Local duo put Town on the Hip Hop map
Dundalk is well known for punching above its weight in music circles, from trad to rock to classical. Now it’s the time to add hip hop to the mix.
The town has been enjoying something of a golden age for music - or at least it had been until the COVID-19 pandemic arrived to put a damper on the live music scene. The likes of David Keenan, Just Mustard and AE Maak were wooing audiences far from our emerald shores, consolidating Dundalk’s reputation for producing exciting acts which were often just one step away from making the big time. One genre which was largely absent from this was hip hop but all that is about to change thanks to RÓGAN x OMEGA.
The pair have been friends since school days, and since then have pursued their own interests in hip hop before coming together as a due.
‘I got into the music about ten years ago when I was at school,’ says OMEGA. I was at the age where you are trying to figure out who you are, what your place is in school, and I fell in love with hip hop, with the music of Jay Z and Eminem. It took me a while to figure out that this was what I wanted to do with my lift and in 2014 I stared writing my own raps.
Using the money he made from invigilating at the State exams, he bought a microphone and began making recordings at home before going to study music production and audio at DkIT, followed by a one year Business in Music course in Dublin.
RÓGAN says he got into music because of his friendship with OMEGA. ‘We went to the same school and I saw him making music and we had this chemistry when we began making music together. We started it as it was something to do, a bit of a laugh, and then 50 songs later, we set lets do this seriously.’
As he had family in Dublin, he went to college there to do media studies, but soon found it wasn’t for him. ‘I started doing whatever jobs I could to make money and I would put that into music studio equipment and paying for the bus from Dublin to Limerick for gigs.’
‘We rap about our personal experiences, about things that affect us, about battling depression, about the way we feel about the Irish hip hop scene,’ says OMEGA. ‘A lot of what is on the Irish hip hop scene is almost a joke or comedy while we take it extremely seriously. We care about our craft and about being considered word smiths. In our solo shows we would do a lot of self reflection.’
As they made the transition from fans to musicians and producers, RÓGAN released his debut EP ‘Arrogant’ in 2017, and found himself being featured in Stackd Magazine, and being booked in various parts of Ireland. In 2019, he competed in the annual ‘Beat Club’ competition where he emerged the Beat Club Champion.
Meanwhile OMEGA, released his debut single ‘RAMPAGE’ in 2018 and followed that up with the acclaimed ‘ The Metropolitan Project’, and has performed at the Electric Picnic, the Dublin Fringe Festival, and his music has featured on the popular ‘NEW MUSIC FRIDAY UK’ and ‘ THE NEW EIRE’ Spotify Playlists.
Last year was a busy one for them as they played loads of shows around Ireland, gigging in small venues Dublin, Cork, Limerick, with a show in The Spirit Store last Decemeber.
‘We had a series of relatively big shows opening for a very well-known UK act in The Well and other dates in Dublin lined up but they were all called off due to lockdown,’ says OMEGA. We did one show on September 10, got booked for another one and it was cancelled.’
‘It’s been a crushing time for the Irish music scene -the year has basically been a write off.’
He says it was particularly heart-breaking for them as they felt they were beginning to get somewhere but are hoping to get back out on stage after lockdown.
However, they are proud to be part of Dundalk’s music scene and to play their part in putting the town on the hip hop map.
‘Dundalk is a great place to be and it’s a great time to be creative and eventually COVID will end and we will get back to doing live shows.’
In the meantime, RÓGAN x OMEGA have released their long awaited EP ‘Don’t Forget To Remember Radio: Episode 1’. Hosted by RTE’s DJ Beta Da Silva the project revolves around 3 tracks with intermissions of comic relief and discussions tying the project together and giving the listener the full radio experience.