Irish rap duo seek for better opportunity in Leeds streets

Covid-19 is still making a negative impact on artists across the country, hitting the artists who are busking on the streets harder than ever before.

Citizen Black and Sea High are an Irish rap duo from Dublin, Ireland. They have been actively creating and performing music for the last 19 years. But have been working as a duo for over 2 years, performing around both Ireland and touring the UK at gigs, live events and busking in the streets.

Their approach towards making music has been difficult since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the artists both stated that:

“Last 2 years its been impossible to make it profitable, so that’s why we decided to jump ship and come to Leeds to see if we could make it profitable again.”

According to the Government there are no limits on the number of people who can sing or perform indoors or outdoors. However, some activities can also increase the risk of catching or passing on COVID-19. In comparison to Irelands restrictions which state that you must be fully vaccinated to enter any form of events, which limits peoples accessibility.

Citizen Black said: “we have to focus on the journey and not the destination.”

Although Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted and many people in the UK have been administered with a vaccine, people are still anxious and hesitant about returning to everyday life. This can have a great knock on effect for artists like Citizen Black and Sea High, as many people are still hesitant to go out to see performers at live events or in outdoor events.

Profs Ana Nikčević from Kingston University of London and Marcantonio Spada from London South Bank University, both in the U.K., developed the concept of COVID-19 anxiety syndrome.