Irish hip-hoppers Shaymin (left) and Slaine will join forces tonight at the Middle East.
It's been 15 years since House of Pain jumped around extolling the virtues of shamrocks and shenanigans, but the idea of Irish hip-hop is no novelty to a group of upstart rhymers. Maybe it's that famous gift of the gab, but as hip-hop has spread its influence around the globe over the past 30 years, more and more Irish and Irish-American rappers are getting into the game.
"The Irish Hip-Hop Throwdown" tonight at the Middle East Downstairs aims to shine a light on both artists from across the pond (Rob Kelly, Tanya D, DJ Mo-K, CMX) and MCs in our own backyard (Slaine of Special Teamz, "White Rapper" Sullee, Shaymin, Bobby Quarters, and DJ Holtie), all of whom bring a bit of the blarney to their rhymes. Some combine traditional Irish sounds with their beats, others lay down more traditional grooves. But all reference their Celtic heritage with pride.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Rich Cronin Hope Foundation, which promotes awareness about and raises funds for leukemia research. The foundation is headed up by Throwdown cohost, and former LFO member, Rich Cronin. He will share the intro duties with Danny Jamieson of "The Real World" fame.
We spoke with three of the participants about all things hip-hop, plus drinking, fighting, and Sinead O'Connor.
Rob Kelly Growing up in a remote corner of Ireland in the late '80s and early '90s, Kelly says he had to work hard to satisfy a hip-hop jones stoked by watching artists like A Tribe Called Quest and 3rd Base on a BBC show called "Dance Energy." "This is how much I loved hip-hop," he says in his friendly brogue. "When I was a teenager, they didn't stock a UK magazine called Hip-Hop Connection in Wexford. So, my uncle who was living in England used to send me the magazine every month. We didn't have cable, so when my sister [immigrated] to Germany, she used to tape 'Yo! MTV Raps' and send that to me every month." Kelly studied well and has been making a name for himself in radio freestyle battles, mixtapes, and his own independent releases, including last year's "Bragging Rights." Bostonians and Red Sox fans who attend tonight's show will likely recognize a familiar tune in Kelly's collaboration with fellow Throwdown performer Slaine. "Dropkicked" includes the opening banjo lick from "I'm Shipping Up to Boston." "But actually we didn't sample it; we took the music and replayed it," says Kelly with the hint of a giggle. "That's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it." On the bubbling, reggaefied track "Throw Down Ur Armz" Kelly samples countrywoman Sinead O'Connor's cover of the classic Burning Spear song of the same name. "I thought it was almost like a paradox in that she was a white Irish superstar taking an old black music art form in reggae and making it her own. I just thought, I'm a white Irish rapper, so what a perfect way to throw a twist on it and take it for a hip-hop song." As for the occasional references to boozing and brawling, Kelly isn't worried about perpetuating stereotypes. "I'm talking about my life as I grew up. It doesn't feel corny to me because it's natural to me," he says. "This is a drink culture. Ireland must be the only country in the world where you go drinking for a kid's confirmation." Shaymin "I was asked recently, 'What made you feel OK to be an Irish hip-hop artist?' and I said, 'Kevin Patrick O'Brien, you tell me,' " says the Norwood native, who is proud of his real name but goes by the nom de microphone Shaymin. It was Shaymin, which, naturally, stands for Stimulation Heals All Young Minds Influenced Negatively, who inspired tonight's show. A third-generation Irish-American, Shaymin is big on both Irish and hip-hop history and names filmmaker Jim Sheridan and Tupac as inspirations for songs like "Catholic Priest," which takes on the sex-abuse scandal, and "Lassie," a big up to treating your lady right. "It comes through the speaker blasting at you, but you know everything that you're hearing is the truth whether you want to believe it or not," he says. Performing locally for 15 years while holding down several day jobs, Shaymin applies a serious work ethic to his career. "I call my music like that of a blue-collar approach where I work for the people who support me," he says. "I call the people who support me passengers, aboard the same wild ride with me that is this industry. I'm going to go as far as they take me." Tanya D Tanya Dempsey wasn't always as confident about wading into hip-hop as her raps make her sound. For instance, on "Dublin Is Not Compton," she reveals that "bitch" is actually an acronym: "babe in total control (of) herself." But, says the 34-year-old Dubliner who performs as Tanya D, when she wrote her first rhyme at 14, a pesky inner voice kept telling her, "This is ridiculous, you can't do this, you're white and an Irish accent just doesn't work," she says on the phone from Ireland. Instead, Dempsey pursued life as a singer-songwriter. Then women like Lauryn Hill and Ms. Dynamite, and friends from the Ballyfermot Rock School, helped her work up the courage to follow her own heart. She became an MC in 2004. Dempsey says the burgeoning hip-hop scene in Dublin is beginning to welcome local artists as well as international ones, and hopes that the Throwdown will lend the effort some credibility. "This show is really a great opening for the whole Irish underground hip-hop scene because we hope with the support of all you guys over there, maybe people here will take it a bit more seriously, what we're doing," she says. "Because to the outside ear, people are kind of finding it weird, us rapping in an Irish accent, when everyone is so used to American hip-hop. It's just all new to the consciousness of the majority of the population here at the moment."
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
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