Feel Something: Travy Interviewed – clashmusic.com

There’s a dark force sweeping through Dublin. It’s scary. It’s ominous. It’s breakthrough Irish rapper Travy, who jumps feet first into 2025 with his debut solo project, ‘SPOOKY’. Irish rap has undergone a seismic evolution over the years, carving its own singular regional identity. What was once a fledgling scene, often battling misconceptions and a niche audience, has matured into a genre-bending movement. At the forefront of this charge, is man of the people, Travy, backed by his collective, Gliders. 
I first became aware of Travy when I ventured to Brighton on a solo trip. I perched up in the nearest fish & chips scrolling through my phone, when a video for Travy and Elzzz’s 2024 hit ‘Blockbuster’ arrived in my DMs. Lifted from their collaborative project, the slick edit correlated with Travy’s charged, staccato verse; the song was bold and punchy, the video striking.
‘SPOOKY’ affirms Travy’s status as one of the most exciting musicians to come out of Ireland in recent years. Having previewed his tape ahead of release, CLASH caught up with the buzzy rapper to talk Dublin rap, the familial inspiration behind his alias and fostering community with his multi-purpose collective.
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Who is Travy?
A Nigerian artist raised in Ireland. A very ambitious kid trying to take over the world, using my voice to inspire the ones that don’t really have a voice. That’s me in a nutshell.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music, and how did growing up in Ireland shape your artistic journey?
My friends and the people around me inspired me. Back in the COVID period, we used to freestyle because we obviously didn’t have much to do, so we’d be freestyling every day, rapping over beats. Every time I’d rap, they’d look at me and be like “Yo you actually have a voice for this, there’s something there.” What really pushed me over the edge was my videographer. He got his camera and said, “I want you to rap and I’m going to record you.” Then we recorded my first song. Looking back, the song wasn’t that crazy but the vibe was there. We posted it and actually got a decent amount of engagement. Since then, I haven’t looked back. 
I started paying attention to you after watching the video to ‘Blockbuster’, and what was refreshing to see, is that you proactively engage with your audience, rather than react, which is how we got talking all that time ago. 
You’re a person first, right? Someone texted me the other day saying, “the stuff that you’re putting out is so insane and yet you’re still so reachable. You’re replying to DMs, you’re actually engaging with the people.” This is how I started. I never took it seriously.
Your music blends UK drill, US rap and Nigerian highlife. How do you balance these genres and cultural signifiers in your sound?
In Ireland, we have a lot of influences from England and beyond. I grew up listening to Skepta and other UK stuff, like what the English people would grow up listening to. I also listened to a lot of American music, as we grew up watching American TV. Ireland is the only English-speaking country now in the EU since Brexit. When I started doing all this stuff, I blended all the influences together. Things would just happen. It was like “Let me add this sound from this American thing but then put it on to a drill beat, or grab this because I like the way he’s rapping on this.” I listened to a lot of music growing up. I listened to loads of 50 Cent. 
You found music via your father, right?
I found my Dad’s iPod Nano and the only thing he had on it was 50 Cent. I’d sneak the iPod Nano away and just bang 50 Cent in my earphones. I loved the way he would rap on things, and just the things he was saying were like things that I was seeing on a day-to-day basis. I knew that I could show my perspective: I’m a Nigerian kid new to Ireland but I’ve had the same experiences as a black person in America or a black person in the UK. When I started rapping, it was easy for me to blend everything together and put it into words. 
Tell us about your new project ‘SPOOKY’. How would you describe it?
‘SPOOKY’ is “feel something” music. You’ve heard the sonics and it’s heavy hitting, whilst the bars are punching. It’s something people would want to listen to. It’s my first solo project, so it’s based on all the experiences that I’ve lived. Being from Dublin, it’s a good place to live and it’s a good place to raise kids. It’s very family-oriented but it’s also quite dark. There’s a lot of bad stuff happening. There’s a lot of oppression. Every time I meet people from London, the first thing they say to me is “I swear Ireland’s mad racist!”
I’ve had to go through so many different things that my peers in the UK just wouldn’t have had to face in England because there’s more integration, and Ireland is still predominantly white. We’re pushing and building culture whilst we’re creating it. Making ‘SPOOKY’ was like a therapy session – a massive therapy session. All the experiences, bad or good, I just wanted to cram it all into one project. If you want to feel something, feel alive, just put on ‘SPOOKY’.
You recorded ‘SPOOKY’ in Paris. What can you tell us about the creative process?
Being in that crib in Paris, I always say four walls because it felt like jail. It was like I couldn’t leave that place until everything I wanted to say was off my chest. I would wake up and Liam (Liam Harris) would make a beat and I’d just jump on it straight away. The creative freedom of being in that crib, being able to record at any given moment, was why I decided to go to Paris. There were no time limitations like when you go studio normally. Liam and I were literally just bouncing off each other. It was very collaborative between us. 
