New artist of the week: Versatile

New artist of the week: Versatile

What: The comedic rap duo are already huge.

Where: Dublin

Why: The big winners of Electric Picnic earlier this month, (other than Dua Lipa) were two Dublin lads, Alex "Eskimo Supreme" Sheehan and Casey "Casper" Walsh, who have been building up a big reputation over the last four years with comedic rap songs about selling heroin, robbing dogs and beating up guards.

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Those crude and catchy songs are accompanied with millions-viewed music videos on YouTube under the name Outburst Pal that have elevated those songs to a notoriety that has since seen them headline Life Festival, sell out the Olympia and draw thousands to their Electric Picnic set this year.

Ketamine, an exhilarating track and video released earlier this year, encapsulates Versatile's duality of brilliance and crassness. The song's production features early rave synths and well-placed percussion over seven minutes while Casey and Alex rinse quotable and questionable lines about being "paro off me head", and the refrain of "get a half ounce of the sneachta". In-between there are lines that signify a deeper substance ("I just want someone to love me / It's never gonna happen,") and Casey goes full into a Eminem-style revenge fantasy ("Your da wants a go, oh we have a new challenger / squeeze him by the neck til he looks like an avatar').

It’s that dichotomy (along with lame jokes involving wheelchairs and “sweeping junkies legs”) that make Versatile difficult to fully support if you’re a moral adult.

Yet, there’s no doubt that Alex “Eskimo Supreme” Sheehan and Casey “Casper” Walsh are clever and talented performers with a developing visual ambition that few non-comedic acts can match. Right now, they are close to transcending the cheap laughs.

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