Still a little tender after an epic Saturday spent with friends yesterday. Kicked the day off with a rugby breakfast, watching Ireland spank Australia in the World Cup as we ate blueberry pancakes. Then headed to Whelan’s last night to see B. Dolan do his thing. A really great show by a really great artist. Check out the video below for a little flavour of Mr. Dolan at work.

A real quick Friday classic to mark the debut Irish performance of hip hop legend Rakim, who will play Dublin later this evening. Recognised as one of the best ever to touch the microphone, Rakim’s influence on the art of MCing has been second to none.

Needless to say, I have my ticket (my mates got it for my birthday – big up the lads!). Should be an amazing show. As a little sample of what Rakim is about, check out Juice by Eric B & Rakim below. Classic.

I’m back on the party vibe once again this Friday – this time with Tap The Bottle by the ironically named Young Black Teenagers (yes, they were all white!). The name of the band caused some controversy and the lads were generally ridiculed in terms of what they were all about. Despite this, they did have the support of acts like Public Enemy and no matter what you think of their name there’s no getting away from the fact that their 1993 hit Tap The Bottle is a party classic.

Enjoy the weekend!

Enjoy the weekend.

If, like me, you fancy something a little funky to brighten up this rainy Friday morning then I’ve got the very thing – Root Down by the Beastie Boys.  Over the years, the Beasties have produced some of my favourite music.  One of my first gigs was when I saw them play in Dublin’s Tivoli Theatre in 1994.  They were supported on the night by Ireland’s own Scary Eire and I remember Mike D from the Beastie Boys looking on attentively from the back of the stage as Scary Eire rocked out on 4 turntables and a Bodhrán. Classic night.

And Root Down is classic tune – taken from the Beastie’s 1994 album Ill Communication and nicely reworking a sample of Jimmy Smith’s orginal song of the same name.

It’s a super video too with lots of vintage graff and bboy footage.  Enjoy the tune below and happy weekend, ya hear!

To put everyone in a good mood for the weekend, today’s tune is the party classic Funky Child by Lords Of The Underground.  It’s from their 1993 album Here Come The Lords – and I still remember the day I bought this cassette. This was my favourite tune on the album and I’ve been hearing it again a lot lately at shows and on various mix tapes. It’s still bangin!

So take a listen below. And here’s some random info – DoItAll, one of the three members of the group – appeared in the last scene of the last episode of the Sopranos.  He was one of the dodgy guys in the diner that was probably going to wack Tony.  But we don’t know for sure coz the whole thing just went to frikkin black.

Warning: Sopranos spoiler just then.

Til next week.

There’s no prizes for guessing why On The Dole Q by Ireland’s own Scary Éire is a classic tune that’s just oh so relevant again right now.

On The Dole Q was released in 1995 (yes that’s pre Celtic Tiger) and is one of the best known tracks by Irish hip hop pioneers Scary Éire. The track features an infectious sample from It Must Be Love by Madness and if it doesn’t make you smile then you’re one grumpy fecker.