Five minutes with Strange Boy
In the world of Irish music, Strange Boy stands out as a pioneering force, blending traditional folk elements with raw, introspective rap. He's been making waves not only in his hometown of Limerick but across the global music scene. Ahead of his performance at WOMEX 2024, we caught up with him for a five-minute chat…
Interview: Steph Wilkinson
Strange Boy represents Ireland at WOMEX 2024 on the Horizons Regional Stage
Describe your music in three words/one sentence?
The first of its kind.
Who’s in your band?
Strange Boy consists of myself, of course, and a mix of the best traditional Irish folk players in the world.
What are your ambitions for WOMEX?
To hopefully add to people’s palettes in regards to their music taste, or get signed to a multimillion dollar record deal, if the mood’s right.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever played and why?
It was in a pub called the Commercial in my hometown of Limerick in Ireland. It’s an intimate venue perfect for the type of stuff I was doing at the time.
“My personal favourite crowd reaction was when I came off stage after supporting Nelly. I thought I did great, then some guy pulled me aside as I was walking through the crowd, he said very loudly that he thought I was s*** and that was that.” ”
What has been your career highlight?
Winning the Liam O’Flynn award, life-changing for me, personally, but also a very prestigious accomplishment, especially because they don’t give them out to rap artists.
Best/craziest audience reaction?
My personal favourite crowd reaction was when I came off stage after supporting Nelly. I thought I did great, then some guy pulled me aside as I was walking through the crowd, he said very loudly that he thought I was shit and that was that.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I’m listening to Kitty Kallen.
Who are your top three artists of all time?
My top three artists of all time would have to be Kendrick Lamar, Kitty Kallen, and Electric Light Orchestra.
What do you love about music?
The fact of it being something that doesn’t sit in one place, you can make it into whatever you want, which is the most interesting thing to me.
Strange Boy will perform on The Horizons Regional Stage on Thursday 24 October at 10.30pm. For details on how to buy public festival passes and day tickets, visit womex-festival.com.
The Horizons partnership is managed by British Underground on behalf of Arts Council England, Culture Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Creative Scotland, Wales Arts International, Arts Council of Wales and British Council.
