MabCast

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.

CBAKL Returns! Wisdom Is Misery, Ensuring Longevity & Punk Rap - #Mabcast 023

Drawing inspiration from Brockhampton, collaborating with rappers from across the country and the success of 'Wisdom Is Misery'.

The Mabcast has its first return guest this week in the form of esteemed producer CBAKL.

The Portrush beatsmith has had an incredible trajectory since his last appearance on the Irish hip hop podcast and recently dropped his album 'Wisdom Is Misery', to widespread acclaim.

In his first chat on the podcast, CBAKL was keen to grow his presence as an artist in Ireland, ensuring that he develops a solid following at home that can complement his already invested audience online. During his reappearance he confirmed his progress on that front with a stellar new EP with cult favourite Craic Boi Mental 'Last of the Summer Wine' and his ambitions to work with other established Irish acts.

The success of the 'Class Craic Beat Tape' evidences his desire to create a sense of community and awareness amongst Irish artists and producers. The tape itself contains many of the finest producers in the country and provides perhaps one of the only places to source the majority of the Emerald Isle's greatest producers.

The conversation develops and Dylan, Jack and CBAKL discuss the growth of punk rap in recent months and how it is developing against the political landscape, breeding new more socially engaged artists. These emerging trends alongside a bourgeoning Irish scene will only encourage an increasingly eclectic sound coming out of Ireland and beyond.

 

Camaraderie, Collaboration and Breaking Down Barriers To Entry - #Mabcast 021

 

Across genres collaboration has always been both inevitable and necessary. However in hip hop perhaps there is a tendency to spread the myth of the lone wolf approach. The 'hustle' and the 'come up' are intrinsically valuable in the story telling of the genre and many successful artists are keen to point out they made it on their own.

In reality hip hop is built on collaboration; Greats such as Outkast, Pete Rock & CL Smooth and Wu Tang Clan have benefitted from friendships under collective names.  Artists such as Kanye West have less overtly utilised collaboration; working extensively with long term collaborators like Mike Dean.

This week Jack and Dylan look at some of the collaborative approaches of artists and collectives in Ireland. The DIY ethos is a common feature of much of the hip hop output in the country at the moment and many are replicating the model utilised by the likes of Odd Future and Brockhampton.

Collectives like Gxrlcode and Rejektz Media are made up of not only musicians but graphic designers and videographers. The old adage 'Many hands make light work' proving convincing in the case of both rapidly growing groups.

In the bigger picture the media is quick to fabricate competitive divides between minority and/or female artists such as Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. Being part of a forward thinking collective can further a sense of community and respect, halting any attempts to cause unrest.

All this and more is discussed in the latest episode.

Trailblazing Against All Odds; Dena Anuk$a Talks Gxrlcode, Growing Up A Minority & Confidence - #Mabcast 020

The Mabcast is back and features a guest for the first time in a number of weeks. DJ, rapper and all round creative Dena Anuk$a dropped by Casa Del Mabfield for an in depth chat on her journey thus far.

As the first female guest on the show, it's only natural that the conversation gravitated to the lack of female representation in the hip hop industry in Ireland. Right from the get go, things are tough as a female in the music industry; The lack of representation is evident, the scarce number of female hip hop artists to look up to is disheartening and the lack of opportunities is a real challenge. Couple these issues with the difficulties faced as a minority and it'd be more than fair to say that the odds are stacked against Dena.

Despite these challenges she is releasing quality music, Djing at major festivals like Longitude and encouraging and inspiring other females to put their art into the world. Much of this work in channeled through Gxrlcode - a female collective making waves across the country. Dena talks of her aspirations for the Belfast branch that she heads and upcoming shows they have planned.

Much of the confidence needed to carry through her vision stems from intimidating open mic nights in Istanbul - where she lived for a short time and the support of her friends.

Comparisons are made between the scene in Dublin and Belfast and despite the north's capital being in its infancy it's clear there is an opportunity for it to be moulded into something special.

Irish Rap's Distinct Sound; Is Humorous Rap The Next Wave? - #Mabcast 019

Welcome to the latest instalment of the #Mabcast where Dylan is joined by Jack to talk all things Irish Hip hop.

Following the previous week's discussion on Versatile and their so called 'Satirical' content, it feels natural to gravitate towards a conversation surrounding humour in hip hop music in Ireland.

KNEECAP have been storming festival stages across the country  this summer and with another nationwide headline tour coming in September, they have become one of the most exciting acts in the country. What makes them so enticing is their use of the Irish language and humorous punchlines littered throughout their tracks.

This humorous approach to music is present with other acts such as TPM and like KNEECAP they have been racking up tens of thousands of views on youtube.  These commonalities raise questions surrounding 'viral' tracks and whether this style of witty hip hop will be the first wave of Irish hip hop to break ground internationally.

The episode reflects on rap and especially the more comical takes from the aforementioned acts as a response to political shortcomings. At times the self depreciating humour that is present frequently in Irish hip hop feels like the complete polar opposite to American rap's 'Flex' culture.

It then begs the question; Rather than a distinctive sound as such, is it actually the attitude sprinkled across much of the country's output that will be it's unique distinction when compared to contemporaries in other countries?

