![]() We’re all cool, and we cross paths as friends, but our music has completely different fanbases. And then, on the other side, you’ve got Aby Coulibaly, Monjola, Mango x Mathman, Denise Chaila. “On one side, it’s the underground rappers, the drill rappers,” he elaborates. While Selló agrees that the music community here is strong, he believes that two separate scenes have emerged when it comes to Irish rap and hip-hop. In my head I was like, ‘Once it gets big enough, they’ll see it.”Īnd they’ve certainly seen it now – with Selló playing a pivotal role in a homegrown drill scene characterised by a DIY spirit, hard-hitting sounds and vibrant visuals, alongside fellow Irish heavy-hitters like Drogheda’s A92 and their breakout star Offica. “I was doing music for two years before my mum found out,” he adds. “I remember in church on Sundays, kids would come to me like, ‘Can I get a picture?’ And their parents would be like, ‘You know your son’s a rapper?’ My mum asked me if I was a rapper, and I was like, ‘No!’ “They didn’t know I was doing music,” he explains. His music career took his family by surprise – as the rising star mostly worked on his craft behind closed doors. ![]() That’s how I met one of my previous managers, and that’s pretty much how I started.” But everywhere I’d go – even in the barbershop, before a haircut – they’d always get me to rap. “It was more of a thing I did for the buzz. “At the time, I wasn’t even looking at entering music,” he reveals. He also led a free course for aspiring young rappers, after being announced as this year’s Writer In Residence for South Dublin Libraries’ Red Line Festival.Īll of this is also coinciding with the release of his debut mixtape, SellóTape – an Irish-folk-sampling, stereotype-defying project that has the potential to transform the way homegrown drill and rap is viewed forever.įrom there, word about Selló’s star power spread. He’s carried that community-centred ethos into his music too, making headlines this year with a string of performances at schools in his local area. So either he stays, and sees that everyday and tries to stay away from it, or he stays on the street. And because of the homeless crisis, he has nowhere to go. But he said his roommate is on all sorts of stuff, and he can’t even sleep most of the time. “He was telling me about his experiences. “One of the fellas that’s in there is the same age as me,” Selló resumes. That kind of work has had a profound impact on the way he views the world, he says. It’s just mad, homelessness – with a lot of the people there, you wouldn’t even know it.” “I have another job as well, my placement, which is with homeless people,” he continues. ![]() “Community-spirit-based stuff, like making sure their shopping is done, or their laundry, or taking them to the pub, or the cinema, or if someone wants to see a match, organising that. “I’m in charge of social integration,” he says of his job. In fact, when he calls into the Hot Press office, it’s during a rare spare moment – as he continues to balance his burgeoning music career with his day job in social care, working with adults with disabilities. But right now, Selló’s day-to-day reality isn’t quite aligned with the image you might have of a young artist who just inked a serious record deal.
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