The Nigerian/Irish A92 collective rapper Offica is among the most prominent rappers in the Irish drill scene, if not the breakout star of Irish rap in recent years.
Offica broke through with tracks like ‘Naruto Drillings’ and ‘Plugged In Freestyle’, and gets serious streaming numbers in the millions. He has collaborated with KSI, Fizzler, Reggie, SELLO, Versatile, and his A92 Collective cohorts: DBO Fundz, Ace, Nikz, Trapboy, Ksav and more.
Offica has just released the first of his two-part Hokage mixtape with Part 1 focusing on his ‘classic’ sound of anime-infused party drill contrasting with more introspective rap, and part two, titled Hokage in Lagos featuring a new direction of Afrobeats-infused drill, based on tunes sampling the likes of Wizkid, D’banj and Psquare, coming soon.
1.
A92
Plugged In Freestyle
“We actually wrote the song on the three-hour drive to Fumez studio and its crazy what it did when we released it.”
One of the breakthrough songs of Irish drill, ‘Plugged In’ now has 54 million video views and 112 Spotify streams.
2.
Dubzeno & Smilez
Fake Love
“I think it really gives a good insight into fake love and what it can mean in this music industry.”
3.
Travis & Elzzz
BBB
“This is the first song from my boy’s debut tape, so it’s a proud moment for them”
Travis & Elzzz’s debut mixtape Full Circle mixtape went to number 2 in the Irish album charts earlier this year.
4.
Reggie B
Million Ways
“This is a nice bouncy tune that I like and gets me in a confident mood.”
5.
A92 DBO
Irish
“This was actually the first song I bought on iTunes and its the one I hear every time I turn on my car and connect my phone.”‘
6.
Selló x Offica
Oggy
I like the whole concept of this song and this was my second time collaborating with an Irish artist.
7.
A92 Nikz & Ksav
One Mic
It gets me gassed every time I listen to it. It’s probably one of the rudest tracks to come from Ireland.
8.
Selló
Irish x2
This came out on St Patrick’s Day and it had a lot of hype behind it.
Sello’s ‘Irish X2’ with its trad/folk sample (a sample of Lisa O’Neill and Radie Peat’s rendition of the traditional folk song ‘The Factory Girl’) is the best, with the Clondalkin rapper using the Irish counties as source material for his dual-meanning rhymes.
9.
Femz20
K78 Bop
This was a big song on TikTok and it’s mad catchy.
10.
A92 DBO, Giggs, Lethal Bizzle
Dapper Dan
I like to see DBO getting the recognition he deserves by collaborating with legendary artists.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