All this and more is discussed in the latest episode.

Versatile; Problematic Racism or Just a Laugh? - #Mabcast 018

Welcome to Episode 018 of the Mabcast where Jack and Dylan discuss the topic on everyone's lips at the moment - Versatile. The Irish rap duo have created a racism row resulting in numerous social media spats between supporters and critics. The Dublin rappers have sold out a date for the 3Arena and in doing so created history by being the first Irish rap act to do so; however their controversial lyrics in songs like 'Dublin City Gs' has led to widespread criticism. The discussion in this week's episode centres around the debacle and Jack and Dylan have their take on the controversy including chat about other responses from artists in the industry.

The Internet Age; Albums vs Singles & Being Authentic In Rap - #Mabcast 017

Welcome to the latest episode of the Mabcast featuring Jack and Dylan. Frequently focusing on the artists and creatives involved in the scene; the latest episode takes a more narrative approach that relies on examples of Irish artists to demonstrate the concepts in question.

The episode continues to provide the critical feedback to up coming Irish artists, with the episode opening with the track reviews featuring reviews on tracks from the likes of Alex Gough.

Using the most common method of music consumption - streaming, as the crutch through which to base the episode on; the Mabfield boys examine the importance of singles in comparison to albums. It's no secret that singles are becoming an increasingly more viable way to gain serious traction in a short amount of time. With  viral hits such as 'Old Town Road' or 'Gucci Gang' launching the careers of Lil Nas X and Lil Pump respectively.

However much can be said for the cultural importance of larger pieces of work. Albums provide longevity in a way that singles can't and the debate on the different types of releases gets deep in this episode.

Spotify playlists are an excellent method of quick distribution and immediate exposure to a large amount of consumers. However the argument can be and is made that these playlists do not generally develop genuine relationships between artists and those listening.

This combined with the never ending debate of authenticity in rap makes for an insightful episode that provides much food for thought.

They touch on shorter eps becoming the increasingly more important - encouraged by Kanye West's summer of 2018 where he produced many 5 track albums for artists. The ever decreasing attention span of audiences encourages the single culture perpetuated by Spotify.

Longitude, Breaking Out Internationally & District Magazine Launch Party - #Mabcast 016

Welcome to the latest instalment of the Mabcast where Dylan is joined by the new co-host Jack Rapanakis.

Irish hip hop is in an interesting time; The interest has never been higher and the DIY ethos is encouraging, however the recurring question remains how do the artists within the country gain an international platform?

This is the question that governed the latest episode and with this in mind Dylan and Jack examined recent prominent events in Ireland through this lens.

Longitude is arguably the biggest hip hop oriented festival in Ireland and gives slots to upcoming Irish acts. Though throughout the episode the point is made that Irish artists are still underrepresented and are given unfavourable time slots. Acts such as Nealo, Why-Axis and KneeCap in particular defied the odds and played to sizeable dedicated audiences.

The argument for an all Irish stage is presented and the conversation evolves into an examination on the growing dialogue around hip hop using the District Magazine launch party as the crutch. Many of the topics probes on the numerous panel discussions were again brought to life throughout the podcast.

As per all non guest episodes the boys critically review new tracks submitted to them and suggest new listens. One of the more insightful episodes that attempts to tackle the questions that haunt up and coming musicians – how to make a living.

Mabfield x Soul Doubt: 'Up Next' Documentary, Where We Started & More - #Mabcast 015

Welcome to a very special episode of the Mabcast. This week we linked up with Soul Doubt magazine founder Shane and SoundGuyOran alongside the creator of the 'Up Next' Irish hip hop documentary Bobby Zithelo. 'Up Next' was screened at the Workman's in Dublin alongside a live panel discussion and live performances to celebrate the 52nd episode of the Soul Doubt podcast. We got a chance to have a really chilled out conversation about the beginnings of Soul Doubt magazine and where it stemmed from. We spoke to Bobby about the inspiration for his documentary and where he is going next with the project. We even got into where the name 'Mabfield' came from and the work that goes into creating the episodes.

Getting Your Music On Radio and Beating The Spotify Algorithm; Hausu Records' Colm Explains - #Mabcast 013

This week Dylan is joined by Colm aka Hausu Record’s self proclaimed ‘PR Rat/Not a Manager’.

 

Hausu can be best described as a Cork are collective of artists. Despite Colm’s assertions that he is not ‘industry’, his experience working with Hausu has ensured he is more than capable of navigating the music industry’s numerous hurdles. 

 

He shares his experiences in PR and gives simple applicable advice for artists looking to get their music into major Spotify playlists and national radio.

 

The chat focuses on things such as creating the perfect press release, getting your name out there and how to network. Colm highlights organisations such as First Music Contact that can give artists sound, free advice regarding their music.

 

Dylan and Colm share their initial experiences of getting to know others within the Irish music scene and how you can tastefully get in contact with those who hold influence.

 

With Irish hip hop continually growing, the genre bending outputs that Hausu have facilitated come to the fore front of the conversation. With the likes of Pat Lagoon collaborating with Hausu’s Ghost King is Dead to create eclectic tracks.