The latest Mongrel carries a rare interview with the tragically under-recognized Scary Eire. Strange to thing that it's taken over a decade for legendary Irish hip hoppers Scary Eire to finally release their album after Island records refused them rights to their material, in an act of wanton criminality that depriving us hordes of a sheer gem of pre-Celtic Tiger urban poetry and befalls many young bands.

The production may have been so-so on all those anthems that wormed their way down to us on battered cassettes copied to mp3 and live sets that could occasionally dug up on Soulseek, but there was something indelible in the gruff vocal delivery and the swaggering flow of the deep Irish accent winding its way around socials issues like unemployment and nights boozing, that ever ready release.

Wearie stumbled onto them first, but there's no better time than now to direct readers to a number of mixes hosted by DJ Mek over on his myspace. Ranging from contemporary flavorings scratched to ribbons with rock classics, to old school hip hop and junglist styling these are definite early morning caffeine replacements for your giddy up perk.

The photo to the left was taken by Paul Tarpey.

Labels: Hip Hop, Music, Scary Eire