Grammy call a boost to Irish rap
Jordan Adetunji has been nominated for a Gramm
Elsewhere, the Grammy nominations mixed the good with the curious.
I’ll concentrate on the good at the moment, since I’m curious that an artist such as Sabrina Carpenter can be deemed the best new artist despite having six studio albums under her belt (that’s a lot more than Frank Ocean has released). Anyway, I was pleased to find two titans of African music, Yemi Alade and Tems, getting nominated. Yemi Alade is one of the true legends of Afrobeats, and she is constantly bringing out amazing albums and singles. Tems is one of my favourite newcomers of the last five years, and she too is another outstanding singer, so I’m pleased that these two Nigerian queens are in among the nominations.
Elsewhere, Beyonce added to her many nominations. I’m not as enamoured by Cowboy Carter as her previous Renaissance disco and house instalment, but in some ways that’s just personal taste. The country stuff, as well produced as it is, is not to my own tastes, but I can see why it’s fashionable and popular. Charli XCX, Kendrick Lamar, and many of the other nominees were predictable too and deserved, and no doubt it will be an interesting awards night in 2025.
Thoughts of 2025 are very much on the horizon with a slew of gig announcements whetting the appetites of music fans. Most of them are coming to Dublin and it’s no surprise since Cork doesn’t really have the much promised big-size live venue yet. Live at the Marquee, Virgin Media Park, Páirc Uí Chaoimh and festivals such as the Cork Jazz will hopefully help fill the void, but in the meantime thousands of Cork music fans will continue to head to Dublin. A number of great acts have recently been announced for Dublin, and though they have all recently visited at festivals, the opportunity to see these artists doing their own headliner is exciting.
Tyler the Creator has just released another great album in CHROMAKOPIA, and he will touch down in late May at the 3Arena for not one but two Irish shows. I’ve been to many Tyler shows here at Longitude and indeed at Oxegen, where his Odd Future crew once did an iconic show in 2011. Tyler had a broken leg at the time and still managed to stage dive, and I’ve rarely seen such an energy in a crowd. This was a real passing of the torch hip-hop-wise and it was clear to me that Odd Future represented a new generation who attracted a new young crowd too. They subsequently helped shape the way hip-hop splintered off into many new directions during the 2010s and Tyler himself is one of many Odd Future members to enjoy solo success. This should be a great show.
Two more artists recently announced have had a more mixed ascent in the music industry. Jorja Smith plays the Olympia in June, fresh off a big show at All Together Now in August. I once saw Jorja play to barely a couple of hundred people at Longitude but she’s slowly risen to become the star we always knew she was and she’s on the verge of an even bigger mainstream success in my opinion. The same goes for Raye, who overcame industry politics to become one of the big hits at the Electric Picnic last August, and who is probably one album away from becoming one of the biggest stars of her generation. These two UK singers are absolute top notch authentic artists who are controlling their own career arc, and both shows are well worth checking out. 2025 is looking good and this is just a taster of what’s in store!
