

clio_16v wrote:

MJEX are quality, prefered their earlier stuff too.
Scary éire are pioneers of the game, album was way ahead of its time imo.
Collie's pretty good.
Lung Donors from Cork / Kerry / Clare are absolute quality.

Check out their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thelungdonors

Also, check out http://www.myspace.com/corklongy


Any heads in Cork would seriously wanna check these lads out... Also, support their gigs! I'm sick of poor turnouts at cork gigs, yet people still say there's no good hip hop to see in cork! There's plenty hip hop lately in cork!

where are these nights,slainte mostly is it?

clio_16v

Evzer wrote:

where are these nights,slainte mostly is it?

I run a gig in Slainte alright. The Kerrynini lads run gigs in Liquid Lounge above Clancy's. We've got the 2007 Polish IDA djing champion playing next month. There's always gigs on here and there. I'll post the final details of the next gig up here so keep an eye out...

CorkMan

those gigs look class.

Anyway I like GMC, Bony, Collie, Nu-Centz, Dutch Gold Kid and Mickey Gatch, to name a few.

clio_16v

Check ouy elementary on Friday so sure if you're around Corkman....

DrumSteve

me and my mate do hip hop for a laugh.

i do the production and some of the rapping and he does the rest...

i usuually play hard rock and metal so the is just a bit of fun for us.

www.myspace.com/404folife

let me know what ya think lol

30txsbzmcu2k9w

Surprised nobodies mentioned Captain Moonlight yet, he's got alot of clever rhymes.Dirty ***** was a great tune
Scary Eire and Exile eye way ahead of their time alright, The Scary Era has to be the blueprint for Irish Hip-Hop

klaus flouride

The irish tend to generate alot of their humour by taking the p1ss out of themselves - this is at odds with the American rap scene, where alot of it seems to be about bravado and pumping up your ego. Of coure you're going to find talented irish rappers and hip hop musicians/mixers, music is international after all (thats why you have french and english rappers) but some of the irish rap i've heard involves som1 from mullingar trying to sound tough and he ends up sounding like a G.A.A. commentator.

I'm not to sure the irish accent suits hip hop - its coarse and slightly more aggressive sounding rather than the laid back,calm and smooth accents of the Americans.

Dipsy

Irish hip hop is on the rise! the only ones worth talking about are Ri-Ra and the phoenix

www.myspace.com/thephoenixeire

Evzer

Will you ever calm down with this phoenix lad. christ.

Dipsy

Evzer wrote:

Will you ever calm down with this phoenix lad. christ.

So you’re aware of him then. Nice to know he is getting recognition.
There is room for everybody! Allah

Evzer

ive only heard of him coz of you dropping his name all over the place constantly when no-one else seems to have a clue who he his and to be honest those tunes are nothing special at all..

Dipsy

Evzer wrote:

ive only heard of him coz of you dropping his name all over the place constantly when no-one else seems to have a clue who he his and to be honest those tunes are nothing special at all..

Dropped where???????

Where is the love?

And much respect man as we are all entitled to our own opinion.

You can have yours too
www.myspace.com/thephoenixeire
www.myspace.com/charliedcharlene

condra

I'm Irish and I do electronic music, mostly chill-out and electronic, but some hip-hop style stuff, like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeLT9jksFgA

Cheers

mufcboy1999

i came across a rapper from dublin his name is siyo only heard a few tracks but it sounds quailty and he can rap real good.. i think a few of his videos are on youtube look them up

Seaneh

Rob Kelly, Richie Filth, Maverick Sabre, Class A'z, MJEX, Tuki, Flip, Kormac and Mek, all you need to know.

Rest of average stuf to be honest.

Shout out to Nugget though, gets better every time he drops something, last mixtape was nice!

South Mouths are nice too (Butcher Boy and Intox).

Mickey Gatch would give ANYBODY a good go in a battle, like, not just Ireland and the UK, ANYBODY, Also, Rob Kelly has merked Rhyme Fest and a few others already, but doesn't battle anymore as he reckons all the pre-written ****e is a load of balls.


Avoid the following:

Shakey, MC Dubh, Assassin, Dizzy D and a few others.

Cookie Jar

Seaneh wrote: »

Rob Kelly, Richie Filth, Maverick Sabre, Class A'z, MJEX, Tuki, Flip, Kormac and Mek, all you need to know.

