Junior Spesh are delighted to present the Working Class Records, Costello Album Launch
"Costello’s tracks are influenced by his life experiences growing up in an environment where drug abuse, violence, crime and broken homes were the norm. There is something incredibly real, powerful and deep about what Costello writes. It’s not about the commercial “Boats and Hoes” music, he crafts his artwork out of a life he has lived and not a fantasy he is trying to create. Also playing on support: Lethal Dialect GI William Lee Garry O'Brien DJ Moschops
Action Bronson is a Queens breed Albanian bearded rhyme animal of legendary proportions. The former chef turned rhyme smith started rapping in 2009 at the urging of his close friend fellow MC Meyhem Lauren and quickly realized he was a natural. After dropping the Come Up EP for free in 2010 Bronson followed up with the critically acclaimed Dr. Lecter produced in it's entirety by Tommy Mas (Team Facelift). The song "Shiraz" and the viral video of the said song quickly spread like wildfire and Bronson became a favorite of the hip hop blog cognoscenti after being championed by sites such as Nah Right and 2DopeBoyz. As Dr Lecter continued to grow Action hooked up with DJ/Producer extraordinaire Statik Selektah to craft the soon to be classic Well Done album which was also embraced by critics and the masses featuring such songs as "Cocoa Butter" with Nina Sky and the epic "Miss Fordham Road". Action is currently finishing up a project with producer Party Supplies for Reebok entitled Blue Chips which will be a free give a way to be released at the end of February. Bronson has toured across the states as well as Europe in a effort to increase the scope of his already short yet prolific career. Bronson has appeared in The NY Times, GQ, Details, The VIllage Voice, The Source, Rolling Stone and several other publications and is currently working on a pilot for the food network. In addition Action is working on several projects to be released in 2012 including a record with The Alchemist, a record with producer Harry Fraud and the follow up to Dr. Lecter titled Mr. Wonderful produced once again by Tommy Mas.
Started writing this post last night. Then decided to give it a better shot with a clear head in the morning. Now I know what ‘don’t sleep’ means. Problem is, writing about Irish hip hop at the moment is like navigating through rabbit warrens with swiss cheese for a map.
It’s The Representatives by Costello featuring rapper and producer GI.
The Representatives stands side-by-side with Costello’s previous video releaseYoung Apprentice and is a high-contrast account of city life and insights into the way of getting by in Dublin. Where the first vid was shot on the slumlike steps and stairwells of Ballymun, here the pros swing in to balance out the cons and we’re treated to the brighter northside. This is the newest of Joe Doonan‘s music videos and was directed by Lethal Dialect (seen here with Costello in the menswear shop), shot on Moore Street, a colourful pedestrian atrium for shoppers full of market stalls selling confectionary and veg, lined on either side by shiny plastic shops, an urban bazaar of curiosities. Love the little girl’s breakout smile.
Most of the diehard Irish hip hop fans are already firmly familiar with this track and its compadres on the Illosophical album which has been streaming from Bandcamp for the past few weeks. As with Lethal Dialect, Costello is profoundly influenced by the US rapper Nas but where lyricism is pivotal to LD’s work, it’s clear to hear that Costello’s most resounding quality is a nimble-tongued rapid flow that throws the weight of his words through the bars. His vocal style is very distinctive when set off by collaborations which probably explains the high number of guest spots on Illosophical but, having seen him bounce off Lethal Dialect as part of the Ones To Watch set back in January, there’s no question that it works. Expect plenty more.
Oh and…GI? Watch out for him. Not just madly skilled in rapping and production, there’s a stone-cold stare of Mesmer in his video presence too.
Illosophical launches at Junior Spesh @ Twisted Pepper this Thursday 15 March with GI, Lethal Dialect, vocalist Willa Lee, guitarist Garry O’Brien and the mighty DJ Moschops. Doors 10pm and admission is €7.
The deal: One quarter of Dublin hip hop collective Street Literature, Costello first came to my attention as the dextrous partner in rhyme of fellow Workin’ Class Records man Lethal Dialect at the MC’s game-changing performance at this year’s Ones To Watch festival. March 15 marks the release of his debut solo effort, Illosophical, a classic take on the sociopolitical blueprint developed by Public Enemy, 2Pac and others.
