God Knows & mynameisjohn Interview: God in the House

One day, a Zimbabwean Christian and an Irish pagan sat down over a pot of tea and talked about making a record. Well, not just any old record. A record which would revolutionise and reinvigorate rap and independent music as a whole. A record that would “change the game”. A record that would eventually get called Rusangano/Family and be released under the name of God Knows & mynameisj0hn.

“We were already friends and workmates before a bar was ever written,” recalls rapper God Knows when we ask about his first meetings with Co. Clare born producer mynameisj0hn. “John was supporting a lot of youths in the surrounding Clare area, pioneering that workshop grind. In 2009, he started booking me and the homies [Random Acts Of Kindness] to perform at youth music events. I was the point of contact for all bookings, so the more we chatted about music we realised there was an abundant respect for each other’s work. At this point, John is my older brother and I respect him highly. In any family they are always differences. The family that thrives is a family that celebrates those differences and that’s how this project happened.”
“I kind of knew G. was doing something no-one else really was,” adds John. “Musically or otherwise, G. is a rare kind of person who makes everyone’s day better.”
An intoxicating brew of beats, soul samples and razor-sharp rhymes, Rusangano/Family is a special record which stitches styles and sounds together to create something fresh and new. Themes such as identity and belonging are explored over the course of 11 tracks; songs such as ‘Words Of Our Fathers’ are thought-provoking efforts.
“The album is about being a young, black, Irish-Zimbabwean Christian man in modern day Ireland,” says G. “The intention was to express how proud I am to be all of the above. Riddims like ‘Raise The Bar’ have lyrics like: ‘Not the UK/I am Irish, kid/If I have baby/It’ll be an Irish kid’ . I want the world to know how great life can be on this amazing little island of Ireland."
“I think the approach was to create a middle ground we were both comfortable with,” considers John. “A kind of ‘Shannon Town meets M.A.A.D. City,’ was the joke. But really, musically I wanted to make something that reflected where G. was coming from and facilitated his story.”
Along the way, Steve Ryan from alt. rockers Windings and members of God Knows’ collective [Random Acts Of Kindness] MuRli and Guide also lend a hand to tell this compelling story; the duo assure us that there will be plenty more chapters to come over the months and years ahead.
“Steve is another rare kind of soul,” smiles John. “He is music. An absolute king, and he gave ridiculous amounts of help, support and calming words of cop-on. We have so much respect for Steve as a person and a musician."
“Steve is a certified don,” concludes G. “What a legend. Being a fan of Windings, and again, on a local community/family vibe, it was only natural to try and work with him on ‘African Shirts.’ MuRli and Guide were down from day one. Both of these talents are original members of R.A.O.K. and we write, record and share life together so it was inevitable that they would become part of the bigger process. In the future we’re looking forward to getting creative with everyone, but right now, John and I are only warming up.”