“So, one day, a Zimbabwean Christian and an Irish Pagan sit down with a pot of tea to discuss making an album. “Let’s change the game,” they said. And so it began.
The Zimbabwean Christian in question is Shannon MC and RAOK Collective member God Knows, while producer/beat-maker mynameisjohn, from the cold hard streets of Ennis, is our Irish Pagan.
Keen hip-hop heads will recall The Struggle EP – the duo’s 2013 collaboration with producer Graeme S. Well, Rusangano / Family picks up exactly where the pair left off: pushing the boundaries of Irish urban music into unexplored territory.
With Maverick Sabre, Rejjie Snow and Lethal Dialect making significant waves of late, Irish hip-hop has never been as healthy. However, it’s the experimental approach of the Clare outfit that sets them apart from their contemporaries. Over 30 exhilarating minutes they deliver a concoction of skewed soul samples, grime, rap, breaks, 808 beats, juke and electronica: an urban symphony to non-conformity.
Opener ‘Maroto’ gets straight to the point: twisted horns, rasping percussion and explosive tempo shifts wrestle with razor-sharp lyrics that mention Love/Hate and Simon Cowell, and rhyme Ballygowan with “go on”. It’s chaotic, brash and intrusive, and totally addictive.
‘Standard’ flirts with reggae, and borrows the same Little Milton sample as Ghostface Killah’s ‘Walk Around’. The menacing, fear-inducing bases on ‘Raise The Bar’ demands headphones, as God Knows addresses Limerick’s drug problem, while comparing himself to grime kingpins Dizzie and Wiley. I buy it. And that’s just the first three tracks. It’s superlative after superlative after that.
A game-changing, compelling, brave Irish hip-hop/grime record from two absolute gentlemen. What more could you ask for?

Out now.