The sound: A well-crafted mix of straight-up, beat-led rhymes and melodic, soul-tinged hip hop. On first single and album opener ‘Young Apprentice’, Costello showcases an upfront, no-nonsense approach to songwriting, not unlike that which we’ve come to expect from right-hand man Lethal.
The deal: One quarter of Dublin hip hop collective Street Literature, Costello first came to my attention as the dextrous partner in rhyme of fellow Workin’ Class Records man Lethal Dialect at the MC’s game-changing performance at this year’s Ones To Watch festival. March 15 marks the release of his debut solo effort, Illosophical, a classic take on the sociopolitical blueprint developed by Public Enemy, 2Pac and others.
The sound: A well-crafted mix of straight-up, beat-led rhymes and melodic, soul-tinged hip hop. On first single and album opener ‘Young Apprentice’, Costello showcases an upfront, no-nonsense approach to songwriting, not unlike that which we’ve come to expect from right-hand man Lethal.
Personally, I prefer the lusher side to Costello’s material, tracks like ‘The Representatives’ feat. G.I., where Costello’s pronounced Northside drawl juts out brazenly against a jazzy, groovesome sample and the hypnotic ‘The World Is Yours’, which features honey-voiced urban crooner Willa Lee.
He says: “When we were growing up there was two things to do. We chose the music side over crime. We’re putting out albums instead of being locked up. My stand point is that hip hop music is all about putting out a positive message.” – from an interview with new(ish) non-profit Dublin city newspaper rabble.
I say: In the wake of RTÉ’s dreadfully-received documentary, Reality Bites: Ireland’s Rappers, Costello proves that honest, gimmick-free hip hop in any accent has the power to charm the open-minded listener.
What now? Illosophical is streaming at Costello’s bandcamp. Let’s see how many lyrics you can memorise before the launch in the Twisted Pepper on March 15…
With a hip hop moniker like Lethal Dialect, one can expect a bit of a lyrical sting.
And indeed the young, ambitious MC delivers razor-sharp lyrics from the largely unexplored POV of a street-smart Dubliner — one who has been through a thing or two: (from his new track “Keep it Real”) “The boys when they snap over sheisty dealings….I just booked a flight/’cause I’m leaving this life I’m leading….Never read the lines/read the signs between them.”
Inspired by Tupac as a kid, and Nas a little later, Lethal Dialect, aka Paulie Alwright, became a serious hip hop addict. These days you’ll rarely see him without a pen in his hand, or without headphones in his ears. He battles and mills about the growing Dublin hip hop scene, but most of the time, he’s writing or recording with fellow Irish producers. Once he was offered a last-minute opening slot for Wu-Tang Clan in Dublin, but unfortunately (to say the least), he was out of town that day.
His goal is to drop authentic, modern tracks with roots in history — not top 40 commercial fare. He stuck to his guns with the hustla debut album LD50 last year, which earned him accolades throughout Ireland. Part two, the more down-to-earth LP, is coming soon – and if the cinematic production and killer flow on the preview track “Keep it Real” are any indication, it’s a fiery sophomore effort for smart hip hop lovers.
Lethal Dialect to play 2012 Meteor Camden Crawl
It has been a busy couple of months for Dubliner Lethal Dialect, who has been receiving a deluge of positive reviews across the board, with Hotpress Magazine among many to champion the upcoming rapper. The hard-hitting lyricist has also been in the studio at 2fm in recent days and is due to appear in the “Reality Bites” Irish rap documentary this coming Monday.
With all this going on, LD would be forgiven for taking a back seat on gigging, but it has been revealed today that the underground rapper is to play the 2012 Meteor Camden Crawl, which will take place on Friday 11th May. Weekend tickets for the Camden Crawl are €40.00 and grant access to see over 100 acts, across 15 venues on a single weekend in May. It has yet to be revealed in which venue Lethal Dialect will be taking to stage, but Rap Ireland will be first with the information as it emerges.
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Lethal Dialect - Keep It Real
Produced by GI
Album - LD50 Part II
Video - Joe Dooney
Lethal Dialect Feat William Lee - Get to My Dreams
