Album Review: Willzee, Deep Tinker

On his second album, Deep Tinker, Willzee expands the world he first introduced on 2022’s Kuti Gris, a haunting, deeply personal debut that explored his identity as a Traveller with remarkable honesty. Across 10 songs and a tight 30-minute runtime, the Limerick artist once again fuses rap, spoken word and Irish folk into something distinctly his own.

Opening track ‘Travelling Man’ wastes no time setting the tone. “I am a Travelling man / Keep roaming this land,” he announces over lively instrumentation and a fiddle-led melody that practically demands dancing. It feels celebratory yet purposeful – a reclamation of Traveller identity in a country where that has too often been marginalised.

That tension runs throughout the record. ‘No Fixed Abode’ reflects on disappearing traditions and generational loss, while ‘Dreaming’ offers a more hopeful viewpoint. The standout arrives with ‘Let It Rain’, where Willzee confronts one of the darkest chapters in Traveller history – state-driven institutional discrimination.

At times, this feels more like a history lesson than an album, although a necessary one. “The constant fight to survive, on an island of divide / Generations alike, viewed as the vicious type,” he delivers over a more stripped-back production.

While Deep Tinker, in comparison to his previous album, leans more heavily into folk than rap, it’s an evolution that suits Willzee. By the closing track, ‘We Are Living In The Times’, the album feels less like a collection of songs and more like an important act of preservation.

7/10