Provocateurs or extremists?
If you're keeping up with Israel-Palestine or just like Ireland, you might have heard of the Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap. One of its members was just charged with a terror offence in the UK for allegedly showing a Hezbollah flag at a concert.
Although critically-acclaimed, Kneecap have been controversial from the start, as they are accused of trivialising the Troubles, Northern Ireland's 30 year-long civil conflict. To name one reason why, ”Kneecap” refers to punishment handed out by paramilitary troops, who would shoot alleged criminals in the knees.
But to Niamh Kirk, researcher at the University of Limerick, they're not just parading controversial symbols around. ”Kneecap subverts, reimagines and repurposes them as part of cultural resistance and rejection of the stereotyping of republican communities.”
Their choice to rap in Irish is a direct illustration of this. Up until very recently, speaking Irish in Northern Ireland was seen as a subversive act which only exacerbated sectorial tensions. It was only recognised as an official language of the province in 2022.
Whether you think they're playing the provocateurs or political extremists, you can't deny Kneecap's artistic influence. Their use of Irish has been credited as reigniting interest in the language. On top of that, it has opened up a debate around Ireland's heritage of British rule.
”Kneecap articulate the Troubles within the context of colonialism, something that was largely omitted from dominant political and media discourse for a long time,” says Kirk. In other words, Kneecap partly symbolise a new postcolonial Irish identity which focuses on solidarity with colonised people across the world, and subscribes to a global anti-colonial movement.