A RAPPER from Irvine says he hopes to show inspire the next generation after returning to his hometown for his latest music video.

Pro Focus, who is oringally from the town, filmed his music video for his latest track 'Chuck Norris' when he returned to Irvine earlier this year.

The rapper moved away from Irvine when he was 20, relocating to Stirling so he could attend college and university.

He told the Times: "I never shy away or hide the fact that I'm from Irvine, it's a big part of the Pro Focus lore and I mention it in my songs.

"Using Irvine as my film-set really allows me to represent that part of my history, and in turn it shines a light on Irvine and it's music culture as well, the music culture of Scotland.

"For those that know the town, I suppose it shows people a different, creative perspective. For those that don’t know, I think there’s a trendy street vibe in the video that advertises the area well."

Pro Focus says he has been a fan of rap for around a decade and has actively been studying Hip Hop culture for about six years through his involvement with the Temple of Hip Hop.

He added: "I first wrote a lyric when I was 15 and by the time I was 20 I had a serious passion for making music.

"I released my first song when I was 22 on the Up2Stndrd YouTube channel, and since then I've been releasing singles and working towards the release of my first 5-track-EP called 'My EPisode' which is releasing later this year!

"Most of my inspiration comes from my own life experiences - things I've been through or conversations I've had.

"That being said, I get inspired from all angles; Hip Hop history and culture, my Scottish nationality/heritage, the Scottish Hip Hop scene, and my sheer love for the lyricism/word play aspect of writing raps."

And he hopes this latest track, Chuck Norris, displays this love.

Pro Focus commented: "I've been working with a producer/beat-maker from South Africa named Remza since 2020.

"He's been sending me instrumentals, when he sent me this one I knew instantly I'd be able to use it. It has a '90s, old school feel and I feel like the beat really slaps.

"When writing Chuck Norris, I really just wanted to write a punch-line-heavy song. I wanted every line to hit with no filler.

"Just technical lyricism, painting myself in the image that people hold Chuck Norris in - he's a world-wide-known legend/bad a**. So I turn around like; 'I'll Chuck Norris aff a bridge'.

"My favourite line in the song comes about halfway through. I say 'I'm a mega-don megalodon, Megatron with a medal on' - I love bending words and getting multiple words out of the one word."

But why exactly did he choose to come back to Irvine to film this particular music video.

He explained: "I chose to film in Irvine because I grew up there. I moved to Stirling when I was 20 to go to college/uni and I haven't been back too often since I left.

"I was down visiting family a few weeks ago, and popped round to my friend Marco's house. I recorded the song in his home-studio and went to film the video the next day.

"I wanted to make it so obviously Irvine, to the point that one of the main shots in the video is me standing in front of the Irvine railway sign so there was no room for people to debate where the video was based.

"The idea for the video was 'let's walk around the entire town centre and get the classic Irvine iconography for the visuals'.

"If the video engages some of the Irvine/North Ayrshire youth and shows them that you can do what you want regardless of where you come from, or break the mould a wee bit then that's a huge bonus."

And after releasing the track and the Irvine-centric music video, it's safe to say he is pleased with how this turned out.

Pro Focus said: "Filming went great. It was a good laugh, as it always is! It’s always cool to see people's reaction to a rap video being filmed in the town, the novelty was enjoyed by everyone, ourselves included.

"I was very pleased with how it turned out! Huge shout out to Marco (Barcode) and Scott (Skelly) from Bear Cave Studio for recording and mixing the audio, as well as filming the video! 

"Massive thank you to Arron and Franky for helping me edit the footage to the point I was happy with the final product.

"And big shout out to my best mate John for getting me in touch with the Times."

If you want to give Chuck Norris a listen, check out Pro Focus' music video below.