INTERVIEW: Kildare rapper reveals ambitious plans for 2026

Despite his chill demeanour and self-appointed moniker of 'The Dude' — no doubt echoing Jeff Bridge's laidback character of the same in the comedy-crime film 'The Big Lebowski' — one County Kildare rapper has made it his mission to be more active than ever in 2026.

C.O.B. The Dude, real name Ciarán O'Brien, is a Newbridge native who has slowly but surely made himself known in the Irish musical scene in recent years.

Although he mainly focuses on rap / hip-hop, he is not to afraid to dabble in other genres, such as rock and punk, and also hosts his podcast, 'Irish Coffee'.

Just last month, the artist, who just turned 27 years of age, released a brand-new track, 'Woah Wait', which is reminiscent of the late Mac Miller and 90s era Eminem with a dash of Stormzy, all the while accompanied by surreal yet smooth sounding Linkin Park-esque production.

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He also gave the Leinster Leader an interesting fact about the DOK Beats-produced song: he actually has no memory of ever making it!

C.O.B. explained: "I genuinely can't remember writing or recording it! One day, I was speaking to DOK over the phone and he told me: 'Here, do you remember that song we made [referring to 'Woah Wait']?'.

"'This is a banger, it needs to get released' he said. But after listening to it again, I was like 'What?' I genuinely don't remember creating, but after listening and relistening to it, I think it's become one of my favourite things I've ever made so far."

IN THE PIPELINE

C.O.B. also revealed that he wants to release at least one track for every month in 2026, and is currently working on a  project with another Newbridge-based artist known as Corey.wav.

And that's not all: C.O.B. also has a full-blown album in the pipeline too!

He further said that while he has no concrete plans for live shows as of yet, he stressed that he is very much "in writing mode".

SHOUT-OUT

The self-assured artist also made sure to shout-out his former Base Life pals, Stuie.With.The.Bag and TommySee? (Real names Stuart 'Stuie' McGrath and Thomas Clare respectively).

Although he is no longer directly affiliated with Base Life, he had nothing but good things to say about the musical collective: "They will always be my brothers; they will always be people that I consider family.

"We have spent a lot of years together growing and learning as artists," he added. "I definitely still keep in touch with them and I always will, no doubt!"

'Woah Wait' by C.O.B. The Dude can currently be streamed on both YouTube and Spotify.

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