Irish hip hop is the response to the hip hop cultural movement that originated in New York City in the 1970s which, at that time, was most popular with members of the African-American community. In the 1980s, breakdancing and graffiti were the first elements of hip hop to find their way to Ireland and, around the same time, an underground scene of hip-hop music began to emerge.
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In 1993 Irish hip hop came into view. The two main artists at this time were Marxman and Scary Éire.
Marxman were two Dubliners (MC Hollis Byrne and electronic musician Oisín Lunny) and two British Jamaicans (rapper MC Phrase and scratch mixer DJ Kay One) who brought out the album 33 Revolutions Per Minute on Talkin' Loud in 1993.[1] The album exercised Irish traditional music within a hip hop framework. It featured collaborations with Irish folk music guru Dónal Lunny (father of group member Oisín Lunny), Sinéad O'Connor (who had also worked with McLyte on the track "I Want Your (Hands on Me)"), DJ Premier (who produced "Drifting"), trad group Storm, and several others. They gained notoriety for the track "Sad Affair," which protested against the presence of British troops in Northern Ireland; the track was banned by the BBC and most other UK radio stations[2] for featuring lyrics such as "A six-county state is a bastard state / Why oh why can't we all integrate". This was followed in 1994 by an EP titled The Cynic, which cut down on the traditional influences and included some mellow instrumental tracks influenced by Massive Attack). In 1995 they released the Time Capsule LP on the More Rockers label, which was received without too much fuss. The band called an end to the project in 1995.
Since then the group has branched out to do other work, including introductory music for the Irish television channel Teilifís na Gaeilge, running their Pawnshop label, Oisin Lunny's soundtrack work, and recording under the name Minatone on Howie B's Pussyfoot label.
Scary Éire were pioneers of hip hop in Ireland. Headed by front man Rí-Rá, they have toured with U2 (as did Marxman), and opened for acts such as Gang Starr, Beastie Boys (with whom they also toured Europe), House of Pain, and Public Enemy. They had a track ("Lost for Words") on the 1993 album Planet Rap from Tommy Boy. They recorded a debut album that included production from Howie B, Tricky, Cutmaster Swift, DJ Mek and Sam Scuttery-Eye; they were then dropped by Island Records, who kept the rights to the album but did not release it. In 1995 Scary Éire reappeared on London independent label 11 Records and released "Dole Q"/"That's No Good To Me" on 12". The former song is about their various encounters on dole day and the latter a rugged, frenzied cypher. In March 2007, the group released The Scary Era - a collection of songs from the pre-Celtic Tiger years which had been 16 years in the waiting.
Rap Ireland first appeared in the mid-2000s as a printed publication covering both Irish Hip-Hop and Hip-Hop culture as a whole within Ireland. Having enjoyed early successes and developing offshoots into Concert events and DJ Schools, Rap Ireland has become established as the most popular urban brand in Ireland. Dedicated to the development and exposure of new Irish artists, Rap Ireland (through the RapIreland.com website) also cover Hip-Hop from around the world, through a staff of over 20 writers.
TERAWRIZT AKA Andy Brady is an Irish Rap Artist who's albums include Written in Stone and Re-visited.Terawrizt is also a member of Dublin rap supergroup Class A'z along with Redzer,Collie, Nu-Centz and Rawsoul.
Irish hip hop failed to break into the mainstream until the 1998 release of Optic Nerve (EP) by Exile Eye. Third Eye Surfers brought their own sound to Irish hip hop with their critically acclaimed album Filthy Folklore, released in 2001 and produced by DJ Wool (aka Glen Brady). Band members DJ Wool, Lisa Dee, Big Al, Richie C and MC Poetic quickly received recognition on the Irish hip hop scene and followed their album's success with a 12" vinyl titled Third Eye Mindstate, which landed them a Best Newcomer Award at the Smirnoff Dance Awards in the Temple Theatre, Dublin. Touring Ireland, Third Eye Surfers began to build a solid fan base, supporting such names as Public Enemy, Jurassic 5, The Pharcyde and Sugarhill Gang. The band called it a day in 2002. DJ Wool is now a founding member of New York-based punk-funk/electronic outfit The Glass and is signed to Stretch Arm Strong's Plant Records. He and The Glass are constantly touring the world and releasing records and remixes by the likes of R.E.M., INXS, Jennifer Lopez, Just Jack, Howie B, Ghostface Killah and Killah Priest. In 2008 DJ Wool engineered and mixed the Billboard Charting Baltimore Club album 12 Steps by Tittsworth, featuring appearances by Kid Sister, DJ Assault, The Federation, Nina Sky and others. His remixes of "Broke Ass N*gga" (featuring DJ Assault) and "WTF" (featuring Santogold and Pase Rock) featured widely on popular music blogs, including Discobelle, The Music Slut, and Brookly Vegan.
Messiah J & The Expert are a rapper/producer duo from Dublin, Ireland, originally part of three-piece Creative Controle with DJ Mayhem. Their first release, the single "First Place", came out in September 2003, quickly followed by their debut album, What's Confusing You? Over the years, they have supported Public Enemy, The Street, Gang Starr, De La Soul, Jurassic 5, Wyclef Jean, Buck 65, The Pharcyde, El-P, Jeru The Damaja and others. In March 2006, they released a 12" single featuring New York rapper C-Rayz Walz, entitled "When The Bull Gores The Matador", on their own label, Inaudible Records. This was followed in September 2006 by the release of "Something Outta Nothing". In October 2006 they released the album Now This I Have To Hear, which was nominated for a Choice Music Prize in January 2007.[3] In October 2008 they released From The Word Go, which was nominated for a Choice Music Prize in January 2009.[4]
The Rubberbandits are comedy rappers and producers from Limerick City who perform anonymously in costume. Having started off making prank phone calls, they ventured into hip hop in 2008. They have supported Ice Cube and Alabama 3. Their track "Bags of Glue" became an underground hit in 2008. Another track, "Up Da Ra" (a satirical song about Irish history) created much controversy on YouTube and MySpace. Nialler 9 of State magazine has listed the Rubberbandits as his number two international act "to watch for 2009."[5]
The Infomatics are an Irish hip hop musical ensemble from Dublin. They consist of Bugs, BOC, Steo (aka Konchus Lingo) and Mr. Dero. Steo's brother, Damien Gunn, was lead vocalist and saxman with DC Nien, a 1970s band who at one stage rivalled U2.
The Infomatics have released one album titled Kill or Create. They participated in interactive music television series The Raw Sessions in 2009, winning the overall series. Since winning they have been dubbed "the loudest voice in Irish hip hop".[1] They have been awarded the title Sony Ericsson Artist of the Year.
The Irish Undaground has evolved through various forms, including an eColumn authored by Kounter Kulture that first appeared in 2003, and an extensive album collection of Kounter Kulture's personal songs, collaborations, radio interviews, music videos, a documentary and Ireland's first Top 10 chart show for Irish hip hop, which began on 1 April 2006. On 20 April 2010, the Irish Undaground launched a radio station that plays Irish hip hop all day.[6]