Rest of average stuf to be honest.

Shout out to Nugget though, gets better every time he drops something, last mixtape was nice!

South Mouths are nice too (Butcher Boy and Intox).

Mickey Gatch would give ANYBODY a good go in a battle, like, not just Ireland and the UK, ANYBODY, Also, Rob Kelly has merked Rhyme Fest and a few others already, but doesn't battle anymore as he reckons all the pre-written ****e is a load of balls.


Avoid the following:

Shakey, MC Dubh, Assassin, Dizzy D and a few others.

Wha?? I love Dizzy D:p

Siyo is fairly good aright.

Filthy Rich is really good but aint heard anything from him in a while.

BLITZ_Molloy

I love Irish hip hop. It's self depreciating. There are funny punchlines. It's much less montonous than the American and UK stuff. There's very little boring gangster thuggery because anybody who raps about that kind of thing gets laughed out of it.

The main problem as I see it is the production is largely awful. A lot of the rappers have absolutely no taste in beats so they rap over utter garbage. I can't rap very well yet so I'm going to make sure my beats are fire. Not like it's hard to find some.

condra

Though not as tacky, pretentious, and pseudo-American as say, Polish rap, I find a lot of Irish rap to sound very clichéd and cheesy.

Even if they aren't pretending to be black Americans in their lyrics, a lot of them will flow like Will Smith doing that "Nightmare On My Street" track. That sort of asking and answering a question (tonally) every couple of bars.

Or subject matter about what you did during the day, starting in the morning, or general macho-ism, misogyny, and other hiphop cliches. Putting in some Irish slang, doesn't make it any less naff, and contrived.

Example, off the top of my head:
"got on de fookin bus, didn't cause a fuss, talkin to de bus driver, he said his name was Russ... hopped off at me mas, but she was round me das, slided down the couch like fookin nivea visage... then i rolled a spliff, (etc etc)"
... That kinda s*** makes me want to vomit.

I'm not pointing any fingers, but this is the case for a lot of Irish rap I've heard. I understand that it's hard to do hiphop and be truly unique. It's almost impossible to completely avoid urban/hiphop clichés, but still.

FWIW, I like most of what I've heard from Deep Reasoning, and Shapey Fiend.
Nice lyric from Shapey Fiend- "My neighbourhood's quiet to be brutally honest. People die on my street because there's a nursing home on it."
Love that.

Seaneh, thanks for the recommendations. I'll check them out.

BLITZ_Molloy

Recorded another tune today. I think I'm getting a bit better but have a ways to go yet.

http://soundcloud.com/shapeyfiend/horrorcore-prod-buttaslick

GhanGee

so, is Irish rap getting any better ?

Hugh Cream

irish rap is terrible,although we will be told its brilliant by those who participate.
but the truth is,the lyricism is awful,verging on embarrassing,the tone is unsuitable to rap and the beat choice is cheap.
the videos being left in this forum alone by the spammers is not rap either,its not even free styling,its a form of poetry.
admittedly rap is a form of peotry but ginsberg was not a rapper,he was a poet,theres a difference which these guys fail to see.

GhanGee

just wondering who the best artist would be. That's surprising, I thought all English speaking countries are closer to the US and are somehow influenced. So you're saying there's no widely recognized Irish hiphop artist (not talking about Erik Schrody) currently living and producing in Ireland.

Shapey Fiend

The best known internationally is probably Rob Kelly.

http://soundcloud.com/robkellypromo

There's loads of others that are relatively well known in Ireland. Depends on what you're into. The Rubberbandits, The Infomatics and Messiah J & The Expert are the most commonly blogged about or featured in newspapers.

What Hugh Cream is saying is true of a lot of it. But the stuff he's talking about is mostly hobbyist stuff done by young fellas. If you go on English or US messageboards you're going to get flooded with music from guys rapping into PC world microphones as well.

I think some of the major Irish artists have been guilty of really poor beat choices (i.e. crap ripped off soundclick) in the past but that's getting less common these days.

GhanGee

good to know there is something, well I live here for almost 5 yrs and never heard about a local hiphop culture or any movement.

