Maimouna Salif, aka Celaviedmai, is a rapper from Galway now living in Dublin 15.
Ahead of her appearance at Body & Soul Festival this weekend, she tells us all about her favourite spots in Dublin, and how she learned to love the seaside...
Home is...
I'm from Galway, but I moved to Blanchardstown a year-and-a-half ago or so. I live with one of my friends and my cousin. It's quite nice, it's chill. The estate that I live in kind of reminds me of Galway, it's nice and quiet, so I really like it there.
I don't really have to go to town much because everything is right there, in terms of restaurants, food, clothing, all that stuff. Cinemas, bowling... During Christmas as well, you have ice skating and things like that.
How I get around the city:
I normally get picked up! [laughs] People normally drive me around, but I get the train as well, so that's handy - literally like five minutes away.
It goes from Clonsilla all the way to Connolly Station, and you can literally go anywhere because you can switch trains to other locations. It's pretty accessible.
The best place in the city for a date:
Happy Endings [in Temple Bar] – I had great food there and the vibe was really nice. The staff were great.
It was very nice and hip, and it's a nice place to go for an icebreaker, especially if it's your first date, because it's quite fun.
My favourite place to eat in Dublin:
I'm such a sweet girl – not savoury that much – so when I do go out, I love eating sweet things. There's Veginity and Bear Lemon, I love those two places so much.
I’m vegan, and I would highly recommend to anyone that is vegan to try those out. They're probably the best places in Dublin for vegan bakery.
I've always liked croissants and pain au chocolat, and they replicate it so well that you cannot tell that is purely a plant-based product. So I definitely would recommend those.
My go-to café or coffee shop:
I love coffee, so I would say The Art of Coffee is my favourite place ever. They make the best cappuccinos I've ever tasted in my life. So I would highly recommend – I go to the one in the Blanchardstown shopping centre.
Where I get my exercise:
I go to FlyeFit in Blanchardstown. I also go to a dance class with RoyalTdancers in Dublin city, so that's how I get my exercise in. It's a heel dance class with a variety of music, but mostly R&B and afrobeats.
You're dancing in heels and it's really hard, so it's proper cardio, but it's also to connect with your sensuality and it's really nice in that sense as well - creating a womanhood for people who are trying to connect with more women.
My favourite shops:
My guilty pleasure is Primark – I just love it so much because I love buying random things and they have amazing smelling candles. TK Maxx recently has become my thing as well because I get loads of random hair products and soaps and I love that so much.
And then I love Zara as well because they have very nice basic outfits, so they're good for everyday.
My favourite place for a haircut:
I get my hair done in Moore Street, I think her name is Ehis. Also, I get my nails – hands and feet – done at Tip Toe in Clonsilla. And then I get facials and stuff in Perola Padilha Clinic in Tara Street.
My favourite place in Dublin to get away from it all:
I love Bray so much, and Greystones and Howth.
Funny enough [being from Galway], I used to have a really big fear of the sea, so I don't know where that came from. But I did a photoshoot and I had to go into the sea. Once I was proper in it, I overcame the fear a little bit.
If it wasn't for [that photographer], I don't think I would have discovered Howth and maybe been a bit braver.
My favourite place to let my h air down:
There's this place called Bow Lane. DJ Wax's night, a DJ from Dublin – I've been going there recently and I really like it. Yamamori Tengu – Red's House [the club night], I really like those vibes as well.
I don't go out loads, but when I do go out, I go to their nights and they're really good. It's old-school R&B, hip-hop and then some afrobeats as well.
The last live event I went to:
I went to Forbidden Fruit and saw Malaki, Monjola and Gemma Dunleavy, so that was the last one.
It was very, very good and the weather was great, thank God, because we were performing [on the Saturday] and I know Sunday was extremely rainy in Dublin.
Dublin's best kept secret:
I recently discovered this place called The Glovebox. It's a car park that's turned into a gallery/bar. I was just stunned with how nice it was. There's live music and it’s very intimate, the vibe was absolutely amazing.
Celaviedmai plays the Hennessy Area at Body & Soul Festival in Westmeath this weekend (June 17-19). bodyandsoul.ie
