91: Craic Boi Mental

We’re so pleased to get to speak with the relentlessly prolific underground Irish hip-hop artist and producer Craic Boi Mental. As well as being one half of Whip Mental (his project with his wife, Whip Girl), Craic Boi has released countless tapes, tracks and music videos under a multitude of distinctive hip-hop aliases such as Oscar Benso, Yung Gowl, Dudewithswag, Mili$, and King Flora. Humour, hooks and vibes abound! Craic Boi also pioneered the $quick movement, a supportive community platform for underground and uncategorisable rural-based artists in Ireland. 

Craic Boi Mental talks to Rebel Matters about being diagnosed with autism in his late teens, his personal creative process, and how to deal with the haters. Dismissed and rejected for years by national mainstream music circles for being too outside the box, even the Gardaí couldn’t hold Craic Boi Mental back. Despite existing on the fringes of Irish hip-hop for years, Craic Boi has always had a devoted international online cult following. Now he is thriving and surviving in deep West Cork, trying to find a balance in life as an autistic activist, a hit-maker, a G, and a champion for neurodiverse people everywhere. Ferociously DIY and never afraid to call out ableism and misogyny in the scene, Craic Boi’s constant musical evolution stretches back from those early diss track days, to a personal hip-hop that is far more conscious, critical and vulnerable. It’s high time we caught up with this enigma, to see what he might do next!