MacD on Music: Best in the (North) West

It may seem like the growing Derry hip-hop scene is a fairly recent thing, but it’s been quietly bubbling away for well over a decade now. The early-to-mid-2010s saw the emergence of North West Hip-Hop, giving the up-and-coming local rappers and DJs a place to showcase their talents.

One of the key players in that organisation was Shane Deane, and following a chance meeting with his frequent collaborator Amanda Healy one fateful Friday in Sandino’s, I got a chance to speak with him about North West Hip-Hop’s past and future:

“I started writing lyrics when I was around thirteen, after hearing the usual artists you would expect someone that age to listen to, like Eminem, 2Pac, 50 Cent. I didn’t know any kind of music production. I was just kind of writing songs. I would actually come up with beats in my head and then craft lyrics around that.”

“I started releasing music online when I was around fifteen or sixteen. I’m thirty-five now so I’m well-seasoned on that front. Around 2014, I started a kind of online promotional platform, ‘North West Hip-Hop’. To begin with, there wasn’t really a hip-hop scene in Derry, so it was just to create a space for anybody who wanted to try this out, because people rapping back then was few and far between.

“What we did was make freestyle videos in the street and posted them on Facebook, and that led into running events and meeting up with other artists, which led to me meeting Amanda [Healy]. From 2014-15, right up until Lockdown, we would make music together, we’d gigged and done festivals, we had a regular night in Bennigan’s and it actually resulted in us developing and delivering a youth work project, teaching kids how to express themselves through lyrics, beats and the like. Then Lockdown happened. I would say I’m on a bit of a three or four year hiatus now but I’m starting to release music again.”

One of these new songs is his latest single with Amanda ‘Better Fate’: “We’d been sitting on that music for quite some time. It’s part of a five track EP we’ve been working on and tweaking over the last couple of years.

“I’ve gotten very protective over releasing music, but Adam from Craic Pipe had a launch night for his own EP there and I came down to do a couple of tracks and we played some new material, and the whole buzz of the night kind of reminded me of when we were buzzing, and that lit a wee fire in my belly to start releasing music again.”

Next, I asked about his thoughts on the current Derry rap scene: “It feels different to our run, prior to COVID. There’s more variety definitely. I think Derry, as opposed to Belfast and Dublin, has always been a slow burner when it comes to local hip-hop, but I think it’s getting there. Some of the boys tell me about names and acts that I’d never heard of, and I used to be really clued in because I was running nights and producing people’s albums. Now, there’s so much happening that I’m not clued in. It’s great.”

I asked about any particular stand out acts at the minute: “In terms of Ireland as a whole, the Working Class Records boys in Dublin are amazing. Up in Belfast you’ve got the likes of DóhFada and Steve Loc.

“In Derry, obviously, there’s ourselves, North West Hip-Hop, Craic Pipe, Nikki Mac too, she’s brilliant, although she’s not really doing anything at the minute, but she’s a great storytelling MC. There’s so many bits and pieces happening all over the place. Anybody on that more old school, boom bap, hip-hop vibe, and they’re using their own accent, I’m all in.”

And that’s it from Shane Deane. His latest single ‘Better Fate’ is out now.

Now, onto other business. First up, we have Belfast’s Ria Timkin, who will be releasing her EP ‘Favourite Child’ this Friday.

The EP will be supported by a tour of Ireland and the UK, with dates throughout September and October in Belfast, Dublin, Manchester, Bristol and London.

The five track EP will also be available on CD and can be pre-ordered at store.riatimkin.com.

Next, we have Reevah, with her new single ‘Talk Too Much’. It’s been a busy year for Reevah, with two unreleased tracks appearing in ‘Love Island’ and two new singles in over the last few months, plus upcoming support gigs for The Coronas this weekend in the Guildhall.

This latest track features co-producers Brian Doherty on bass and Matt Weir on drums. The song “brings together Reevah’s familiar singer-songwriter sensibilities with a bright, melodic indie-pop sound” and continues “to lean into a country-pop direction that has been teased across her latest offerings, all while keeping the honest, emotionally-driven songwriting that has become synonymous with her work to the fore”.

‘Talk Too Much’ is out now on all good streaming platforms.

Finally, time for the socials. Reevah can be found on Instagram @thisisreevah, Ria Timkin @riatimkin and Shane Deane @shanedeanemusic.