Cullo

Well stop sleepin then!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcwtNaE4gKo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Q1fS9BVb4

GhanGee

not sleeping, just I haven't seen any proof what would make me believe there's anything close to HH culture in Ireland. I don't see it on TV or radio, nor on the streets. So who are the artist what make their money by rapping, producing and doing concerts?

Camac Hibs

Best Irish hip hop record I have heard is Kill or Create by the Infomatics. Ive heard lots of decent tracks here and there but as that works as an album.

Hugh Cream

Both videos are typical of what irish lyricists think rap music is.
Rap is music,music needs structure and meaning,and above all verses.
Rhyming word upon word without any structure is not music,plus the beat is shyt,fruity loops for beginners.

Camac Hibs

daft vid but the track is there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2oEdRCdxbI

Parrish_Crooks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUA9iFgO6rI

Classic Irish Hip-hop.

On a serious note though, this isn't bad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2CRwzkyMjY

ItsNugget

GhanGee wrote: »

not sleeping, just I haven't seen any proof what would make me believe there's anything close to HH culture in Ireland. I don't see it on TV or radio, nor on the streets. So who are the artist what make their money by rapping, producing and doing concerts?

Who says to be a culture they have to be making money off it?

GhanGee

rappers play big role in holding it all together, although there are other important elements (as we all know) the culture itself comes from the music and rappers are half of the music. If they want to do it the best way sooner or later they have to do it for living and money come with it. You don't have to, when you're 15 living with your mom. It's all about talent and experience, if you do it long you have investments so you would be stupid to do it for free (if you're worth it). What did I...? Alright, do you think there would be a culture (not secret society of 20) if rappers do music for free?

btw, thanks everyone for the links I found some interesting stuff on the web.

Hugh Cream

there is no urban/rap culture in ireland,wearing an ecko hoody does not a culture make.

GhanGee

Hugh Cream wrote: »

there is no urban/rap culture in ireland,wearing an ecko hoody does not a culture make.

I have to agree. There's no hiphop influence in the society whatsoever, there're some solo riders maybe but I don't simply see a sight of it in day to day life. Only when the culture is strong you can see it from everywhere because its members are people around.

ItsNugget

By hiphop influence do you mean wearing the clothes? Cos i wouldnt really care about what someone wore to be honest. Im more hiphop than some eejit in high tops and baggy jeans that has an ipod of downloaded lil wayne mixtapes. Mainly because i own hundreds of hiphop records, hundreds of hiphop cds and have been to hundreds of hiphop gigs both big and small.

Theres a lot of people in dublin into hiphop. Go to a decent hiphop gig and you'll see that

CorkMan

I see some influence, down town late nights I seem the pimps selling off the bitches....

*does pimp twirl with pimp cane*

GhanGee

ItsNugget wrote: »

By hiphop influence do you mean wearing the clothes? Cos i wouldnt really care about what someone wore to be honest. Im more hiphop than some eejit in high tops and baggy jeans that has an ipod of downloaded lil wayne mixtapes. Mainly because i own hundreds of hiphop records, hundreds of hiphop cds and have been to hundreds of hiphop gigs both big and small.

Theres a lot of people in dublin into hiphop. Go to a decent hiphop gig and you'll see that

Clothing is also part of it but not only, there's much more into it. Lots of people could be a fan base but to have a culture you need the whole crowd, same as you need MCs and DJs making money or people wearing baggy jeans. Neither I wear it anymore, or not so often. But you want to distinguish one from another. So we talk, think, wear and do things similar way, in most cases. However, when you meet me on the street I am perfectly 'normal' guy.

Hugh Cream

ItsNugget wrote: »

By hiphop influence do you mean wearing the clothes? Cos i wouldnt really care about what someone wore to be honest. Im more hiphop than some eejit in high tops and baggy jeans that has an ipod of downloaded lil wayne mixtapes. Mainly because i own hundreds of hiphop records, hundreds of hiphop cds and have been to hundreds of hiphop gigs both big and small.

Theres a lot of people in dublin into hiphop. Go to a decent hiphop gig and you'll see that

hes talking about culture though,completely different to going to a gig.
no one goes to a gig and says yes this is irish hip hop culture,because we havnt got one,weve no hip hop identity to differentiate us from guys in new york.
anything we do is someone elses culture,we just support it.