Kneecap: Rapping in Irish, resisting in rhythm

THe coordination compound lingual account of the magnetic north of republic of ireland was not about to be thumped by the British, and Kneecap saw to it. A core Irish band, Kneecap, comprising artistes Liam Og O hAnnaidh (Mo Chara), Naoise O Caireallain (Moglai Bap), and JJ O Dochartaigh (DJ Provai), released their first song called “CEARTA” (Irish for ‘rights’) in 2017. Since its inception, the band, which performs in Irish Gaelic — the indigenous language of the island of Ireland — has propelled itself as a tool against oppression, especially propagated by imperialism.In 2024, Rich Peppiatt created a semi-biopic by the same name as the band and starring its members. The film traces the evolution of the band and the renaissance of Irish rap that came with it against the backdrop of resistance, violence, drug abuse, and crimes in the West Belfast region, where a minority population had been fighting for the recognition of their language.Kneecap was screened at this year’s Dharamshala International Film Festival in a packed hall of students, filmmakers, and artistes — each group representing forms of dissent against absolute power — at the Tibetan Children’s Village. “What a buzz!” The Irish ambassador to India, Kevin Kelly, said ahead of the screening of the film.The effect was similar to screening a Shah Rukh Khan film on his 60th birthday at a multiplex in a metro city: the viewing of a film changes with its audience.In Kneecap, Peppiatt brings the essence of the band alive. The writing, fluorescent colours, fast-moving shots, deadly humour, and breaking the fourth wall form the crux of the film. The shock value is terribly well done. The film outlines the power of subculture in overturning oppression through its impeccable writing.Kneecap has predominantly spoken out against the politics of language and the continuous erasure of indigenous identities by colonial forces. Northern Ireland, where Kneecap comes from, is still part of the United Kingdom. From sporting balaclavas bearing colours of the Irish flag to coding Northern Ireland’s indigenous language as symbols of resistance, Kneecap has ripped the band aid off the troubled history of Ireland’s “ceasefire generation”.For the uninitiated, Northern Ireland’s history is marked by conflict and division. The Troubles, a violent conflict from the late 1960s to 1998, involved nationalists seeking unity with Ireland and unionists wanting to remain in the UK.The 1998 Good Friday Agreement brought peace, creating the “ceasefire generation” — young people growing up after the ceasefire, focused on reconciliation and shared futures.The Kneecap band takes its name from “kneecapping,” a brutal tactic once used by law enforcement agencies in the region — shooting victims in the knees. Over time, the image of the kneecap has evolved into a symbol of defiance, echoing global struggles against oppression — think George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement.Kneecap, like many iconic rap narratives, transcends music to comment on identity and power. Two other extremely successful such films — 8 Mile and Straight Outta Compton — have also either featured or involved musicians and music producers.Kneecap is no different. It is this peculiar vision, along with the fact that rap music, an inherently Black music genre, has represented the subaltern, the marginalised, the downtrodden, and the indigenous, that makes watching such films amid a woke audience particularly exciting.From locally resisting the imposition of English — in the film, O hAnnaidh, after his arrest, refuses to speak English, prompting the police to bring in a translator, Dochartaigh — Kneecap has gained global momentum. Kneecap’s overarching support to all forms of resistance, including Palestine’s struggle against Israel, has ruffled feathers with governments world over. Canada banned the band from performing in Toronto in September due to its alleged “support for Hamas”.Rap has a reputation for being overtly masculine. It is deeply characteristic of what scholars call “protest masculinity”, which brings to the fore violence, substance use, resistance, and reckless sexual encounters.In F Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton, there is resistance to police brutality and censorship. “Gangster rap has become popular and profitable by selling lyrics about violence to a young mainstream audience who wouldn’t dream of going near a ghetto,” one news anchor says in the film while talking about the band Ruthless. “Not all music stars are model citizens,” says another.But as O’Shea Jackson, aka Ice Cube’s character, says in the film, “Our art is a reflection of our reality”.Besides Irish language rap, Kneecap has also become an umbrella under which myriad forms of dissent can be lodged. It accommodates anti-establishment expressions that resist neat, nationalistic definitions of democracy.Kneecap reminds us that resistance doesn’t always wear a uniform: sometimes, it raps in Irish, laughs at power, and turns trauma into rhythm. In a world still negotiating whose voices matter, their sound is a reminder that the fight for language is the fight for life itself. The band’s story is a reminder that subcultures often preserve what empires try to erase and that sometimes, the loudest revolutions begin not with a gun, but with a mic.