Irish rap

Last updated

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.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Irish hip hop originated in the early 1990s [1] being influenced by the 1970s movement for hip-hop in New York. The original Irish hip-hop was politically driven due to the tension of The Troubles in the early 1990s, and mixed music styles of both traditional music and Rudeboy Dancehall. [2] Irish rap genres, such as drill and grime, are mainly influenced by UK rap while alt-rap and Irish hip hop have a greater influence from the US. Irish rap is mainly listened to people in Ireland and to a lesser extent people in the UK. [3] [ original research? ]

Genres

Alt rap

Alt rap (a.k.a. alternative hip hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop that does not conform to traditional hip-hop genres but instead blurs genres together. [4] Alt rap first came on the scene in 1980s when artists such as De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde began combining existing genres of hip-hop to create music with an undefined genre, but mainly hip-hop influence. [5] This is the most commercially successful out of all the Irish rap genres with multiple songs having over 100 million Spotify streams,[ citation needed ] including "Herside Story" by Hare Squead. [6]

Artists

Rapper Amine worked with Rejjie Snow for their 2018 collaboration 'Egyptian Luvr' Amine performing on Jimmy Fallon in 2017 (crop).png
Rapper Amine worked with Rejjie Snow for their 2018 collaboration 'Egyptian Luvr'

Rejjie Snow is one of the most commercially successful Irish rappers.[ citation needed ] He is from Drumcondra, Dublin and specialises in alternative rap. Having grown up in Dublin and relocating to Florida then Georgia, [7] and having Jamaican/Nigerian heritage, [8] Rejjie Snow is influenced by US Alt Rappers Tyler The Creator and N.E.R.D. [9]

Snow's first album Dear Annie had mixed reviews with a Metacritic score of 79. [10] The album, however, gained over 185 million streams since its release in 2018. [11] Snow achieved his first song to exceed 100 million streams on Spotify whilst collaborating with American singer Clairo on her 2018 EP Diary 001. The song was the opening song of the EP and was titled "Hello?". [12] Despite not officially being made a single, the song went on to be RIAA certified gold [13] and garner over 150 million streams on Spotify. [14] Rejjie Snow also has collaborations with US artists such as Aminé, MF DOOM, [15] Joey Bada$$, [16] Tinashe, [17] and Snoh Aalegra. [18]

Other alt rappers in Ireland include Hare Squead, Hygashy, Rejjie Snow, Versatile, Malaki, and Denise Chaila. Some of these rappers have also collaborated with other artists. For example, Denise Chaila collaborated with Ed Sheeran on his song "2step", [19] Versatile collaborated with Coolio on their song "Escape Wagon", [20] and Rejjie Snow's collaborated with Amine 'Egyptian Luvr'. [21]

Grime/drill

Grime is an eclectic style of British rap music that emerged in London in the early 2000s. [22] It features elements of a variety of genres such as dancehall, hip-hop, and electronic music. UK grime was initially broadcast in the UK on pirate radio stations, without a broadcasting license, which initially prevented it from achieving success in the UK. [23]

Drill is a subgenre of hip-hop with lyricism resembling gangsta rap and beats similar to trap music with a focus on a deep bass. [24] It originated in Chicago in the early 2010s and emerged in London, England in 2012. American drill artists include Chief Keef, Pop Smoke, and Fivio Foreign, and UK drill artists include Tion Wayne, Aitch, and Digga D.

Both UK grime and UK drill influenced the genres of Irish grime/drill when it was introduced in Ireland during the 2010s. The Irish grime/drill scene is a niche market with similar lyricism, style, and beats as UK grime/drill. [25]

Artists

Two examples of Irish grime/drill rappers are the eight-man rap group A92, and one of their members Tomas Adeyinka (Offica). A92 and Offica's collaboration with English producer, Fumez the Engineer, "Plugged" in Freestyle', charted for 12 weeks on the Irish charts peaking at #29 [26] and charted for 11 weeks on the UK charts peaking at #39. [27]

A92 is an Irish drill and hip hop group with eight members. They are from Drogheda, Ireland which has a postal code of A92, hence their name. [28] The group rose to notability when their "Plugged in Freestyle" took off on TikTok. Users began using the audio for "Plugged in Freestyle" due to Dbo's deep voice which contrasts with Ksav's previous verse. Tiktoker Joshuaadzz was able to gain over 500 thousand likes on multiple videos using this trend. [29] [ original research? ] A92 has also gathered millions of streams on other songs such as their Next Up Freestyle for Mixtape Madness, Season Finale with Fumez the Engineer, and A9 Link up. [30] Group member Offica has also found individual success with songs like Bluebird and Naruto Drillings, which was remixed by YouTuber KSI in 2019. [31]

