It might sound a bit early to say it – especially in light of the summer we’ve had – but it’s shaping up to be some winter. Richard Hawley is due to the Black Box in December and before that Buck 65 comes to Róisín Dubh on Thursday, November 8. The Canadian rapper is a charismatic performer and is always a popular draw. As a writer, he has a keen eye for detail and his concerts are also notable for his wry between-song banter.
 

Buck 65, whose real name is Richard Terfry, grew up on a dirt road in a small town called Mount Uniacke in rural Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada where none of his friends were interested in hip hop music. He recalls that, as a kid, he mostly kept to himself and while he did well at school, all he really cared about was baseball.

At the age of 13 he tried his hand “scratching on the family stereo system”. Around the same time, he started writing little raps to impress the girls in his class. For what he describes as “some inexplicable reason,” he demonstrated an innate ability in both disciplines. “I was a natural. I was also a nerd.”

With more than a dozen albums to his credit, he may be a nerd, but he is also a master of his craft. Buck 65 is a live performer you shouldn’t miss. Tickets €14/€12