Irie Maffia

Biography

Irie Maffia is a Hungarian pop band formed in 2005. Their music is based on reggae and dancehall, which they blend with hip hop, funk and rock. The band also has a sound system formation (Irie Maffia Soundsystem), where András Kéri (a.k.a. MC Columbo) sings ragga lyrics on the reggae/dancehall riddims played by band leader Márton Élő (a.k.a. Dermot) and Gáspár Horváth (a.k.a. Jumo Daddy) from vinyl records.

History and present

Their first recording in 2006 made use of a dancehall riddim, the Rodeo riddim (formerly made popular by the mighty Seeed), which was released by Germaica Records, Europe's leading reggae/dancehall record company.
The full house release party of the Mafia's first LP, Fel a kezekkel! (Hands In The Air), took place on A38, a party boat in Budapest, in December, 2007.
To make the most of the success, the Maffia went on tour to several European destinations, amongst which was the Italian Rototom Sunsplash in 2007, probably the greatest reggae competition of the continent. They came in second.
Irie Maffia's first video clip, shot for their most popular song, "Hands In The Air", came out by the spring of 2008.
In autumn 2008 the Irie Maffia is one of the 5 nominees for MTV European Music Awards Local Hero, the voting is now on.
Until February 2013, the band's sound system formation held weekly club nights in Corvintető, offering reggae music to the Tuesday night audience of the venue.
Having fulfilled the requirements of Dutch/foreign trustees, the Maffia took part in Amsterdam's My City Budapest Festival, an event featuring the most important Hungarian bands. They were also asked to participate in a festival in Rovereto, Italy, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I, to which each European country's national radio station contributed one band.
In 2015, Vízibility, a one-day event organised by Foundation for Africa, was held to raise awareness to the water problems of the African continent. At the event, Sena Dagadu gave a concert.

Members

Sena Dagadu a.k.a. MC Sena - vocals, rap, spoken word
András Kéri a.k.a. MC Columbo - vocals, rap
Kemon W. Thomas a.k.a. MC Kemon - vocals, rap
István Busa a.k.a. Papa Diamont - rap
Ákos Baranyai a.k.a. DJ Future - turntable
Tamás Dési a.k.a. Monsieur Büdoá - drums
Ádám Meggyes a.k.a. Mézeságyas - trumpet
Márton Élő a.k.a. Dermot - trombone
Gáspár Horváth a.k.a. Jumo Daddy - keyboards
Péter Matus a.k.a. Kölyök - bass
Ádám Szekér - guitar
Antal Oláh a.k.a. Monsieur Zsömoá - percussion

Videos

Hands In The Air - 2008
Slow Down Chale - 2009

Appearances

Rototom Sunsplash (Udine, Italy) - 2007, 2008
My City Budapest (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - 2008
Sziget Festival Budapest
Sentiero Di Pace[link removed] (Path Of Peace) Festival (Rovereto, Italy) - 2008
Red Bull Music Clash: Irie Maffia vs. Magna Cum Laude (Miskolc, Hungary) - 2008