Fabulous young music talent thriving in Cork

There have been tons of new emerging artists in Ireland in recent years and in the music genres which I mainly cover here, the likes of Denise Chaila, Kojaque, Offica, Kneecap, Rejjie Snow, Jafaris and Aby Coulibaly have become stars. Many artists are doing well right now and the infrastructure of the music scene allows more of them to develop and gain traction. We should still be doing better abroad, but there have been strides made there, too, and some of those already mentioned could be on their way to more breakouts soon in other countries. This is the next logical step for the development of music in Ireland.

But where are all the Cork artists on the list? What about the city and county that has a long-established hip-hop and r&b scene and support networks that include this column among other things. Sadly, Cork is playing catch up right now. We used to lead the way in the days when we had a top-class club scene, and we’ve always had great DJs and talented artists and producers. At the moment, we are not at the same level as other cities overall. I didn’t include some of our best artists who have been around for a while, like Salamay, Blakkheart, Minnie and Kestine, but here’s a small but not definitive list. We have great talent here, and today I’m gonna mention just a few with some great potential.

AbbieLee

A young Cork r&b and soul singer who is naturally blessed with a beautiful voice. She is writing her own music with a great three piece at the Cork Academy of Music and she is starting to perform regularly around the city with the band and as a solo act.

Alicia Olaniran

Alicia, like Abbie, has just appeared at her first music festival (Body and Soul), and she’s another soul and jazz talent that can perform both with a band or a DJ. Both of these youngsters have huge potential.

Bola G

Bola G has made waves in Cork with a string of great live shows. Tracks such as CTB (C-Town Bop), with J Rilla, show that Cork can drill it with the best of the them. It’s a big anthem and strong showcase of some of M5 studio’s best talents.

Jena Keating

Now in London, Cork singer Jena Keating built momentum very quickly around the time of the lock-down. She’s a really good artist visually and a good writer too, plus that voice is amazing!

Yesunia

Another Cork youngster who is making waves on the festival circuit, Yesunia joined me on stage at Body and Soul last weekend.

She has played Cyprus Avenue and a few other venues too and is about to do her biggest show in July, supporting Dizzee Rascal, JME, Jafaris, Sello and others at the Live at the Harbour Festival in Dublin.

She’s great on stage where she brings a live dance show and has a very good pop star charisma too.

KR/OJD2

Cork duo have already done some interesting music with other MCs, but lately they have made their move with ‘Didn’t Rate Me’. Nice contrast of styles and sounds watch out for these two

Burkie

He’s only 15, but Burkie is already getting lots of airplay and his recent We Ain’t Mad At Cha single did big things.

Written for a friend who took his own life, it’s a powerful single with a chorus sung by ND, another great artist in her own right. Catch him soon at Joy in the Park!

King Koko

She’s been performing with me since she’s 16, but King Koko has developed from a singer into more of a rapper and she’s now getting festivals too. Another Cork youngster with a really good pen, Koko has got a great delivery on the mic and a powerful stage presence too.

Diamond

I first saw Diamond at a recent Outsiders event, where Kest and YP assembled a great young line-up of Cork talent. An amazing singer with an amazing band (including brilliant artists such as Ciara Stacey), Diamond is part of a new breed of Cork artists who have the potential to go wherever they want!

Abdul

Musical director of the Saidi sessions and the Discovery Choir, Abdul is a talented musician who is helping bring lots of different talent together in Cork. Another wonderful artist building things down south!