Nealo on touring the USA, signing with Diffusion Lab & Dublin's declining nightlife - #Mabcast 023

This week on the Mabcast Clonsilla's Nealo joined Jack and Dylan for a chat.

The former hardcore front man made the transition into rap music last year with his acclaimed 'October Year' EP and he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down since.

Young artists often face teething problems initially and Nealo notes his experience in the music game has allowed him to avoid such issues second time round. Recounting his experience touring America and Europe, the recent Diffusion Lab signee winds back the clock to give an insight into his work prior to 'Nealo'. 

Discussion gravitates towards Nealo exploring adding some of the more aggressive elements of his previous output into his new music and the potential difficulties of creating a wide ranging yet cohesive sound. These new challenges in music are coupled with his recent steps into fatherhood - a genuinely interesting stage in his life that is adding layers to his already accomplished sound.

Minus the poor reception of 'The Big Day', there are similarities drawn between Nealo and Chicago's Chance The Rapper. With both currently going through similar life changes, there is dialogue noting that despite the parallels between him and Chance its the tone and approach that differs, presenting the Irish rapper as a currently more interesting character.

There is a refreshing honesty to Nealo's approach and he isn't afraid to talk about the impact of drugs in his life. Acknowledging he made 'macho shit' in his 20s he notes there is no room for posturing anymore.

A recurring topic in many of the Mabcast interviews is the importance of singles versus longer projects and Nealo is pragmatic in his approach, ensuring he stays active with singles whilst steadily working towards dropping an album.

Taking a brief pause from music talk, there is discussion of the current housing crisis in Dublin and a decline in the number of spaces that encourage underground culture.

"We don't need more hotels, we have enough hotels for tourists. We need culture. If you don't have culture in the city there is nothing to visit. Its a plastic city"

There is recognition that the talent in Ireland's rap scene is not limited to Dublin, with Limerick among other cities presenting a hotbed of lyrical talent.  With interest in the genre in Ireland being more widespread than once believed, the importance of building a nationwide community in Ireland is woven throughout the conversation.

Keen to shout out his long time collaborators INNRSPACE, Adam Garrett, Molly Sterling, Nealo notes some of his most exciting live performances that included the live band such as the support slot for YG.