A rap track entitled “The Spark” performed by Irish children has gone viral on social media. The song was debuted by Irish national broadcaster RTE and its accompanying video features the youngsters partying around Cork. The track was produced by local artist GMCBeats, who collaborated with the children of youth rap projects Lisdoonvarna Crew and Rhyme Island, both based in Knocknaheeny, a Cork suburb. All the children are local to Knocknaheeny, one of the groups including children living in refugee accommodation in the area.
The video has had over eight million views on Twitter alone since being released on May 16, part of the annual Irish celebration of youthful creativity, Cruinniú na nÓg. This includes over 1000 activities for young people in Ireland. A musician from Cork who used to make videos of kids dancing to his music decided to collaborate with the children on a rap track. He wrote the piece, and then rehearsed and recorded the children performing it. The video was then made featuring children dancing around their workplaces and neighbourhoods in Cork.
Garry McCarthy, who produced the video says the song is very honest, very Irish, but it’s very global too. “What they’re talking about, I hope, inspires young people to just give creativity, give expression a shot and just see how it feels, because expression and music are very, very powerful”, he added. One of the young rappers, 10-year-old Dylan, said: “I came home and my mum was like, ‘Dylan did you see that your video went viral?'” He adds: “Now I’m on the radio. This is what all those days of practice were leading up to, and it was worth it, to be honest”.
“The Spark” was intended to inspire Belfast’s AVA Festival, which ran in Belfast from May 31 to June 1
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