hip-hop
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Spekulativ Fiktion: “I Sense a Storm Building”
One of Irish hip-hop’s most authoritative voices is back. Corkman Seán Murphy, aka Spekulativ Fiktion, talks about his new EP, the scene in Cork, and even improvises a short tale for Mike McGrath-Bryan. 2017 has been a year of profound change and development for Seán Murphy, a Cork wordsmith, rapper and beatmaker plying his craft…
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Cuttin’ Heads Collective: “We’re Still Experimenting”
Cork’s community hip-hop outfit, Cuttin’ Heads Collective, celebrates its 2nd anniversary this weekend with a double-dose of live beats and pieces, including a big blow-out in the Poor Relation. Mike McGrath-Bryan checks in with Justin O’Donnell and Ross Herlihy on their journey so far and on whose head the blade falls next. In the summer…
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Soulé: What Do You Know?
After a busy debut year, Dublin singer-songwriter Soulé is ready to take on the world, and it starts with a headline slot at the Jazz. Mike McGrath-Bryan finds out more. It’s been just over a year since the debut show of singer-songwriter Samantha Kay, under the nom-de-plume of Soulé and, propelled forth by a wide…
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Jeru the Damaja: “It Feels Like the Nineties Again for Me”
Hip-hop survivor Jeru the Damaja arrives at Townlands Carnival this weekend with nearly thirty years of tunes at his disposal. Speaking with Mike McGrath-Bryan, he touches on hip-hop’s golden age, his own experiences, and the challenges that await him in the future. The sign of a relevant artist is one that refuses to rest on…
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This Side Up: Everything Under the Sun
Ahead of their Cuttin’ Heads Collective show on May 19th, Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with Shane Leonard, aka Shaaol, of Sligo hip-hop trio This Side Up. The last twelve months have, for Sligo hip-hop collective This Side Up, surely been a blur. Entering the wider Irish music fray from the ether with debut album Full Fat,…
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SF Co.: All in the Family
Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with streetwear designer and entrepeneur Tomas Mc’Sky, as well as collaborators DJ Jus’Me and Isabela Szczutkowska, about the launch party of his SF label, tomorrow night. International in origin and distinctly Leeside in its creation, the StreetFamily (SF) line streetwear and accessories launches with a special invite-only event tomorrow, at the recently-opened…
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Naive Ted: “I Don’t Know How Else You’d Do It”
Taking to the Roundy on Saturday night, hip-hop experimentalist Naive Ted sets out a sonic stall of new and unheard tunes, ahead of their release this year. Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with Andy Connolly, the man behind the mask. On stage, he’s Naive Ted, a mute, lucha-mask-clad skratchologist with a penchant for levelling venues with his…
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Cuttin’ Heads Collective: At the Cutting Edge
Ahead of their first anniversary shows, Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with Cuttin’ Heads Collective members and DJs JusMe, Ross Herlihy and Six-Foot Apprentice. In a little over a year, the Cuttin’ Heads Collective of rappers, beatmakers, promoters and DJs have changed Cork hip-hop utterly, unifying some of its main players under one banner for the common…
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Chris Power: “Once I Finally Get Out to the States, We’ll Do an Album”
Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with Cork hip-hop’s busiest man, Chris Power, on tunes, including his new beat tape and upcoming full-length releases. Prodigiously gifted and massively prolific, Cork beatmaker Chris Power has spent the past few years honing his craft live and in-studio, focusing on solo material and production for several collaborative projects. New mixtape WhytFaux:…
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Chris Power: To the Power of Forever
Mike McGrath-Bryan speaks with Cork hip-hop’s busiest man, Chris Power, on tunes, including his new beat tape and upcoming full-length releases. Prodigiously gifted and massively prolific, Cork beatmaker Chris Power has spent the past few years honing his craft live and in-studio, focusing on solo material and production for several collaborative projects. New mixtape WhytFaux:…
Mike McGrath-Bryan 