Live Report: Minnie Marley introduces Afrobeat hip-hop to the Y&E series

Back in April, Irish based rapper Minnie Marley gave an enchanting performance of her original hip-hop songs on the Y&E series. She stood alone, accompanied only by impeccably produced backing tracks. Her presence and vocal stylings have a magnetic energy, despite her claims of being a bit nervous.

Her music draws inspiration from a diverse range of artists – including Bob Marley, Aaliyah, and Ciara. Marley has established herself as a serious 'one to watch' in recent years. Her releases - which blend elements of Afrobeat, dancehall, hip-hop, and pop - are often paired with vibrant visuals. In 2020, she joined forces with Dublin rapper Dubzeno for a remix of 'Tick Tack'.

Minnie has self-released a slew of great tracks since her start in 2018. Gathering a wider audience and broadening her reach, she gained the title of queen of Irish urban music in 2020.

Her passion for singing grew when Minnie sang in choir all throughout her high school years. Seeking to gain knowledge both on the business and production side of music, Minnie went on to graduate from Cork Academy Of Music College.

She starts the show with 'Tik Tack' a catchy, fiery, anti-love song. The backing beats are minimalistic, but layered. Adding to the performance, Minnie emotes along with the song with heaps of charm and style. She follows up with 'Vibes' a sultry, club ready track.

'Vexed' is a song inspired by anger, showing more range in the rapper's discography. The steamy music video for the song has gotten over 100,000 hits on Youtube.

Her next song 'Glue' is the opposite of vexed, the dancehall love song is her latest single, released in 2020. Her laid-back vocal style shines on this song. She also shares 'My Way' as an ode to girl power, empowerment being one of the main themes of her music.

To finish, she played an unreleased song so new it doesn't even have a name, "I might name it 'Yard' or something, I don't know, you guys can comment some names below," she said. The new club beat uses a sample from 'Milkshake' by Kelis. This track is her most experimental yet and shows a surely evolving sound from the young artist.

Though she didn't mention it, Minnie has an upcoming gig - May 28th - at Cork's Africa Day. Events will take place nationwide in celebration of African culture.

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