Other Irish grime/drill artists include Smilez, INK, and Chuks.[ citation needed ]

Irish language rap

Irish people who speak the Irish language in 2011 Irish speakers in 2011.png
Irish people who speak the Irish language in 2011

Rap as Gaeilge ('rapping in Irish') is a subgenre of hip hop that uses the Irish language in the lyrics. Traces of Irish language rap can be found in the 1990s from artists such as ScaryÉire and Marxman. [32] The beat and style of rap is heavily influenced by reggae and Jamaican dancehall, with lyrical focus on political matters. [33] Similar to how US hip hop has been a staple for black resistance, Irish Hip Hop is used to express Irish resistance. [34] Although the troubles ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement, the effects still are felt by the people of Ireland, particularly those in Northern Ireland. These effects can be seen in the lyrics of Irish language rappers such as KNEECAP.

This is a niche genre of rap with few listeners. As of 2016, approximately 1.76 million people said they can speak Irish, with only 74 thousand speaking it daily. [35] This lack of Irish knowledge causes Irish language rappers to have a limited target audience.[ original research? ]

Artists

KNEECAP are a Belfast trio, consisting of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, & DJ Próvaí, who rap mainly in Irish with some English mix. [36] The group have pioneered the popularity of Rap as Gaeilge by becoming the first Irish speaking rap group to achieve three songs exceeding 1 million streams on Spotify (Get Your Brits Out, H.O.O.D & C.E.A.R.T.A). [37] [ original research? ] Their songs contain nationalist messages and their strong stance on creating a United Ireland. [38] Due to their lyrics, one of their tracks was pulled from the schedule on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. [39] While some critique the trio for its mention of drugs and violence, others commend the band for their effort to bring back the Irish language and allow the Irish to rediscover their culture. [40] The trio has been described as one of the pioneers of Irish rap by The NY Times, [41] The Guardian , [42] and the LA Times. [43]

Punk

Elayne Harrington aka Temper-Mental MissElayneous released her debut EP, Proletarian Restitution, and the single "Step in the ring" in 2012. [44] [45] The same year, she had a poem published in The Stinging Fly . [45] By then, she had an online following and encouraged girls in Finglas to express themselves through rap. [46] She appeared in the 2012 documentary Ireland's Rappers and in the 2014 RTÉ2 reality series Connected. [47] [48] President Michael D. Higgins, seeing her perform in 2012, said she was "letting her life flow through the rhythms and sounds." [49] [50] Her style of rap has been described as Anarcho-Punk. [51]

Other Irish language rappers include Imlé, Hazey Haze, and Ushmush.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture and values typical of urban gangs, reality of the world and street hustlers. Emerging in the late 1980s, gangsta rap's pioneers include Schoolly D of Philadelphia and Ice-T of Los Angeles, later expanding in California with artists such as N.W.A and Tupac Shakur. In 1992, via record producer and rapper Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg, and their G-funk sound, gangster rap broadened to mainstream popularity.

Grime is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of the earlier UK dance style UK garage, and draws influences from jungle, dancehall, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated breakbeats, generally around 140 beats per minute, and often features an aggressive or jagged electronic sound. Emceeing is a significant element of the style, and lyrics often revolve around gritty depictions of urban life.

Egyptian hip hop is a form of hip hop music in Egypt that draws its inspiration from local, regional and global events. Since the early 2000s, Egyptian Hip Hop has gained significant popularity and is listened to by a global audience prompted by the internet as the latest medium of technology and music streaming services such as Spotify and Anghami.

Dirty rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that contains lyrical content revolving mainly around sexually explicit subjects.

Hip hop or hip-hop, also known as rap and formerly as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s from the African American community. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music that often accompanies rapping, a rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. In the early 1990s, a professor of African American studies at Temple University said, "Hip-hop is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own." By the 21st century, the field of rappers had diversified by both race and gender. The music developed as part of the broader hip-hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, breakdancing, and graffiti art. While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of the culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.

This article is an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Badass discography</span>

The discography of American rapper Joey Badass consists of three studio albums, 2 extended play (EP), three mixtapes, and 24 singles.

