Kneecap Brings Irish Hip Hop, Radical Politics to Union Stage
It’s been a big year for the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap. After years of slowly building buzz, the trio of Belfast lads burst into the mainstream this year with a debut album, Fine Art, and a feature length, semi-autobiographical film co-starring Michael Fassbender.
They celebrated this impressive run with a sold-out East Coast tour, which recently arrived in DC. Playing to the packed basement at Union Stage, the band met our fraught present moment with urgent calls for liberation and thuggery.
Kneecap’s appeal, evident in both their onscreen and onstage performances, lies in their deep friendship and everyman charm. The trio, comprised of DJ Próvaí and MCs Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap, started writing rhymes in a Belfast attic in 2017. Their first single “C.E.A.R.T.A.” (“Rights” in Irish) came in the context of a hard fought struggle to gain official recognition for the Irish language in Northern Ireland, a territory still occupied by the UK after decades of civil war.
Unapologetically rapping in Irish and thumbing their noses at the cops, Kneecap struck a chord with young people in Northern Ireland who continue to feel marginalized by the post-Troubles status quo. The band’s rootedness in local culture and common sense anti-authoritarian politics has resonated far beyond Belfast, creating a fame that the Irish kids still don’t seem to truly understand. “We’re happy to be here” Mo Chara said at Union Stage on Sept. 23. “But it makes no sense to be rapping in Irish in America.”
Yet the hyperlocal nature of Kneecap’s music hasn’t stopped American fans from enjoying the band. Decked out in kuffiyehs and Irish soccer jerseys, the crowd in DC eagerly chanted along to anthems like “You Fenian cunts, get away from me” (a sarcastic tale about a hook-up with a Protestant girl gone wrong) and “Your sniffer dogs are shite.” (“A dog shouldn’t have a job,” Móglaí Bap told the crowd, “especially not as a cop.”)
In fact, from what I could tell most of Kneecap’s lyrics were either about drinking, getting high, or fighting with the cops as a consequence of the former two activities.
Watch the official music video “Fenian Cunts” by Kneecap:
Although their Irish brogue may present some barriers, American audiences will find it easy to enjoy Kneecap thanks to their deep respect for American hip hop. The band’s beats skillfully sample from a variety of hip hop styles, from the old school boom-bap of “C.E.A.R.T.A.” to the smooth West Coast groove of “Fenian Cunts.” This year’s Fine Art sees them incorporating elements of techno, drill and grime, with songs like “Rhino Ket” and “Fine Art” bringing aggressive pulsating beats that were huge fun to jump and dance to in the live performance.
On top of this, indieheads will find that the bouncy bass line of “Better Way to Live” features surprisingly good rapping from Fontaines DC frontman Grian Chatten. Kneecap may have a hard political edge, but they pair this with songs that are genuinely enjoyable, resulting in a mosh pit with the best kind of vibes. When it came time to end the night with their 2019 single “H.O.O.D.” everyone in the room was on their feet jumping.
Watch the official music video for “Better Way to Live” by Kneecap featuring Grain Chatten on YouTube:
As sons of Northern Ireland, Kneecap are keenly aware of the pain of occupation, dispossession, and cultural suppression. Nearly a year into a genocidal war in Gaza with no end in sight, their music speaks to the global nature of the struggle against colonialism and apartheid. After playing the pro-independence anthem “Get Yer Brits Out,” DJ Próvaí exchanged his signature Irish flag ski mask for one decked in the Palestinian colors, and stood over the mosh pit as the crowd roared its approval. “In Ireland we’ve experienced 800 years of colonialism,” Mo Chara said at the end of the night. “Free Ireland. Free Palestine. Tiocfaidh ár lá (Our day will come).”