With the underground Irish hip-hop scene having been injected with some much needed gusto in 2014 by the likes of Simi Crowns, ProFound and BeeMickSee, this year looks set to be the year of DVO Marvell. The Dublin rapper, known by day as Marvell Mavungu, had seen some early success from his debut mixtape The Playbook but remained largely under the radar, much to our dismay, until being awarded a supporting slot for Lil’ Wayne’s 2013 O2 arena show. Having been given that tremendous opportunity to break-out and demonstrate his mission-statement publicly, Mavungu honed his skills further and the evidence was clear on 2014’s Before We Started EP, a critical and musical success.
His style is somewhat of a mixed-bag, taking inspiration from contemporary hip-hop artists like Drake and Kendrick Lamar but adheres to all the caveats laid out by hip-hops earlier generations; Madlib, A Tribe Called Quest and Q-Tip reverberate through Mavungu’s music, ensuring his talent can only continue to blossom. Currently working on new music too, DublinsVeryOwn Marvell will undoubtedly blow up this year in a big way. Our advice? Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. Aaron Drain
Photos by Alessio Michelini