Gqom, gqom tech, sgubhu, 3-Step or G.Q.O.M) is an African electronic dance music genre and subgenre of house music, that emerged in the early 2010s from Durban, South Africa, pioneered and innovated by music producers Naked Boyz, Rudeboyz, Sbucardo, Griffit Vigo, Nasty Boyz, DJ Lag, Menzi Shabane, Distruction Boyz and Citizen Boy.

UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. While being sonically distinct from Chicago drill music, it embraces its aesthetic and melds it with road rap, a British style of gangsta rap that became popular in the years prior to the existence of drill. UK drill lyrical content tends to be truculent, depicting the harsh realism of their lifestyles. The explicit lyricism has stimulated discussion about whether the subgenre is a factor in an increase in knife crime in London. Gang affiliation and socioeconomically-deprived backgrounds are common amongst UK drill artists.

Urbano music or Latin urban is a transnational umbrella category including many different genres and styles. As an umbrella term it includes a wide and diverse set of genres and styles such as dancehall, dembow, urban champeta, funk carioca, Latin hip hop and reggaeton. The commercial breakthrough of this music took place in 2017 with artists from Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico, the United States, Venezuela and even non-Spanish-speaking nations, such as Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken.

<i>Snowmads</i> 2019 studio album by Onyx

SnowMads is the eighth studio album by American hip hop group Onyx, released on November 15, 2019 via Goon MuSick.

Harlem Spartans, often abbreviated to HS, also known as Harlem O or simply Harlem, is a British hip hop collective based in Kennington, London. Members of Harlem Spartans have acquired over 100 million streams through their music. The name, "Harlem", is a nickname for their local area of Kennington. The police allege that Harlem Spartans is a gang, however this is denied by the group.

Denise Chaila is an Irish -Zambian rapper, singer, poet, grime and hip hop artist based in Limerick.

Brooklyn drill is a regional subgenre of drill music, which is a subgenre of rap music. It centered in Brooklyn, New York, that began as derivative of the drill music scene in Chicago and later became derivative of UK drill with its 808 percussion and sliding notes by producers from the UK drill scene. Brooklyn drill emerged around 2014 with the single "Hot Nigga" from the rapper Bobby Shmurda. Other early contributors were Rowdy Rebel, Bam Bino, Money Millz, Dah Dah and Curly Savv.

Hyperpop is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early 2010s. It is characterised by a maximalist or exaggerated take on popular music, and artists within the microgenre typically integrate pop and avant-garde sensibilities while drawing on elements commonly found in electronic, hip hop, and dance music.

A92 is an Irish drill collective based in Drogheda. Named after the postal code of Drogheda town, A92 was formed in 2020 and went viral following the release of "Plugged In Freestyle".

Tomas Adedayo Adeyinka, commonly known by his stage name Offica, is an Irish rapper of Nigerian descent. During a youth soccer career between 2016 and 2019, he released his debut single "No Hook" in 2018, going viral following the release of "Naruto Drillings" in 2019 and "Plugged In Freestyle" alongside drill collective A92 in 2020.

Jahrell Bryan, commonly known as Fumez the Engineer, is a British rapper and audio engineer from London. Joining Pressplay Media - a UK rap platform - in 2012, he later moved to Link Up TV, where he would stay before moving back to Pressplay Media following the beginning of his Plugged In freestyle series in 2020. Between his move to Link Up TV and his return to Pressplay, he would release two mixtapes, named The Mix-Tape and The Mix-Tape 2, with the latter being released in 2018.

Welsh hip hop is a genre of Welsh music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in Wales.

References

  1. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (2018-03-23). "Hip-Hop With an Irish Lilt". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  2. "Know Your History: The origins of Irish hip hop Vol.1". District Magazine. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  3. "Google Trends". Google Trends. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  4. "Alternative Rap Music Genre Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  5. "Alternative Hip-Hop Music: 5 Notable Alt Hip-Hop Artists". MasterClass. 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  6. "Hare Squead". Spotify. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  7. "Rejjie Snow | SXSW 2016 Event Schedule". SXSW Schedule 2016. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  8. "Rejjie Snow Is Leaving Ireland To Be An American Rap Success Story". The FADER. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  9. "Rejjie Snow: Dear Annie". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  10. Dear Annie by Rejjie Snow , retrieved 2023-03-07
  11. Dear Annie, 2018-02-16, retrieved 2023-03-07
  12. Clairo (Ft. Rejjie Snow) – Hello? , retrieved 2023-03-07
  13. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  14. Hello? , retrieved 2023-03-07
  15. "Rejjie Snow Shares New Song With MF DOOM and Cam O'bi". Pitchfork. 2020-07-13. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  16. "Rejjie Snow Shares Smooth New Single "Purple Tuesday" feat. Joey Badass and Jesse Boykins III - Okayplayer". www.okayplayer.com. 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  17. "Rejjie Snow Links Up With Tinashe, Grouptherapy For New Drop "Disco Pantz"". Complex. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  18. "Rejjie Snow and Snoh Aalegra Connect For Smooth New Song "Mirrors"". Hypebeast. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  19. Gallagher, Katie (2022-05-18). "Denise Chaila to release song with Ed Sheeran". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  20. "Coolio hails Ringsend as the "Compton of Europe" on new Versatile track". JOE.ie. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  21. "Rejjie Snow: "Egyptian Luvr" [ft. Aminé & Dana Williams]". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  22. "Grime Music Guide: Understanding British Grime Music". MasterClass. 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  23. "How Pirate Radio Made Grime Great, Again". The FADER. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  24. Jackson, Jon (2022-09-23). "What Is Drill Music and Why Did Rolling Loud Remove It From the Lineup?". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  25. "The rise of Irish drill". DJMag.com. 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  26. "irishcharts.com - Discography A92". www.irish-charts.com. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  27. "FUMEZ THE ENGINEER/A92/OFFICA | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  28. "A92's rise to fame begins". independent. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  29. "Adz on TikTok". TikTok. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  30. "A92". Spotify. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  31. Moodle, Alice (2019-07-21). "KSI joins Offica on the remix of "Naruto Drillings"". GRM Daily. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  32. Griffth, Rollefson (2020). Hip Hop interpellation: Rethinking autochthony and appropriation in Irish rap (1st ed.). Ireland: Routledge. ISBN   9781138336032.
  33. "The Best Irish Rap of 2019". Passion of the Weiss. 2019-12-24. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  34. Rolston, Bill (January 2001). "'This is not a Rebel Song': The Irish Conflict and Popular Music". Race & Class. 42 (3): 49–67. doi:10.1177/0306396801423003. ISSN   0306-3968.
  35. "Census of Population 2016 – Profile 10 Education, Skills and the Irish Language - CSO - Central Statistics Office". www.cso.ie. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  36. "Who are KNEECAP? Everything you need to know about the Irish rappers in trouble with both BBC and RTÉ". www.dailyedge.ie. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  37. "KNEECAP". Spotify. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  38. Ó hÍr, Liam; Strange, Louis (2021-05-27). "Tiocfaidh Ár Lá, get the brits out, lad: masculinity and nationalism in Irish-language rap videos". Social Semiotics. 31 (3): 466–488. doi: 10.1080/10350330.2021.1930856 . ISSN   1035-0330.
  39. O'Toole, Lucy. "KNEECAP spark controversy in Belfast with 'Brits Out' chant". Hotpress. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  40. Mullally, Una (2022-03-16). "A Celtic Revival, in Hip-Hop and More". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  41. Mullally, Una (2022-03-16). "A Celtic Revival, in Hip-Hop and More". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  42. Coney, Brian (2022-08-19). "'We're not an army – we're three boys from Belfast': rap crew Kneecap laugh off their week of controversy". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  43. Noelker, Annie (2022-05-26). "A night out with Kneecap, Ireland's political hip-hop rebels". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  44. Heslin, Maeve (6 March 2012). "Miss-Terious Girl". Hot Press . Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  45. 1 2 Murphy, Lauren (19 August 2012). "Rolling with the punches and throwing her own". The Times . Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  46. Coulter, Peter (15 July 2012). "Irish Rappers Revealed: Meet the new stars of Ireland's booming rap scene". BBC News . Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  47. "TV: Has reality TV just got real?". Sunday Business Post . 28 September 2014. ProQuest   1565941234 . Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  48. McCahill, Elaine (2 October 2014). "'I can't get a job with my Finglas accent' - Connected's Elayne Harrington aka Temper-Mental MissElayneous". Irish Independent . Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  49. Feehan, Conor (29 August 2013). "Riot-arrest rapper fronts Guinness ad". Irish Independent . Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  50. "Watch: Temper-Mental MissElayneous @ The Music Show". Hot Press . 26 February 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  51. "The Word" (PDF). www.discoverboynevalley.ie. Drogheda Arts Festival. 2015. p. 15.