Kabin Crew emerged from weekly rap workshops at The Kabin Studio, a repurposed metal container turned into a non-profit youth music space in Knocknaheeny on the northside of Cork City.
Established in 2012 with the support of Music Generation Cork City, Garry McCarthy of Kabin Studio says, "The Kabin has grown out of a love for hip hop, songwriting, performance and building confidence within young people."
Kabin Party is described as "a group anthem from the junior rappers exploring what it’s like having parties at the youth studio space" while Belter is another anthem from teen rapper Coben aka "Sparky", who has been attending rap workshops since he was eight.
He also featured on the Late Late Toy Show in 2021 where he rapped for Ed Sheeran live on TV.
"We’re doing stuff like this all the time with the lil legends that attend - new songs every week with the team of talented and caring tutors and volunteers at The Kabin, having loads of fun and making memories in the process," says Mr McCarthy.
Since its release in May 2024, The Spark has amassing over 2 billion views on social media and 52 million streams. The track was born from the collaboration of young talents in Cork and Clare and has earning praise from artists like Stormzy, Becky Hill, and Tove Lo.
Last year, Kabin Crew performed at festivals, including Electric Picnic in Ireland and Pukkelpop in Belgium. The Spark’s success also led to two Grammy longlist nominations for the 2025 awards.
Despite its viral success, Mr McCarthy says, "We hope that the success of this will help to secure the Kabin Studio’s future, support the wider group of young people that we work with and allow us to deliver more outreach projects for kids with fewer opportunities."
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