Strange Boy – shares new single ‘Foul’ ft. Rebel Phoenix

Strange Boy returns with ‘Foul’, a collaboration with fellow Limerick artist Rebel Phoenix and the second single from his forthcoming album Say Nothin’. Blending hip hop, spoken word and Irish traditional music, the track pairs uncompromising storytelling with an arrangement built around bodhrán, flute, banjo and guitar, performed by some of Ireland’s leading traditional musicians.

Raised in Caherdavin, Limerick, Strange Boy writes from the place he knows best. His songs draw on the people, language and everyday experiences that shaped him, treating Limerick not simply as a backdrop but as the foundation of his work. He sees rap as a continuation of the seanchaí tradition – storytelling carried into a contemporary form.

“Rap, to me, is storytelling in a modern tongue. The same fire, different form.”

‘Foul’ examines how childhood circumstances shape identity long before there’s any ability to understand or influence them.

For Strange Boy, the song reflects on growing up without stability or agency. Alcoholism, violence and poverty formed part of everyday life, but as a child there was little way to understand what was happening, only to react to it. The song follows the loss of childhood innocence, from believing the world is fundamentally fair to recognising the inequalities that define people’s lives. Looking back, Strange Boy sees how those experiences shaped both his worldview and his connection with people from similar communities across Ireland – places that are too often reduced to headlines while the lives behind those headlines remain overlooked.

“You have no power to stop what’s happening, so you just become a product of your own time and circumstance” says Strange Boy.

Musically, the track brings together producer Enda Gallery’s production with performances from Dermot Sheedy (bodhrán), Conor Crimmins (flute), Sean O’Meara (guitar) and Ted Kelly (banjo), creating a sound that sits comfortably between Irish traditional music and modern hip hop.

Upcoming album ‘Say Nothin’, due for release 9th September 2026.

photo credit – press photo