Track of the Week | C H A I L A | Denise Chaila

Denise Chaila is making a habit of writing razor sharp, multi-cultural witticisms in her music.

A voice of increasing importance in the Irish hip-hop scene, Chaila first burst into the musical conscious of many with her live streamed performance with fellow MC God Knows at the National Gallery of Ireland, for Other Voices’s Courage series. (If you've not saw the performance, click here. ) 

Whether bigging up the importance of self belief on 'Copper Bullets', or spitting watertight Gaelic on 'Down', Chaila is an artist that prides herself on authenticity and that all encompassing desire to never compromise her artistic vision. It helps of course, being so tightly knit with Rusagano Family's Murli, a group she has collaborated with before; even featuring on their track 'Isn't Dinner Nice'. That said, this is a project entirely of her own creation, her flow high in the mix, almost like a spoken word record.

On 'C H A I L A', the Zimbabwean born, Limerick based MC takes aim at those too lazy to correctly pronounce her name. Over glacial beats and production bordering on the poppier side of UK garage, she lays out her mission statement from verse one.

"You already know it’s gonna go down
My name’s not THAT hard to pronounce
Pre-K, it’s not profound
C H A I L A
Sound the words out"

To possess such conviction will carry Denise Chaila far; with much of her conversationalist flow and control on the mic evoking a young Mike Skinner. Whilst 2020 Limerick and early 2000's Birmingham feel lifetimes apart, the vitality of the MC's describing their hometowns feel closer than you may expect.

This is the first released track from her upcoming debut LP, potentially a future landmark Irish release. Let's push things forward.

Taylor Johnson