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Why did you call collective Gliders?
We used to say we’re going on a glide, if we were to go to a party or going to go do something. People would be like “Yo, those are the Gliders.” People gave us the name.
As a co-founder of Gliders, what role does collaboration play in your music and vision?
One voice can’t be the only voice. I feel like in Ireland, when people aren’t collaborating, things don’t really move as fast. When you collaborate, the scene forms. I think people are starting to see that. I’ve made songs with so many different people but at a time where collaboration just wasn’t a thing. People didn’t really clap, they just did their own thing.
I started to collaborate with people because I was trying to bring that out and that’s how Gliders was made. Everything happened organically. Me and Elzzz decided one day to make hats and put the word Gliders on them. They sold out in a day and we carried on the momentum. We found Sam Fallover (artwork and visuals) and brought him on board, and then one of our friends, TJ, but he’s moved on now. That whole period we were creating a brand. Again, collaboration is massive.  
You’ve generated a lot of success with your collaborative work with Elzzz and Gliders. What are your plans to grow the movement?
We have ideas for the brand and one of those is that we’re doing a collaboration with Pellador, which is another Irish brand, on the clothes side of things. We’re trying to organise a Gliders fest where we’ll bring other artists on. Hopefully we can get that done within the year. In Ireland, they have funding initiatives to help run all those things. I’m working with some people within the council that are going to try and help.
With Gliders, we have a few things coming and then with me and Elzzz, we’re aiming to do another project – we have one in the pipeline. Once I’m done with ‘SPOOKY’, I’ll be looking to figure out what the next stage is, whether it’s another solo project or another collaborative one. It’s all about picking out which one to focus on. 
You touched on it before. What are the main challenges emerging artists are facing in Ireland? And how do they overcome these challenges?
It’s very hard to take music seriously in Ireland because there’s literally no support. I get my support from the people around me. For new artists in Ireland, I give them any piece of knowledge that I have. Find someone that believes in you. That might be your close friend who does videos or does graphics, or does something creative with a camera or makes beats. Anyone can add to the musical journey. For instance, like Liam and Sam, we all came together very organically. Dublin rents are also peak; the housing crisis is a different situation altogether and it makes it very hard to sustain a music career. I don’t even know how I’ve done it. It’s only by God’s grace that I’m even here. 
Do you hope your music impacts conversations about identity and more cultural integration in Ireland?
For sure. I posted a TikTok one time, and it started doing the rounds but then I saw it on Twitter. Someone screen grabbed it and they were cussing it out like “look what Ireland has turned into, a load of people from Africa doing dances in front of a memorial.” I didn’t even know whose memorial that was. I was just dancing and rapping my songs. The majority of Ireland is still in its early stages of culture, and we’re the ones bringing culture to it, if that makes sense? It’s still very difficult because they don’t necessarily want to take it in yet. I found out recently that Gliders was blacklisted. I was wondering why we weren’t getting any shows and some guy told us we ask for too much because we roll with an entourage. This is rap culture. I’m living in a place where they don’t understand it yet.
There’s no one that’s like me in these high places to tell them that this is how it is. My mum said to me the other day “You must keep going, you must keep shining. Kill them with success and that’s the only way.” My mum was the first Nigerian lady to bring Nigerian dishes into Irish supermarkets. She basically went through the same thing I had to go through. She just recently opened a restaurant, and will be interviewed by the BBC soon.
Growing up in Ireland, there was a lot of black people that had an identity crisis because they’re told you’re not from here. I’m Irish, though? I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve done the exact same thing you guys have. I’m on the same corner you guys are, so what’s the difference? Ireland has a mad suicide rate because a lot of people don’t know where they stand. They don’t know where their community is and it’s quite sad. The bigger we grow, the more of us there’ll be. How many generations of black people have been in the UK for time? They’ve grown up with grandparents that were born in the UK and in Ireland we are the first generation. 
With that said, how do you feel about leading the charge for the next generation of Irish artists?
I like these questions because they get me thinking. My dad was a General in Nigeria and my mum is an ambitious woman. I get my ambition from them but I’ve always wanted to inspire people. For example, there’s this kid named Baby July from Galway. He popped up on my TikTok one time. I liked his beat selections and the fact that he was doing it himself. I share his stuff every so often. I didn’t have that, so I want to be there for the ones that are coming up in the space. 
For people looking to tap into the scene, what artists can you put them onto?
Moio. Baby July. Youngiz. Elzzz. REGGIE.
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‘SPOOKY’ is out now.
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Words: Josh Clubbe

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