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Sky News
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Why are Kneecap controversial?
Irish band Kneecap have had a meteoric rise in the music industry, with tens of millions of streams on Spotify alone and widespread critical acclaim. The trio's genre-bending rap/hip hop tracks, performed in a mixture of English and Irish-language, have clearly resonated with a mainstream audience, but their many controversial moments - some of them seemingly intentional - have helped them hit such heights. Here's what you need to know about the band and their most notorious moments. Who's in the band? The group is made up of three friends from Belfast: Mo Chara (Liam Og O Hannaidh), Moglai Bap (Naoise O Caireallain) and DJ Provai (JJ O Dochartaigh). The latter is a former teacher who still wears a balaclava, initially to disguise himself from his students when the band started out in 2017. They were controversial from the get-go - and seemingly by design. Their debut track - CEARTA - is based on how band member Bap was stopped by police for spray-painting cearta, the Irish word for rights, on a bus stop. Before fame, Bap and Chara, who have known each other for around 15 years, transformed a former youth club into party hub, where they would play their favourite tracks. And it was through this venture into the club space that they later met DJ Provai. The group called themselves Kneecap in reference to kneecapping, a common form of paramilitary punishment in Northern Ireland during The Troubles which sees someone shot or hit repeatedly on both knees. From cult heroes to mainstream success Kneecap released their first mixtape, 3cag, in 2018 to critical acclaim, and their 2019 single HOOD is their most streamed single to date. But their success reached new levels in 2024 with the release of their 18-track album, Fine Art, which culminated in a headline-worthy crowd attending their early-morning timeslot at Glastonbury. The band then ventured into the film industry with a self-titled biopic about their rise to prominence, set in post-Troubles Belfast, starring themselves alongside Irish actor Michael Fassbender. Before its full release last summer, it had been the talk of various film festivals, including Tribeca in New York. Speaking to Sky News at Glastonbury last year, the band said the reaction had been "crazy". Since then it's got crazier, with the film getting six BAFTA nominations and earning its writer and director Rich Peppiatt a win for Outstanding Debut. The band cracked the UK and are now following suit in the US, having sold out several shows there. Court battle with the UK government It would take a long time to cover all of Kneecap's controversial moments; much of it is a part of their music itself. They have been banned from Irish public service broadcaster RTE for their references to drug-taking. But there have been some particularly high-profile incidents since 2024. The first was their legal battle with the then-Conservative UK government, who blocked a grant for the band which was initially approved by the British Phonographic Industry. The group's application to the Music Export Growth Scheme, which supports UK-registered artists in global markets, was for £14,250, but Kemi Badenoch, then business secretary, stopped it. At the time, a government spokesperson said it fully supported freedom of speech, but that it was "hardly surprising" it did not want to hand out UK taxpayers' money to those opposed to the United Kingdom. One of their most famous tracks had been 2019's Get Your Brits Out, which had been criticised for being anti-British. The trio have always denied this being the case. Chara told Sky News after their Glastonbury set: "This is a thing that people love to spin, like we're some anti-British band. "We have English family. We have loads of good friends who call themselves British. It's the British government we don't like." Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government in November, earning them the same amount that the grant was worth. DJ Provai said the band's motivation was "equality". "For us, this action was never about £14,250; it could have been 50p," he said, after the band said it would donate the funds to two Belfast charities. "This was an attack on artistic culture, an attack on the Good Friday Agreement itself and an attack on Kneecap and our way of expressing ourselves." Calling for deaths of Conservative MPs Police say they are assessing a video of a Kneecap performance from November 2023, in which a member of the trio allegedly called for the death of Conservative MPs. The member is alleged to have said: "The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP." Two British MPs have been murdered in the past 10 years - Labour's Jo Cox in 2016 and Conservative Sir David Amess in 2021. 6:31 In a statement, Kneecap said they rejected "any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever." They added: "An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action. "To the Amess and Cox families, we send our heartfelt apologies, we never intended to cause you hurt." Pro-Palestinian messages at gigs The investigation into the MP comments was announced several days after the Met said it had referred a different video from a Kneecap gig to be reviewed by counter-terror police. Footage from that gig, at London's Kentish Town Forum last November, appeared to show one member of the group shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah". Hamas and Hezbollah are both proscribed as terrorist groups in the UK. Under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, it is an offence to express "an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation". The police say they are "assessing" both clips to "determine whether further police investigation is required". Kneecap have said they are facing a "co-ordinated smear campaign" after speaking out