The rise and rise of Northern Irish rappers Kneecap

The Irish-speaking Belfast rappers leading a Celtic revival

Listen | 22:47
Belfast rappers Kneecap brought their kitted out RUC Land Rover to the Galway Film Fleadh for the Irish premiere of their film. Photograph: Andrew Downes, xposure
Belfast rappers Kneecap brought their kitted out RUC Land Rover to the Galway Film Fleadh for the Irish premiere of their film. Photograph: Andrew Downes, xposure

Belfast and Derry rappers Kneecap have been in the news for many things in the past year: they took a case against the previous UK government for intervening to block an arts grant; they led a boycott of Irish artists of the global music industry’s shop-window, South By Southwest, because of the Texas festival’s links to the US military and weapons manufacturers; they played Glastonbury; they released their debut album, Fine Art, and their debut feature film, Kneecap, is about to be released in cinemas around the world after an award-winning outing at the Sundance Film Festival.

They arrived to that event in a jeep designed to look like a PSNI vehicle.

Una Mullally has been following Kneecap since long before they took to stages beyond Belfast and she says that their film “will be a landmark moment for the Irish language, Irish cinema, and Irish music”.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.

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