Remind me, who are Kneecap again?
They are a band – west Belfast rappers Mo Chara, DJ Próvai and Móglaí Bap – real names Liam Óg Ó Hannaigh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh and Naoise Ó Cairealláin respectively – who perform mostly in Irish.
Their songs – and their stage personas – are upfront and in your face, about drug-taking and their desire for a united Ireland.
This has proved hugely popular; Kneecap gigs sell out within minutes, the band has played Glastonbury, and their eponymous feature film won Iftas and a Bafta.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the band is also hugely controversial. Kneecap have been condemned for, among many other censures, wearing balaclavas on stage and a mural they commissioned of a burning RUC Land Rover, which opponents say glorifies terrorism.
For their supporters, the controversy is part of their appeal. Kneecap is part of the so-called “ceasefire babies” generation; the band says they are satirising the old, tired tropes of the conflict era.
“Republicanism is so vast, and on a spectrum,” said Móglaí Bap in the New York Times. “We like to toy with it. We like to take the irony on.”
What happened this week?
The band’s most serious controversy yet. It is being investigated by counter-terrorism police in the UK over two videos; one appears to show a member of the group saying “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”, while in the other, a band member appears to shout “Up Hamas, up Hizbullah” – both banned organisations in Britain.
The Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for the group to be banned and a handful of Kneecap gigs have been cancelled; there have also been calls for them to be removed from this year’s Glastonbury.
“It wasn’t a throwaway remark,” said Brendan Cox, the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox. “It was part of a conversation that they were having about politics, and it was a very clear incitement to violence.”
What have Kneecap said?
Kneecap have apologised, saying: “We never intended to cause you hurt” and said they “reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual”. They said they do not support Hamas or Hizbullah.
However, the band – which has been strongly opposed to Israel‘s actions in Gaza – also said the footage was being “exploited and weaponised” and was a response to its “calling out the US administration” over Gaza at the recent Coachella festival in the US.
Artists including Fontaines DC, Pulp, Paul Weller, Blindboy Boatclub, Christy Moore, The Pogues and Primal Scream are backing Kneecap and said it was a “clear, concerted attempt to censor and ultimately deplatform” the group for its stance on Gaza.