about "the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people". In their statement, they said: "Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation's history. "Kneecap's message has always been - and remains - one of love, inclusion, and hope. This is why our music resonates across generations, countries, classes and cultures and has brought hundreds of thousands of people to our gigs." Investigation comes after Coachella fallout Just days before the police investigations were announced, TV personality Sharon Osbourne called for Kneecap's US work visas to be revoked after accusing them of making "aggressive political statements" including "projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech" at Coachella Music and Arts Festival. As the band performed on the second night, they displayed words on the big screen reading: "Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. "It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. F*** Israel. Free Palestine". Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza, which came after Hamas gunmen launched an attack killing 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October 2023, has seen at least 52,000 people killed, according to the Gaza health ministry. Speaking to Rolling Stone after Osbourne's comments, Kneecap member Mo Chara said: "Her rant has so many holes in it that it hardly warrants a reply, but she should listen to War Pigs that was written by Black Sabbath [led by Ozzy Osbourne, her husband]." He also told the outlet: "We believe we have an obligation to use our platform when we can to raise the issue of Palestine, and it was important for us to speak out at Coachella as the USA is the main funder and supplier of weapons to Israel as they commit genocide in Gaza." Kneecap has been continually outspoken in favour of Palestinians at gigs. In November, DJ Provai arrived for the court verdict against the UK government in a vehicle bearing the Irish and Palestinian flags and blaring loud music.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meet Kneecap, the Irish hip-hop trio who sparked controversy with their provocative political performance at Coachella
Irish rappers Kneecap made comments about the Israel-Palestine conflict during their Coachella set. The trio has faced criticism for their remarks and has been dropped by their American booking agent. Sharon Osbourne called for Kneecap's US work visa to be revoked amid their political statements. Kneecap has been making headlines for a number of years, but the hip-hop group's latest appearance at Coachella has caught the attention of the world. The Belfast-based group performed on both weekends at the California festival. As has become custom for their shows, their performances included heavy political messaging about the conflict in Gaza. While Coachella organizers attempted to censor the band after the first weekend by removing their set from the festival's livestream, this only increased interest in the performance. Here's everything you need to know about the band and what's happened since their Coachella performance. The band, which formed in 2017, is made up of rappers Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí, who rap in both English and Irish. The band's "shows and tracks flip between satirical performance art and rampageous raves," reads their Spotify biography. In 2025, their semi-autobiographical film, "Kneecap," won the BAFTA for outstanding debut, recognizing the work of first-time director Rich Peppiatt. In the film, Chara, Bap, and DJ Próvaí played versions of themselves alongside Michael Fassbender. The Irish Times reports that the band's debut song "C.E.A.R.T.A." was inspired by a run-in with the police after Bap and his friend were caught spray-painting the word, which is Irish for "rights," on a bus stop. While Bap wasn't arrested, his friend was, and he spent a night in police custody waiting for a Gaeilge-English translator as he refused to speak in English to the police officers on duty. Since releasing their debut album in 2018, the band has been the center of several other controversies. Notably, they became involved in a legal battle with the UK government in 2024 after they were awarded a $18,970 (£14,250) music industry grant but were later blocked because of their creative output, which regularly promotes Irish republicanism and opposition to British rule in Northern Ireland. The group filed a discrimination lawsuit against the UK government, which they won. While performing in Australia in March, the band brought onstage the head of a statue of George V, which had been removed from a park in Victoria during a series of protests against colonial monuments in 2024. The band performed on both weekends of the festival, with both performances featuring political messaging voiced by the band and projected onto the screens behind them. NME reported that during their first performance, the trio led the audience in a chant about the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which was censored from the livestream on the festival's official YouTube page. The band responded to the article on X, saying it was "not the only thing that was cut," as they also included messaging regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict in their set. At the end of their show during the second weekend of Coachella on April 18, which the organizers did not stream, three messages appeared on the screens behind the band. "Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people," the projected messages read. "It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. Fuck Israel; free Palestine." During the performance, the band led the audience in chants of "Free, free Palestine." Kneecap was not the only artist at Coachella who shared political messaging about the war in Gaza at the festival. Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong altered the lyrics of "Jesus of Suburbia" and sang "Runnin' away from pain, like the kids from Palestine (the original line is: "Runnin' away from pain when you've been victimized"). Bob Vylan and Blonde Redhead, two of the festival's smaller acts, displayed the Palestinian flag during their sets, according to video footage taken by attendees. One prominent industry figure who spoke out against Kneecap was Sharon Osbourne, the wife and manager of Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne. In a lengthy post on X on April 22, she criticized Goldenvoice, the festival organizer, as it had allowed "artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression" and said that the 2025 festival will be remembered "as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity." The Hollywood Reporter reported that Goldenvoice was "blindsided" by the messaging in Kneecap's set. Osbourne also called out Green Day, which headlined the Saturday evening of the festival on both weekends, stating that their inclusion of pro-Palestinian sentiments "would have been more appropriate at their own concert, not at a festival." She found more fault with Kneecap, stating that the band "took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements." She asked her followers to join in her "advocating for the revocation of Kneecap's work visa." The next day, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police in the UK were assessing a video taken at a Kneecap concert in London in November 2024, which had been published on social media. The BBC reported that the footage appeared to show a member of the group shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" while draped in a Hezbollah flag. The two militant groups are considered terrorist organizations by the UK, and expressing support for either is forbidden under the Terrorism Act 2000. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that it had been made aware of the video and had been "referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment and to determine whether any further police investigation may be required." Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, told Rolling Stone in an email that the band has spoken about Palestinian conflict "at every single gig since the band's formation." "We believe we have an obligation to use our platform when we can to raise the issue of Palestine," he said in the statement published on April 23, "and it was important for us to speak out at Coachella as the USA is the main funder and supplier of weapons to Israel as they commit genocide in Gaza." He added that the band wasn't aware that their performance on the first weekend of Coachella had been cut short on Coachella's YouTube livestream until the next day. In response to Osbourne's call to have their visas revoked, he said her "rant has so many holes in it that it hardly warrants a reply, but she should listen to 'War Pigs' that was written by Black Sabbath." In a social media post on April 25, Kneecap described the response to their Coachella set as a "coordinated smear campaign." The Hollywood Reporter reported on April 24 that Independent Artist Group no longer represents the band in the US. Primary Talent International represents the band outside the US. The outlet said that IAG, which has artists such as Metallica, Billy Joel, and 50 Cent on its roster, parted ways with Kneecap between the first and second Coachella weekends. The booking agency previously sponsored the trio's US work visas, but that is no longer the case, per The Hollywood Reporter. Without valid work visas, individuals from overseas cannot work in the US. The band's website states that they are scheduled to begin a US tour on October 1, which consists of 21 dates and is mostly sold out. Representatives for Kneecap did not respond to a request for comment sent from Business Insider regarding the split from IAG and the status of their upcoming US shows. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Meet Kneecap, the Irish hip-hop trio who sparked controversy with their provocative political performance at Coachella
Kneecap has been making headlines for a number of years, but the hip-hop group's latest appearance at Coachella has caught the attention of the world. The Belfast-based group performed on both weekends at the California festival. As has become custom for their shows, their performances included heavy political messaging about the conflict in Gaza. While Coachella organizers attempted to censor the band after the first weekend by removing their set from the festival's livestream, this only increased interest in the performance. Here's everything you need to know about the band and what's happened since their Coachella performance. Kneecap is known for provocative lyrics and outspoken political views The band, which formed in 2017, is made up of rappers Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí, who rap in both English and Irish. The band's "shows and tracks flip between satirical performance art and rampageous raves," reads their Spotify biography. In 2025, their semi-autobiographical film, "Kneecap," won the BAFTA for outstanding debut, recognizing the work of first-time director Rich Peppiatt. In the film, Chara, Bap, and DJ Próvaí played versions of themselves alongside Michael Fassbender. The Irish Times reports that the band's debut song "C.E.A.R.T.A." was inspired by a run-in with the police after Bap and his friend were caught spray-painting the word, which is Irish for "rights," on a bus stop. While Bap wasn't arrested, his friend was, and he spent a night in police custody waiting for a Gaeilge-English translator as he refused to speak in English to the police officers on duty. Since releasing their debut album in 2018, the band has been the center of several other controversies. Notably, they became involved in a legal battle with the UK government in 2024 after they were awarded a $18,970 (£14,250) music industry grant but were later blocked because of their creative output, which regularly promotes Irish republicanism and opposition to British rule in Northern Ireland. The group filed a discrimination lawsuit against the UK government, which they won. While performing in Australia in March, the band brought onstage the head of a statue of George V, which had been removed from a park in Victoria during a series of protests against colonial monuments in 2024. Kneecap made their debut performance at Coachella on April 11 The band performed on both weekends of the festival, with both performances featuring political messaging voiced by the band and projected onto the screens behind them. NME reported that during their first performance, the trio led the audience in a chant about the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which was censored from the livestream on the festival's official YouTube page. The band responded to the article on X, saying it was "not the only thing that was cut," as they also included messaging regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict in their set. At the end of their show during the second weekend of Coachella on April 18, which the organizers did not stream, three messages appeared on the screens behind the band. "Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people," the projected messages read. "It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. Fuck Israel; free Palestine." Some uncensored messaging to Coachella 🤝🇵🇸 — KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 19, 2025 During the performance, the band led the audience in chants of "Free, free Palestine." Kneecap was not the only artist at Coachella who shared political messaging about the war in Gaza at the festival. Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong altered the lyrics of "Jesus of Suburbia" and sang "Runnin' away from pain, like the kids from Palestine (the original line is: "Runnin' away from pain when you've been victimized"). Bob Vylan and Blonde Redhead, two of the festival's smaller acts, displayed the Palestinian flag during their sets, according to video footage taken by attendees. Kneecap faces a wave of criticism over their Coachella performances One prominent industry figure who spoke out against Kneecap was Sharon Osbourne, the wife and manager of Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne. In a lengthy post on X on April 22, she criticized Goldenvoice, the festival organizer, as it had allowed "artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression" and said that the 2025 festival will be remembered "as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity." The Hollywood Reporter reported that Goldenvoice was "blindsided" by the messaging in Kneecap's set. Osbourne also called out Green Day, which headlined the Saturday evening of the festival on both weekends, stating that their inclusion of pro-Palestinian sentiments "would have been more appropriate at their own concert, not at a festival." She found more fault with Kneecap, stating that the band "took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements." She asked her followers to join in her "advocating for the revocation of Kneecap's work visa." The next day, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police in the UK were assessing a video taken at a Kneecap concert in London in November 2024, which had been published on social media. The BBC reported that the footage appeared to show a member of the group shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" while draped in a Hezbollah flag. The two militant groups are considered terrorist organizations by the UK, and expressing support for either is forbidden under the Terrorism Act 2000. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that it had been made aware of the video and had been "referred to the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit for assessment and to determine whether any further police investigation may be required." Kneecap responds to the Coachella fallout Chara, whose real name is Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, told Rolling Stone in an email that the band has spoken about Palestinian conflict "at every single gig since the band's formation." "We believe we have an obligation to use our platform when we can to raise the issue of Palestine," he said in the statement published on April 23, "and it was important for us to speak out at Coachella as the USA is the main funder and supplier of weapons to Israel as they commit genocide in Gaza." He added that the band wasn't aware that their performance on the first weekend of Coachella had been cut short on Coachella's YouTube livestream until the next day. In response to Osbourne's call to have their visas revoked, he said her "rant has so many holes in it that it hardly warrants a reply, but she should listen to 'War Pigs' that was written by Black Sabbath." In a social media post on April 25, Kneecap described the response to their Coachella set as a "coordinated smear campaign." Kneecap splits with their US agent The Hollywood Reporter reported on April 24 that Independent Artist Group no longer represents the band in the US. Primary Talent International represents the band outside the US. The outlet said that IAG, which has artists such as Metallica, Billy Joel, and 50 Cent on its roster, parted ways with Kneecap between the first and second Coachella weekends. The booking agency previously sponsored the trio's US work visas, but that is no longer the case, per The Hollywood Reporter. Without valid work visas, individuals from overseas cannot work in the US. The band's website states that they are scheduled to begin a US tour on October 1, which consists of 21 dates and is mostly sold out. Representatives for Kneecap did not respond to a request for comment sent from Business Insider regarding the split from IAG and the status of their upcoming US shows.
