Kneecap (band)

Kneecap are an Irish hip hop trio from West Belfast, Northern Ireland, with the stage-names Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí.^[1][2] They rap in a mixture of English and Irish and their lyrics often contain republican themes. Their first single "C.E.A.R.T.A." (Irish for "Rights") was released in 2017, followed by their debut album 3CAG, in 2018.^[3] Their second album Fine Art was released in 2024 and an biographical film about the group is set to be released later the same year.^[4]

History

The group began when Móglaí Bap was out spray-painting graffiti with a friend the day before the Irish Language Act march in Belfast. He had written "Cearta" on a bus stop when the Police Service of Northern Ireland arrived and arrested his friend while Móglaí escaped. The friend refused to speak English, and ended up spending a night in the cells awaiting an interpretor. This was the inspiration for their song "C.E.A.R.T.A.", which they intended to release "just for the craic. No plans for after," Mo Chara said they wanted to "stick the feelers out and see how it would go down. Luckily people enjoyed it, so we're still at it."^[5]

In late 2017^[6] their song "C.E.A.R.T.A." was banned from the Irish-medium radio station RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (RnaG) for "drug references and cursing". Fans started a petition which garnered 700 signatures to put the song back on air. Kneecap defended the song as "a caricature of life in west Belfast" and "a satirical take on life for young people, particularly in west Belfast".^[7]

The group's first full-length album, 3CAG, was released in 2018. The title references the drug MDMA: 3CAG means "trí chonsan agus guta" ("three consonants and a vowel"), slang for the substance. The group's name was the traditional punishment inflicted on drug-dealers by paramilitary Irish Republicans. Móglaí noted that the irony is intentional, as they are "talking about things that would get us kneecapped".^[8]

In February 2019, they received condemnation from South Belfast Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA Christopher Stalford after videos of the trio were posted online, showing them chanting 'Brits Out' at a concert performed in the Empire Music Hall in Belfast. The concert took place the day after the then Duke of Cambridge and the then Duchess of Cambridge had visited the same venue.^[9]

In 2021 Kneecap released their single "MAM" as a tribute to their mothers, the song was acknowledged as a shift away from their usual style saying that they wanted to do something more "real". Mo Chara stated in an interview that they wanted to show that "we can “roundhouse” you off the stage but we can also give you a hug afterwards. We wanted to do something a bit sentimental, we don’t wanna just box ourselves in with masculinity all the time."^[10] The trio also revealed on Instagram that Móglaí Bap's mother had died of suicide before it could be released and that all proceeds from the song would be going to the Samaritans.^[11]

In 2020 they publicly supported an independent Palestine by flying Palestinian flags at concerts and pledging to boycott the State of Israel.^[12][13] They also have close links with a volunteer gym in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine, having helped raise funds for it and promoted it on their Instagram, and in 2022 Irish writer Manchán Magan released a cover of Kneecaps song C.E.A.R.T.A to raise money for the gym.^[14][15]

In early 2023, the group began filming a film based on a fictionalised version of their lives, also titled Kneecap. Rich Peppiatt is set to direct, with Michael Fassbender in a supporting role. ^[16]

Discography

Albums

• 3CAG (2018)
• Fine Art (2024)

Singles

In popular culture

The 2024 biopic film Kneecap, in which the actual band members play themselves alongside more experienced actors including Michael Fassbender, Josie Walker, and Simone Kirby, is set in the West Belfast Gaeltacht Quarter in 2019. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2024, the first film in the Irish language to do so.^[17]

References