I won’t pretend to understand what their music is about, I’m way older than their target audience and grew up in a different world, but when a video released by a member of the local drill outfit A92 gets almost half a million views in its first week, they must be doing something right. Yes? No?

The video was shot in and around Drogheda but I can’t make up my mind whether this is a good thing for the town or not. I suppose “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” and I can’t remember any other videos from Drogheda getting such a huge audience.

A92 come across all aggressive with their posturing and reciting but I reckon this is all an act and they are softies underneath the hideous hoodies and track suit bottoms which seems to be the uniform for young fellas these days.

Some of them also wear masks, not Covid-19 masks but theatrical masks which indicates they are playing a part.

Perhaps, rather than revealing their true selves they are just kidding around?

Whatever it is that they are doing A92 certainly seem to be having great craic and, with their fancy cars and helicopter jaunts, they’re living the young man’s dream. But what are they so angry about?

I suspect it might be racism but I can’t be sure because, to be perfectly honest, I can’t make head nor tail of the lyrics.

Nor do I understand the following press release so, in good old-fashioned journalistic style, I’ll copy and paste it so you can make your own mind up:

We first laid eyes on the orange Obito mask in late 2019 when Offica made his debut with ‘Naruto Drillings’ a song which quickly exploded in popularity. With a co-sign from KSI on the remix of ‘Naruto Drillings’ the mask became a recognisable figure in the Irish drill scene. The official unmasking to reveal the man behind the mystery took place on breakthrough single ‘Face Reveal’ when; you guessed it; OFFICA finally revealed his face. Fast forward to today, OFFICA is now a highly successful and accredited artist venturing off trying new things. Obito signifies the start of something new with the appearance of a new upgraded white Obito mask.

“OBITO to me is the return of the mask. Just because things are taking off doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten where I came from. OBITO is my way of going back to the basics, I’m embracing the Obito mask” explained Offica.

Produced by his partner in crime Kidspyal, Offica returns to his roots with a Naruto Drilling inspired beat loaded with heavy brazen bar and precision aim shots at opposing sides.

When asked what the track was about Offica replied “Drillings Init”. 

Offica is one of many artists flying the flag for Ireland right, becoming known for its idiosyncratic take on the drill and unmistakable Irish twang, Offica uses this to his advantage with the sprinkling of native pidgin in his ghostly-flowed rhymes. Fresh from a Top 40 hit with A92 and their “Plugged In Freestyle”, with his crew A92, plus a batch of impressive singles including “Opor”, “Take It (Yuck)”, and “Where’s The Motive?” with Blanco and Reggie, Offica has proven that he has what it takes to win. 

Keep up via social media:
Offica - https://www.instagram.com/a9offica/

So there you have it, and here’s the video: