On a lavish night at the glitzy central London venue Tape, Ireland’s rap scene has taken over. Dubliner Travy is the ringleader, and he’s dragged the crew over to the UK capital. They’re celebrating the mid-January release of his debut solo project ‘Spooky’ – which instantly hit Number One in the Irish Album Charts – and ‘Eurostar’ collaborator Reggie jumps onstage to spray his verse. His shouts of ‘Dublin’s in the house!’ capture the energy in the room. The bass is booming, everyone’s dressed to the nines, and Travy’s Irish fans have shown up to salute the sizeable strides he’s making.
“The Nigerian-Irish people are doing crazy things,” Travy says proudly, joining NME on a video call a couple of weeks later. He’s calm and talkative, and lights up at mention of that night. “We had to struggle to get where we are, but it’s definitely a better place now. When I moved to Ireland from rural Nigeria [aged six], I was disorientated ‘cause I was like, ‘This isn’t my country’. A lot of the places I was around were predominantly white areas. So the mindframe I’ve had since young is: ‘I’m not from here, so I’m just gonna use this place to the best of my ability’. I think that led to me doing music – I didn’t really fit in even if I tried, so let me just stay doing what I wanna do.’
The 26-year-old is at the forefront of a generation of Black Irish artists forging a new path within the country’s music scene, alongside the likes of Sello, Monjola, and long-time collaborator Elzzz. His first two projects, ‘Full Circle’ (2023) and ‘Doghouse’ (2024), both made with Elzzz, secured the Number Two and Number One spots on the Irish Album Charts respectively, and ‘Spooky’ (produced by Galway-born beatmaker Liam Harris) has further boosted that momentum.
“I wanted to make this project explore who I am as a person, the Nigerian and Irish perspective… I want people to be like ‘This guy’s an alien!’”
‘Spooky’ was crafted over a two-month period spent renting a flat in Paris, striving for nonstop creativity and endeavour. “Me and Liam had this place in the second district in Paris, and sometimes we didn’t even have a penny bro, I was just chowing on these pasta boxes every day just to keep going!” Travy laughs. “But I knew what I was gonna get from the project, so it was just them graveyard shifts, really being in that creative flow… it was nice having that time and space to record at any given moment. I was thinking, ‘If I record in Paris, will the music sound different?’ But I still have the same vim, so it’s not just the cold weather that’s making me rap like this!”
Travy’s fresh, distinctly Irish rap sound stems from a wide array of sources. He tends to lean on dark, swelling instrumentals that blend the edginess of mid-2010s south London drill with a more upbeat, bouncing UK grime energy, his vocal cadences and calmly-delivered bars akin to Homerton’s Unknown T. A swish braggadocious quality nodding to booming New York drill runs through the project, too. Anchoring it all in his home city are little touches of Dublin slang like ‘FSSH’ (an expression harnessed on the mixtape’s eponymous lead single) and ominous choral samples that transport you to midnight mass in a cold, cavernous Catholic church (‘Meet Spooky’).
But creating this sense of identity hasn’t been easy; Travy has repeatedly spoken up about the lack of music infrastructure he’s had access to in Ireland, and the lack of successful role models to learn from. “What I’m facing, it’s completely different,” says Travy. “That’s why the music might have a bit more vim, because I’m up against more. Trying to push culture in a country that doesn’t care, it’s infuriating!
“There’s this festival in Dublin called Longitude which we performed at one time, but never again,” he continues. “This festival was once the Mecca of culture for everyone growing up, but now they’ve got 50 Cent and David Guetta headlining, and it’s so out of touch it’s ridiculous. It was so inspiring seeing people from Dublin tearing up that main stage, but I think the people running the entertainment business in Ireland don’t care enough to look within their own area. If they booked us for these tings, people would be pulling up.”
As a result, Travy has often looked to the UK for inspiration – and recently met legend Skepta at Paris Fashion Week. “He said to me, ‘The only reason I’m still here is because I kept going’. Everything he did in England is basically what we’re doing in Ireland now.”
Travy has often been compared to the Tottenham rapper thanks to the strides taken by his collective, Gliders: “Back home, people would compare Gliders to Boy Better Know or A$AP Mob.” Initially a spontaneous nickname for the group of friends Travy rolled around with in Dublin, Gliders eventually morphed into a collective throwing house parties in the capital. Over time, the group have blended musical releases with a hugely successful clothing line, growing a community of like-minded artists, videographers and illustrators.
The chief musicians are Travy, Elzzz, Harris, while Sam Fallover handles art and visuals for Gliders. Fallover played a key role in the conceptual development of ‘Spooky’, designing the album artwork and helping shape the devilish alter ego Travy embodies on the project.
“Spooky was a nickname my friends gave me growing up, ’cause I was kinda a mischievous kid,” Travy explains. “I knew I wanted to make this project explore who I am as a person, the Nigerian and Irish perspective… I want people to be like ‘This guy’s an alien!’ It’s getting to the stage where I’m starting to believe I’m an alien!”
“What I’m facing, it’s completely different. Trying to push culture in a country that doesn’t care, it’s infuriating”
Sadly, alienation is something Travy has consistently experienced in the Irish music scene. He was absent from the Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE) Albums of the Year list, despite ‘Doghouse’ making history last year by becoming the first Irish rap project to reach Number One, a snub that understandably angered fans. “I posted about it because the younger generation needs to know what kinda forces we’re working against,” Travy says.
“It was almost part of the story that ‘Spooky’ got Number One,” he adds. “They can deny this album… but I’m sending a message to the YGs in Ireland that it doesn’t matter if they overlook you, as long as you work hard. You’ve gotta make as much impact as possible; they can’t ignore you forever.”
Travy’s ‘Spooky’ is out now.