- Music
- 02 Oct 14
With his third album, 1988, making waves on the Irish hip hop scene, Lethal Dialect is full of praise for none other than fellow Dubliner Damien Dempsey.
“I’ve known him now a couple of years," Lethal says in the new issue of Hot Press. “He’s one of them characters. He’s a genuine bloke, but because he’s so genuine and such a person of the people he has to be careful...”
Producer JackKnifeJ is also a fan; “I’m from the same housing estate as him”, “He’s a legend round there, really sought after. If he went into a pub now, everyone would be trying to buy him pints, everyone would want to talk to him. He’s just so revered, and such a humble person as well."
Dempsey’s distinctive tones can be heard on 1988's defiant closer, ‘Brave’.
“That’s the biggest compliment I’ve ever received,” Lethal beams. “We sent Damo’s producer John Reynolds, who’s a great guy too, the ProTools files thinking he’d just sing the hook, but they came back with a whole outro segment.”
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While 1988 take Irish hip hop to the next level, it is also tinged with sadness as the album acts as a memorial to guitarist Liam Pritchard, who took his own life earlier this year.
“We never saw it coming, but then again Liamo played his cards close to his chest. Fuck all that ‘don’t show any weakness’ bollocks. It’s not weakness to say, ‘I need help’."
Read the rest of the interview in the current issue of Hot Press, in stores now!