This Irish-Jamaican Rapper Lit Up Other Voices on Her First Ever Irish Trip
Words: Rachel Hannon
Although she didn’t find Fungie, JayaHadADream made up for it with a knock out performance at Other Voices Dingle last weekend. We spoke to her about her Irish-Jamaican hertiage, her favourite Irish artists, and her plans for 2026.
Formerly a criminology teacher and now one of the most compelling Jamaican-Irish rappers emerging from the UK, JayaHadADream made her first ever trip to Ireland for Other Voices in Dingle last weekend. Her major breakthrough came in 2024 when she won the prestigious Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition, earning a performance slot on one of the festival’s main stages. We spoke to her last weekend right after she came off the stage from her Other Voices set.
Jaya’s music is introspective with bite, unpacking themes of identity, social inequality, resilience, and self-discovery. Her writing is heavily shaped by her dual Irish and Jamaican heritage, and her experience of growing up in an all-white household in Cambridge. In October of this year, Jaya released her debut mixtape, Happiness From Agony, featuring collaborations with artists like Big Zuu and Frisco.
With such a brilliant reception in Dingle, her return to Ireland can’t come soon enough.
