Elayne Harrington | |
|---|---|
 Elayne Harrington in 2024 | |
| Born | 1987or1988(age 36–37) [1] Finglas, Dublin, Ireland |
| Other names | Temper-Mental MissElayneous |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, rapper, sculptor |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Spoken word, hip-hop |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, bodhrán |
| Website | Official website |
Elayne Adamczyk Harrington, also known as Temper-Mental MissElayneous, is an Irish hip hop musician, poet and visual artist. [2] [3]
Harrington (born 1987or1988) is from Finglas, a suburb of Dublin. [4] [5] Her mother was a union activist and her father a musician. She also has a sister. [6] As a child, she attended union meetings with her mother. [7] [2] She wrote her first poem when she was nine and started rapping around age eleven. At fourteen, she named herself "Temper Mental". [4] [8]
According to the Sunday Independent in 2013, [9]
She cannot be categorised. There is no one box into which MissElayneous fits neatly and that's just the way she likes it. "How I'd describe myself as an artist is so broad," she says. "I'm a leonine; an ego-wrestling, lion-hearted one; an androgynous who uses the cultural movement of hip hop as a medium to portray messages of social awareness and individual empowerment."
Her debut EP, Proletarian Restitution, and the single "Step in the ring" was released in 2012. [4] [2] The same year, she had a poem published in The Stinging Fly . [2] By then, she had an online following and encouraged girls in Finglas to express themselves through rap. [10] She appeared in the 2012 documentary Ireland's Rappers and in the 2014 RTÉ2 reality series Connected. [11] [12] President Michael D. Higgins, seeing her perform in 2012, said she was "letting her life flow through the rhythms and sounds." [1] [13]
A writer with The Irish Times stated in 2013 "As long as this country is producing authentic artists with original voices like [Harrington] this is still a wonderful place." [14] The same year she appeared in a commercial for the Arthur Guinness Project, which seeks to promote "creative innovation in Ireland". [1] One critic, who was not a fan of hip-hop and believed that some of Harrington's pieces were "thrown together", nevertheless compared her to the British poet Kate Tempest and said "she is well worth paying to see". [15] A 2015 article in the Irish Independent said that she "serves up her unique brand of rapping, hip-pop, bodhrán-beating, urban spoken word to growing audiences of teenagers in schools in Dublin's Northside. Teachers, impressed by her adept skill at bringing poetry to life for students, often call her back even to read aloud the poetry that's on the curriculum". [16]
Harrington has been involved in the issue of homelessness in Dublin. She was herself homeless at times, [17] [8] and carried her belongings in her bodhrán case. [18] She says "I became very resourceful but it was very dangerous and destructive and has had long term implications. It takes years to recover from homelessness - if you ever fully do". [18] She has done community work in primary schools and youth centres, using her own hip hop curriculum. According to Harrington, "Hip hop is central to a sense of crews and a sense of community so I use it to develop that sense in young people". [7] She played bodhrán and read poetry at a protest during a state visit by Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland in 2011, and was arrested together with other protesters. [12] [1]
As a graduate of fine art of National College of Art and Design in 2019, she displayed her work Instrumental, exploring "the ideas of the working class, the eight hour work day and the appropriation of working class labour and produce." [19] [3] In 2021, she received a residency at the Dean Arts Studio in Dublin, in a partnership with the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). [18]
Lana Michele Moorer, better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a full solo album with 1988's critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. The album spawned the singles "10% Dis" and "Paper Thin".
Yolanda "Yo-Yo" Whitaker is an American rapper and actress.
"Alright" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). Written by Jackson and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the song was released on March 4, 1990, by A&M Records as the fourth single from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. In the United Kingdom, it was issued as the album's fifth single in June 1990.
"Enough Cryin" a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Sean Garrett, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins for her seventh studio album, The Breakthrough (2005), while production was helmed by the latter. The song introduces Blige's rap alter ego, Brook Lynn, who delivers the song's rap verse. Blige's rap verse was originally written by Jay-Z for Foxy Brown, but Jerkins rejected Brown's vocals and it was instead suggested that Blige record the verse herself.
Nuala Holloway is an Irish artist and teacher and former actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Ireland International 1975.
"Miss Independent" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. It is the second single from his album. Year of the Gentleman (2008), and was produced by Stargate. It samples the song "Forget About Me" by Keesha. The song was written by Ne-Yo and co-written by Stargate. It was released as a music download on August 26, 2008, and physical release on September 2, 2008.
Maura Harrington is a spokesperson for the Shell to Sea campaign, from County Mayo, Ireland. A retired school principal of Inver National School, she has been jailed on a number of occasions for her involvement in Shell to Sea protests.
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-born rapper, singer, and songwriter based in the United States. Often referred to as the "Queen of Rap", she is known for her dynamic rap flow, witty lyrics, musical versatility, and alter egos. She first gained recognition after releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009.
The first series of The All Ireland Talent Show was announced in November 2008 and commenced broadcasting on 4 January 2009, completing its first series on 15 March 2009. Modelled on Britain's Got Talent, it was produced by Tyrone Productions. Airing on RTÉ One, it was hosted by Gráinne Seoige.
Amethyst Amelia Kelly, known professionally as Iggy Azalea, is an Australian rapper, songwriter, and model. Born in Sydney, Australia, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognition after releasing the music videos for her songs "Pussy" and "Two Times" on YouTube. Shortly after releasing those two songs, she released her debut mixtape, Ignorant Art (2011), and subsequently signed a recording contract with American rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle label.
Marlanna Evans, better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. After signing with music producer 9th Wonder's music label It's a Wonderful World Music Group, she released a series of mixtapes and collaborated with Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli. Soon afterwards Rapsody released her debut album The Idea of Beautiful (2012). She would attain further prominence when she was featured on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, on the track "Complexion ".
Azealia Amanda Banks is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. She subsequently signed with Interscope and Polydor Records before separating in 2013. Banks became an independent artist and started her own independent record label, Chaos & Glory Recordings. She later signed to Parlophone and Warner Records before quitting her label in 2023.
Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson, known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian singer and rapper. First discovered by Sean Kingston, he received initial recognition for his mixtape Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story, released in August 2013. In 2015, Lanez signed with record producer Benny Blanco's Mad Love Records, an imprint of Interscope Records.
Elizabeth Eden Harris, known professionally as Cupcakke, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter known for her hypersexualized, brazen, and often comical persona and music.
Tierra Helena Whack is an American rapper and singer. She originally performed as "Dizzle Dizz" as a teenager but reverted to her birth name in 2017. Her debut mixtape, Whack World, was released in May 2018 and received widespread critical acclaim. Her song "Mumbo Jumbo" was nominated at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Music Video. Whack has since collaborated with Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Tyler, the Creator, Chief Keef, and Melanie Martinez.
Alyssa Michelle Stephens, known professionally as Latto, is an American rapper and singer from Atlanta, Georgia. She first appeared on Jermaine Dupri's reality television series The Rap Game in 2016, where she was known as Miss Mulatto and won the show's first season, but rejected the award of signing with Dupri's So So Def Recordings.
Denise Chaila is an Irish -Zambian rapper, singer, poet, grime and hip hop artist based in Limerick.
Samantha Libreri is an Irish journalist for RTÉ News, where she has been the Eastern correspondent since 2024.
Irish hip hop, also known as Irish rap, is a term for any hip hop music produced and performed by a person who was born or grew up in Ireland. This genre is made up of a variety of subgenre such as Irish grime/drill, Irish language rap, alternative rap and Irish trap. Each of these may infuse influences from both Irish culture and another culture.
