Great article by @UnaMullally in the Irish Times about the rise of Irish hip hop. Includes the observation (at the heart of the conclusion to Flip the Script) that:
“Hip hop is rooted in storytelling, and perhaps nowhere is its compatibility with Irish fireside chats more expertly displayed than on one of the finest tracks of the year, Paul Alwright’s The Auld Chinaman, a stunning piece of storytelling about the legendary Dublin pub in the title. “These are real stories, real places and real people,” the song declares.
We can talk about how scenes thrive away from radio play and industry interest, or how immigration contributes invaluably to a nation’s creative and cultural output. We can also talk about how pride in multifaceted identities has taken hold in Ireland’s music scene elsewhere too. Electronic music and rock music is thriving, and emerging bands, including Pillow Queens and Fontaines DC, reject mid-Atlanticisms, even overemphasising their Irish accents, the distorted rounding of vowels becoming a declaration of place.
I recently came across a photo posted online by the clothing label DBLNR, who co-opted the Palace streetwear logo for a T-shirt declaring “The Auld Triangle”.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a bit cocky”, declares one of their images, text overlaid on a black-and-white photo of Phil Lynott. No there is not. How brilliant it is to see – and hear – a generation walking forward with such endearing swagger and excellence.”
Well said… (and clever title! It takes a Nation of Millions…)
Read the full article here: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/una-mullally-it-took-a-nation-of-immigrants-to-bring-irish-hip-hop-to-life-1.3694110
Flip the Script: European Hip Hop and the Politics of Postcoloniality 