Willzee, Limerick-based artist of Traveller descent, today releases Let It Rain, the final glimpse into forthcoming album Deep Tinker set for release on May 22nd. Featuring Sharyn Ward, the track is a powerful spoken word piece that confronts one of the most damaging chapters in Irish Traveller history.
The track centers on the lasting impact of the 1963 Commission on Itinerancy – a report that shaped decades of policy and perception toward the Traveller community. Framed without true representation or consultation, its conclusions imposed a system that sought to erase identity rather than understand it.
The consequences reached far beyond policy. Traveller communities were pushed into cycles of instability – facing rising suicide rates, limited access to education, chronic underfunding, and a constant state of anxiety and survival. The effects were generational, embedding hardship into everyday life.
Rooted in truth and lived awareness, Let It Rain confronts a history that was written without the voices it affected most. A haunting contribution from Sharyn Ward brings emotional depth to a track reflecting both the pain and resilience of the community.
“This is not just history, it’s a reality still being lived” explains Willzee.
Let It Rain stands as both testimony and resistance: a call to acknowledge the past, confront its consequences, and ensure these stories are no longer overlooked.
Working across music, poetry, screenwriting, and activism, Willzee is known for his direct, honest writing and a hybrid sound that fuses rap, Irish folk, and spoken word.
His upcoming album Deep Tinker draws on ancestral storytelling and a drive to challenge prejudice. Willzee explains, “It’s like my ancestors awaken in me each time I hear this album.”
Reflecting Willzee’s lived experience, academic research, and ancestral memory, the album emerged “from studying how policies have harmed our people” such as the 1963 Commission of Itinerancy. “But it’s also about the stories, the love, the music I grew up with around the fire. I wanted to go back to the grass roots of Traveller music – and honour the uncles and aunties who inspired me.”
Stream Let It Rain now here. Album Deep Tinker due for release May 22nd.
Cover photographed and edited – Myriam Riand