A schoolgirl from the Irish tween rapper group who sent the internet into meltdown with their ‘song of the summer’ has said she is ‘in shock’ by how much the track has blown up online.
‘The Spark’ was released by Rhyme Island, a rap group made up of 30 nine to 12-year-olds from the outskirts of Cork, earlier this month and has since racked up at least eight million views.
The group was created by the non-profit creative hub Kabin Studio and the government initiative Creative Ireland. As well as local performers, the song also features child refugees living in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare.
The school children’s song has since been featured on social media websites such as TikTok and Instagram, with thousands of people making their own clips to the song and even joking that this should have been Ireland’s Eurovision entry.
Sophia McNamara, who is 11 years old, performs under the name Miss Sombrero and is one of the children who sang on the track.
She told the Irish Independent: ‘There are so many people watching it, I am in shock, my brain is like “wha!” Famous people have commented on it – it’s been unreal.’
Sophia McNamara, who is 11 years old, performs under the name Miss Sombrero and is one of the children who sung on the track (pictured)
Garry McCarthy, creative director of Kabin Studio, told the outlet: ‘We knew it was a belter and the video was class. We knew it would get a bit of traction locally or nationally but weren’t expecting this. This is crazy.’
The two-and-a-half-minute music video, which sees children dancing on a bus, running through the streets and dancing in a club, opens with the cheeky lyric: ‘Think you can stop what we do? I doubt it.’
The young performers later rap: ‘We got the energy, we’ll tell you all about it. I searched for my spark and I found it.’
In the video, the children went to a rave-like setting and donned bucket hats, gold chains and colourful clothing as they sang enthusiastically into the camera.
Sophia said they had a smoke machine and bubbles in the venue, The Pav, which has a massive stage. ‘We got ice cream in town and it was just such a lovely day,’ she said.
Speaking about the clothing choices, the schoolgirl said she got a plain white hat and enjoyed drawing all over it with paint markers.
Sophia said they had a smoke machine and bubbles in the venue, The Pav, which has a massive stage
She can be seen in the music video rapping the first verse, where she says: ‘Making bangers at a young age, my pen setting fire to the page’
She can be seen in the music video rapping the first verse, where she says: ‘Making bangers at a young age, my pen setting fire to the page, I’m gonna show you how to rock that stage.’
The music video, which was filmed in a single day, was released ahead of Ireland’s national day of children’s creativity on June 15 – but has become a surprise hit on social media.
After being picked up by local media, the music video caught the attention of author and Observer columnist Séamas O’Reilly, who shared it with his 97,000 followers.
He gushed: ‘Some Irish primary school kids made a tune and there is zero legitimate reason for it to go this hard, holy s**t.’
The author’s rave review has since amassed over 75,000 ‘likes’ and prompted the video to be shown to over 8million viewers.
‘This should have been Ireland’s Eurovision entry,’ one fan replied. Another added: ‘Holy hell, I didn’t think a day would ever exist when I would want the sound of a bunch of bratty kids yelling, injected directly into my veins.’
A third gushed: ‘Sounds like a Dizzee Rascal track!’ Meanwhile, a fourth replied: ‘I pressed play fully expecting this to be a joke and for it to just be okay but WHAT THIS IS ACTUALLY A BANGER?!’
The music video, which was filmed in a single day, was released ahead of Ireland’s national day of children’s creativity on June 15
Pictured: The Spark music video. In the video, the children went to a rave-like setting and donned bucket hats, gold chains and colourful clothing as they sang enthusiastically into the camera
Over on TikTok, musician The Refuge Psystem also dubbed it the ‘song of the summer’.
Speaking to The Guardian, producer Garry McCarthy said: ‘The response has been amazing. The kids’ energy and positivity has inspired people. It’s a really catchy song.’
The producer said the group had the idea for the song in March during one of the studio’s weekly workshops.
He explained how the children then developed the verses and chorus during their Easter camp.
After being picked up by local media, the music video caught the attention of author and Observer columnist Séamas O’Reilly, who shared it with his 97,000 followers
The author’s rave review has since amassed over 75,000 ‘likes’ and prompted the video to be shown to over 8million viewers
Following this, the Kabin Studio team took the song to the refugee centre in Lisdoonvarna, where they finished it off with the young performers living there.
The producer revealed that the children write songs every week at Kabin Studio but The Spark ‘just happened to go a little further’.
Cruinniú na nÓg – which translates as the ‘national day of children’s creativity’ – will feature over 1,000 free events for children and teenagers across Ireland on June 15.
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