Words by

Marcus Walsh

Iceland Airwaves has another diverse line-up this year. Here we a look at another promising new act– local hip-hoppers 32C.

The rap group 32C have been together for just two months. Eighteen-year-old MC’s Gauti and nineteen-year-old Dabbi T have a distinguished reputation as solo rappers despite their youth.
    The group was formed when Gauti and Dabbi T were drunk one night. As the boys put it, this led to all kinds of complicated feelings toward one another. “We started off by hating each other and then started loving each other. Not like that though,” reassures Dabbi T. The two rappers seem very relaxed in each other’s company as we chat at Prikið. They explain that hanging out together opened up the chance to play live shows: “We started cruising around the hood of Breiðholt. We started going to shows and doing solo sets together” explains Gauti.
    32C have already been played on a variety of radio stations around Iceland and a debut album is in the works which should help secure their place in Iceland’s small rap scene: When asked about their influences, Gauti jokes, “It’s winter now, so we’re going to be emo.”
    While the boys owe much of their success to dedication and the natural ability to spit lyrics, they’ve also had some help along the way. By enlisting producer Magse, also known as Nagmus, to lay down the electronic foundations, they are certainly in safe hands. “He won an award at the Icelandic Music Awards in 1998 when I was 9 years old,” explains Gauti.
    When asked what we can expect from 32C’s live show at Airwaves, Dabbi responds resolutely: “We have banging beats and fire. Just fire. Stuff you can dance to and nod your head to. The show is going to be legendary,” Gauti reinforces: “It’s going to be fire.” This is the band’s first official live show together and the hype surrounding this performance could see something set alight. “We are gonna be huge” asserts Dabbi T.