‘Hokage – Pt.1’, Childhood and The Irish Scene : In Conversation With Offica

Hailing from Ireland but of Nigerian descent, constantly rising rapper Offica, just over a week ago, came through to unveil part one of his debut album ‘Hokage’. Having risen to the top of the UK music scene all whilst putting Ireland on the map, Offica shot heavily into the public eye with the A92 Plugged In Freestyle; sitting on 115 million streams on Spotify and almost 55 million views on YouTube – the freestyle brought great attention to not only Offica but the rest of the Irish drill scene as well.

With a discography stretching back to 2018, a two year period saw Offica as a masked up anonymous rapper; in 2020 the Irish prodigy revealed his face and identity and since then he’s never looked back. With so many millions of streams to his name, Offica is a name that is constantly thrown into the mix when it comes to the most talented. For Mixtape Madness, I had a little chat with him about his childhood, his new project and the Irish drill scene, and here’s how it unfolded.

First of all, before we enter the music talk, can you tell me a little bit about your childhood and your background?

Where did you grow up, how was your school life and how old are you now?

I grew up in a small town in Ireland called Drogheda – the home of the A92.Teachers didn’t rate me in school and some said they hate me, but I graduated from University this year and I’m 23 years old now.

What did a typical day in the life of ‘Offica’ consist of throughout your youth?

Literally a normal kid, playing football in the streets. Causing Havoc with a few of my friends and having fun.

What music was played around the household when you were younger and were there any standout albums or projects that had a major influence on your life?

A lot Of Fuji and Afrobeats, the main man fela Kuti was played a lot when I was younger.

What made you want to start making music?

It really happened my mistake, I was just rapping for fun and all my friends said they wanted me to record it.

What age did you start writing / go to the studio in order to put it in action?

At the age of 18, but Music had always been something that I really enjoyed.

How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard it before?

Authentic and Unique

There is obviously a much smaller rap scene in Ireland as opposed to the rest of the UK – how does it feel to be one of the leading names in the Irish music scene?

It feels good, but I’m not really focused on being local but global.

Are there any other Irish rappers that may have slipped under the radar that we should get on our radar?

Nikz from the A92, he is the coldest in Ireland.

The A92 ‘Plugged In’ freestyle is currently sat on 53 million views and more than 115 million streams on Spotify alone – do you think this was a monumental moment in terms of exposure for the Irish Scene?

I think that freestyle brought a lot of eyes to the scene, it put Ireland on the map for sure.

Your new project ‘Hokage – Pt. 1’ came out at the tail end of last week – can you talk me through the creative process with this project?

It was late nights, a lot of overthinking and very hard work. Anything I do I wanna do it to my best and I hope all the people who will listen to the tape like it.

What is your favourite track off of the project?

I really like all of them, you tell me which is your favourite.

My personal favourite probably has to be between Stick To The Plan and Living Proof. With that being said, there’s a huge difference in sound between ‘Naruto Drillings in 2018 and the production/ general sound of the new project? How would you say that your sound has developed over the past 5 years and what’s changed for you as a person since then?

I think I’ve grown and developed into an artist, like I said I was doing music for fun but now I’m really taking things serious but still having fun with it.

It’s your first album out – where do you hope to go from after this project or are you taking each day as it comes really?

We’re planning some big things for next year so watch out for it.

What is the end goal for you? Do you have a lot more plans for touring etc…

Yeah I’ve got a tour announcement soon, and I’ve also got Pt 2 of the project coming in November.

 Was there a moment for you where you really reflected on your growth and ‘making it’ as a rapper?

Yeah whilst the plugged in came around I knew I was gonna have to grow as a rapper.

Do you have any dream collaborations? If so, who?

Dave, Cench, Drake

What do you do in your free time outside of music?

I play a lot of FIFA, and I’m in the gym too a lot these days

To close of, what for you is the meaning of life to you?

Deep question, but I would say the meaning of life would be to find out what your purpose is here on Earth.

With the second part of Hokage set to drop later this month, now is the time to make sure you have taken in Pt.1 of the project. With 14 songs to digest and multiple A92 collaborations – the new project is filled with heaters for the playlists.

Listen to Offica’s new project ‘Hokage Pt. 1’ below :