The Goo 1
Jack McBain MAR '25 HIP-HOP There was an almighty
return to the Irish rap scene recently when the legend Smokey made his comeback to the rap world with ‘Superman’. A song that delves into the life of a man who is sick and tired of responsibilities and wants to take a break, something we can all relate to, is a catchy tune that showcases some impressive wordplay from one of the country’s finest MC’s. Produced by London based Halfpipe who is a fantastic rapper in his own right. It’s great to see Smokey back rapping, the Irish rap scene is a better place with him making music. Another year of The Grammys came and went with his history being made in the rap category as Doechii became only the third women ever to win the rap album of the year category for her record ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal’. A huge moment for her and the scene. Alongside that Kendrick Lamar had a clean sweep receiving five Grammy wins making the most awarded rap artist in the show’s history with 22 wins to his name. Hype for his upcoming Super Bowl half-time show is currently through the roof as I’m writing this. What a way to cap off a historic few months for the Compton rapper. There was some solid releases from Irish rapper this month with one of the OG’s of the scene Beano released his new EP titled ‘Trap #7’ produced by No Venom. The EP is an ode to 90s rap music with boom bap production and hard hitting lyrics any fans of old school rap should definitely check this one out. Walshy is back with a new track titled ‘Fight Club’ alongside frequent collaborator Curtisy. This track is a fun bouncy track that pokes fun at the toxic ‘gym bro’ stereotype. The tracks chorus is sung by a full gospel and is definitely one of the highlights of this track. Anyone who has heard the duo’s song ‘mm mm good (in the cellar)’ will know that when these two link up it’s always something special. The RTE Choice Music awards nominations came out recently with rap music being represented well on the list. Curtisy and Kneecap were both nominated for the album of the year category with their albums ‘What Was The Question’ and ‘Fine Art’ up for the prestigious gong. Belfast’s Jordan Adetunji also received nominations for single of the year for his viral track ‘Kehlani’ and both artist of the year and breakthrough artist of the year. Although it was great to see this representation for a genre that has been largely ignored for years by the mainstream media it was disappointing to see Travis & Elzzz not get a nomination for their charting topping album ‘Blockbuster’ Speaking of Kneecap the Belfast trio recently announced their biggest Irish shows to date with two headline shows at Dublin’s 3Arena in December. Anyone who went to their run of dates in Vicar Street last October will know these are gigs not to miss. 39