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Something For The Weekend: Ahmed With Love's cultural picks

Updated / Thursday, 14 Nov 2024 07:00
Ahmed, With Love models his own football kit
Ahmed, With Love models his own football kit

A rising star of Dublin's vibrant rap scene, Ahmed, With Love is riding a wave of critical acclaim for his new mixtape, Comma, Fullstop.

What's more, he just launched his own football kit.

Ahmed, as pictured on the cover of Comma, Fullstop.

Ahmed for his choice cultural picks...

FILM

I don't even watch films that often (most of my media consumption is either YouTube or cartoons/anime). With that being said, I am a sucker for a film that’s either so-bad-it’s-good or so obscure that there’s no reason for me knowing it.

One that recently hit both of those criteria for me was Summertime Switch, a 1994 US cable-TV-only film with a plot so dumb I won’t even spoil it. The entire film is on YouTube so definitely give it a watch.

MUSIC

I am a big fan of Brazilian music, particularly from the 70s. Be it bossa nova, samba, tropicalia or MPB, there’s such a beautiful, natural feel to the music made there. It’s an air of honesty to it all, because you can hear how much fun they’re having when they make it. I’d definely recommend listening to anything from Joao Gilberto (Estate), Jorge Ben Jor (Criola), Gal Costa (Vatapá) or Caetano Veloso (Julia/Moreno).

Another mention to Bruno Berle’s No Reino Dos Afetos 2, which is such a treat, and proof that that same passion and respect for the craft lives on to ths day in Brazil.

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Also maybe listen to my mixtape Comma, Fullstop. which I dropped recently, solely because I said so :).

BOOK

I’ll be the first to say that I’m not much of a reader, but my girlfriend has been very invested in Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck. The premise is a newly-wed couple coming to terms with the fact that the husband has been diagnosed with a rare disease that will turn him into a shark. The idea of telling such a gripping and heart-tugging story with such a surreal concept is impressive in and of itself, and my girlfriend likes it and she’s never wrong so you’ll like it too.

TV

I watched the first two episodes of DanDaDan on Netflix last weekend. I was looking forward to it for months and it surpassed expectations. The anime is around two highschoolers – one who believes in aliens, the other in ghosts. They both find out that they’re both right and it’s a big, visually entertaining, funny and action-packed adventure from.

Cartoons may not be your thing, let alone anime, but I would highly highly recommend watching it. It’s currently being released on a weekly basis and with the rise of bingeable content, I feel like you often forget how fun it is to wait week-by-week to see how something pans out.

GIG

My friend and collaborator Curtisy has been making waves recently in the Irish hip-hop and overall creative scene recent, especially after dropping his debut album What Was The Question? earlier this year. The deluxe edition drops soon and to celebrate he’ll be going on tour in Ireland and the UK so those are can’t-miss shows for sure for someone whom I genuinely consider the best wordsmiths in the country (He’ll be in Belfast on the 16th and Dublin on the 20th November).

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I was blessed to be a part of this year’s Ireland Music Week and as a result, got to see some fantastic homegrown music. One highlight for me was watching Annie-Dog perform live. She’s beyond talented and you should be listening to her right now.

PODCAST

I am the biggest wrestling nerd (which is no surprise to anyone who’s seen me live or heard me go on a rant at a gaff) so I have been a big big fan of the Deadlock podcast. Three guys go over an episode of WWE/WCW wrestling from the 90s or 2000s and discuss it from start to finish, with some hilarious banter throughout. It’s like I’m with them discussing it and it’s as stupid as it sounds and I love it!

TECH

They just released a very anticipated sequel to an old video game I used to play called DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO. Based on the Dragon Ball anime franchise, it’s a fighting game with all the characters from the show throughout its 40-year history. Very niche, very nerdy but very fun and if you can’t play it, at least watch some gameplay online and live vicariously through it!

THE NEXT BIG THING

I heard they’re bringing Football Special to Dublin soon. I’m not even from Donegal but the county’s signature soft drink has such a huge reputation that I can’t help but be excited for it. I have no idea what it tastes like, but hopefully that changes soon!

Comma, Fullstop is now available via Bandcamp - find out more here.

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