Radical North Ireland hip-hop trio Kneecap returns to Bay Area
Revolutionary Belfast-based hip-hop trio Kneecap returns to the Bay Area for the first time since making a splash at the Sundance Film Festival when the group from Northern Ireland headlines the New Parish in Oakland Saturday.
Despite only being in existence for six years, Kneecap has risen to become a popular festival attraction performing in front of thousands while also aggravating authorities in both Britain and their native country. Founded by MCs Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí in 2017, the threesome came together after a friend of Móglaí Bap was arrested for spray painting the Irish word "Cearta" (which translates as "Rights") on a bus stop the day before a protest march calling for the Irish language to be officially recognized in the United Kingdom (the Irish Language Act would eventually be passed last year).
The trio released their debut single "C.E.R.T.A." in late 2017, a profane and hilarious satirical take on life in West Belfast that featured the rappers' tongue-twisting mix of English and Irish lyrics over an old-school beat. The song would be banned by the Irish language radio station due to cursing and rampant drug references, but it established Kneecap as a unique new voice on Northern Ireland's hip-hop scene.
While humor is a consistent thread running through the trio's music, amid the irreverent tales of getting high and being thrown out of clubs on the trio's first mixtape 3CAG were hardcore anti-imperialist, Irish republican politics born out of their Belfast upbringing (DJ Próvaí's father was arrested during the 1972 Bloody Sunday uprising in Derry when British soldiers shot 26 unarmed protesters during a march). The trio's sound embraced classic hip-hop beats, but also drew on traditional Irish music and the techno music played at all-night raves held in West Belfast squats.
The trio stirred more controversy at home and abroad 2019 with their thumping club anthem "Get Your Brits Out" that laid out Kneecap's sentiments in no uncertain terms. Much to the chagrin of the British establishment, the song was embraced by young music fans who packed the increasingly popular group's U.K. tours. An abortive first tour of the U.S. followed the next year, but was derailed by the COVID shutdown, briefly stranding the threesome in the States until an online crowdfunding drive not only raised the money to get them home, but provided financial backing for their next recording project.
Kneecap has since focused on increasingly elaborate videos for their more recent singles like the blasphemous "Guilty Conscience" (filmed in a church confessional), though they showed another more emotional side on "MAM," a tribute to their mothers. The group released another new single -- "Its Been Ages" -- about a year ago that featured members of Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. Grian Chatten on vocals and Tom Coll on drums.
Kneecap returned to the U.S. last fall for another well-received tour, playing in the Bay Area for the first time when they delivered an electrifying set at a packed Cafe Du Nord in October. Earlier in 2024, the trio made headlines when the fictionalized film version of their collective life story -- also titled Kneecap -- became the first Irish language film to be accepted at the Sundance Film Festival. The gritty comedy directed by Rick Peppiatt tells the tale of the group's genesis and featuring actor Michael Fassbender in a supporting role as Móglaí Bap's father won the NEXT: Audience Award and was picked up for distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.
Earlier this month, Kneecap returned to the States to make its national televised debut on "The Tonight Show," performing their latest single "Sick In The Head." Their proper debut album Fine Art for the London-based independent label Heavenly Recordings is set to be released this June. The group brings its latest U.S. tour back to the Bay Area Saturday night, playing the New Parish in Oakland. They're joined by experimental Georgia hip-hop duo and fellow Heavenly Recordings act Revival Season, who recently put out their eclectic first album Golden Age of Self Snitching.
Kneecap with Revival Season
Saturday, March 30, 7 p.m. $22.50
The New Parish