Los Angeles Times
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Coachella may be ‘notorious,' but Kneecap just needs ‘12 Irish' to get the crowd going
It's 12 p.m. in Bali, and two-thirds of Kneecap are sitting on a couch for a Zoom interview. DJ Próvai is in Northern Ireland, spending time in Derry while Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara are soaking in the Indonesian sun, eagerly preparing for their 'date with a f— swimming pool.' 'How many people go to Coachella?' Chara asks. Bap throws out a number — '150,000.' 'It'd be less than that… 100,000,' Chara chimes back. They're not far off, if you are looking at a single day's attendance. The self-proclaimed 'sun cream brigade' made the pilgrimage across the Atlantic to perform at music's sacred grounds in Indio on Friday at 6:10 p.m. The festival is a victory lap for the group after a momentous year that included a critically-acclaimed album, a BAFTA-winning quasi-biopic and performances across the globe. They may not feel exactly at home under the sweltering desert sun (Ireland gets rain 150 to 225 days a year, depending on the location), but they still greet the occasion with open arms. 'It's just an iconic festival, even though it's renowned across the world for being s—,' Chara says with a laugh. 'Everyone's just blown away that we're even in the conversation.' After all, they're the latest in a small but riveting group of Irish acts to appear at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Prior to their inclusion, the stage has been graced by talent such as Dermot Kennedy, Annie Mac, and Hozier. 'Obviously, the L.A. crowds are notorious for not moving too much,' Bap jokes. 'But the good thing about the Irish, as they say, we're everywhere.' 'Give us a crowd of 1,000 Americans,' Chara adds. 'As long as there's about 12 Irish in it, we'll be able to get the rest of them going.' The group, who are well known for their revitalization and use of Irish, don't think the crowd will struggle with the language barrier, either. According to Bap, 'we just have a lot of good, fun energy' and 'keep people engaged.' For them, Irish is not merely a language but a symbol of republicanism (no, not that kind), which can be credited to the language's history of ebbing and flowing between extinction and existence. Its decline can be traced back to a couple of key events, including an omission from Irish schools from 1831 to 1878 and the Great Famine of 1845 — which ripped through poorer, rural areas, where the language was still prominent, resulting in a rapid decline of speakers. 'Kneecap represents this urban identity of the language that never really existed in Ireland,' Bap explains. 'The Irish language has existed for a long time in Ireland, but it mainly only exists in rural areas like Galway.' Even in a world after 1916's Easter Rising — when Irish nationalists revolted against British rule— governmental efforts to revive Irish proved futile. As Irish journalist and author Fintan O'Toole notes, by the mid-20th century, 'the self-mocking joke was that most Irish people were illiterate in two languages.' The Irish government wants 'to save and preserve the language, but in their own image of it,' Bap, who learned the language at home, says. 'They want it to be pure and innocent, so that it's digestible … when it's always been a language of the people and it's filthy.' 'I think there's like f— 20 words for vagina … because we'd f— all else to do except sit about and talk, have sex,' he adds. The biggest official boost the language received was in 2003, when the Official Languages Act made it an official language, requiring various institutions to make services available in Irish. Northern Ireland wouldn't see similar legislation until 2022. Even so, 'they don't use it in Belfast,' Chara notes. 'I don't think they have had a genuine effort in trying to revive the language. … I think deep down, they don't believe it has any value for them,' Bap explains. 'If you look at the school system down south, people learn Irish for 14 years and then leave school and can't really speak it.' And the statistics support this. According to the Irish Times, a 2022 census found that of the 1.9 million who could speak the language, only 71,000 used it daily. It's why a modern implementation of the Irish revival is so crucial, and why Kneecap is dedicated to saving it from being lost to time. 'Language, if it's going to survive, has to be a part of everyday life,' Bap says. 'And everyday life these days consists of TikToks and readings and Instagram.' He also says that the group's more authentic approach to using the language is a key factor. Though they're not the first to try and do music in Irish, their everyday use of it makes its inclusion in songs sound 'effortless.' But not all have been accepting of their efforts: An application for a grant in 2023 turned into a high-profile court case after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch blocked distribution of funds over alleged anti-British sentiment. 'Well, they were right about that,' Chara jests. The Belfast group won the case in late 2024, and were paid out $18,268 on the grounds of 'unlawful and procedurally unfair' exclusion. They went on to donate the funds to two Belfast organizations, Glór na Móna and R-City Belfast. 'I think that was a big statement, because especially in the north, politicians … paint a picture that Protestants and Catholics never get along. … They believe that we can't get past that,' Chara says. He recalled meeting a young Protestant rapper who went by Young Spencer who had grown up in the working-class area of Shankill, where R-City is located. He went on to perform at a later gig alongside Kneecap, and they had 'no problem getting along.' 'We can get along quite well, even though maybe he would prefer to be in the United Kingdom and we would prefer to have united Ireland,' Chara says. 'It's only in Ireland that these things seem like the biggest f— things in the world,' he continues. 'And I understand politics is very divisive, but it doesn't mean that we all shouldn't be able to f— get along, at least in the meantime.'
