The fact that the premiere of Broken Song, Claire Dix’s stunning documentary about three of the men guiding Ireland’s hip hop evolution, boasted queues out the door at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival last month proves that there’s a healthy appetite here for the musical tales of homegrown rappers. However, this thriving scene has yet to produce a breakthrough record.
Having both separately released albums in the last 12 months, two of the film’s stars, no-nonsense rhymer Costello and prolific beatmaker GI, come together for a debut collaborative LP, a confident, soulful, head-turning 18-tracker called MaryJane.
While the dreamy, groove-led sounds on MaryJane are unfailingly slick, the album’s lyrics can be forbidding, with titles like ‘Smack Haze’ and ‘Praises 2 Da Jungle’ suggesting a dip into hip hop cliché. Costello’s writing has the power to be engaging (‘Put Your Ls Up’), insightful (‘Strange Clue’) and strikingly thought-provoking (‘Mary’), but at other times, the subject matter ploughs too familiar a furrow.
That said, a bunch of earwormish hooks and curious samples make MaryJane a fascinating listen, helped along by vocal contributions from a cast of unnamed rappers and singers, including honey-voiced singer Willa Lee. The talented folk at Workin’ Class Records have yet to provide us with a landmark, breakthrough album that would take Irish hip hop on to another level, but GI and Costello’s contribution is a dauntless step in the right direction.