Kneecap rappers on their unlikely big-screen stardom: ‘If we get an Oscar, we’ll go to Cash My Gold’
“I feel sorry for all these people who’ve spent thousands of pounds going to drama school,” muses Kneecap’s DJ Provai. His bandmate Mo Chara finishes his sentence. “They must be raging after getting all their daddy’s money – thirty grand for their diplomas, and we just mosey on in and maybe get nominated for an Oscar.”
DJ Provai and Mo Chara are two thirds of the republican Irish-language rap trio Kneecap, the unlikely followers of musical greats such as Freddie Mercury, Sir Elton John and Whitney Houston as the focus of a big-screen music biopic.
What’s rare about this one is they play themselves, despite having no previous acting experience – and are seeing their story brought to cinemas as relative newcomers, rather than after decades of mainstream success. “We know we’re very lucky because mostly [musicians] are dead whenever they get films made about them,” says Chara.
The bandmates play themselves in the film, also called Kneecap. Pic: Curzon Film
The band have smashed out of west Belfast and into headlines around the world – although not all positive. They were banned from Irish public service broadcaster RTE for their references to drug-taking, and criticised by some unionists and former British Tory government members for songs such as Brits Out (which they say is a tongue-in-cheek poke at government rule, not all British people – “it only meant British soldiers and the British state out of Ireland, to leave Ireland be in charge of its own affairs”, says Chara).
Likened to Trainspotting, 8 Mile and 24 Hour Party People by critics, the film also stars Irish-German actor and Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender. It started really as a bit of fun the band hoped would be enjoyed by their ever-growing music fanbase.
Expectations have been surpassed. In January, Kneecap won the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival, an internationally recognised showcase for independent cinema; earlier this month, the film was named as Ireland’s official submission for the best international feature film shortlist at the 2025 Oscars.
Kneecap goes to Hollywood?
Michael Fassbender stars as Moglai Bap’s father in the film. Pic: Curzon Film
“It gives the film real legitimacy, I think, for an international audience,” says Chara. “We’re obviously over the moon. I can’t wait to go and see all the pissed-up celebrities, hopefully, if we get to the Oscars.”
“Get the nice goody bag with the Rolex in it,” jokes Provai. “And if we get the Oscar, take it back to Cash My Gold, get it melted down, make some Claddagh rings for our fans.”
On screen, on stage, and in interview, Kneecap play for laughs. But theirs is a serious story, one that encompasses the impact of the Troubles on the generation of “ceasefire babies”, their desire for a united Ireland, a lack of opportunities for working-class people – or “low-life scum”, as they are called in the film – as well as the campaign to have the Irish language recognised in Northern Ireland.
Kneecap drew huge crowds to two sets at Glastonbury earlier this year. Pic: Sky News
Fewer than 6,000 people in the country speak Irish as their first language, according to the 2021 census. But numbers are rising, especially among younger people – and Kneecap and other artists and films that have brought the language to the fore in recent years have played no small part in this.
“We get loads of messages about it,” says Chara, who is speaking to Sky News on Zoom from just outside Belfast, alongside Provai. The third member of their trio, Moglai Bap, could not make the call. But in fact, Chara says, Bap received a message about this very subject that morning, from an old friend now having a baby. After watching the film, the decision has been made to send the child to an Irish-speaking school.
The film’s director Rich Peppiatt started taking classes himself after meeting the band. Earlier this month, Irish singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey said they had inspired him, too.
‘People think it’s a gimmick – it’s not’
Kneecap’s fanbase has been growing over the last few years. Pic: PA – Electric Picnic 2022
Chara says he feels happy to be having “any kind of effect” on future generations.
“I feel like it’s a duty we all kind of have now to keep the language alive, considering the families in the west of Ireland never started speaking English, they continued to speak Irish against all odds.”
“People think it’s some kind of gimmick,” adds Provai. “It’s not, this is the daily language we use, it’s how we communicate with each other.” When they first decided to make music – “a good way to get free tickets to Glastonbury and Electric Picnic and [other festivals]” – not rapping in Irish was never a consideration, “because that’s the way we live our lives”.
‘You don’t have to understand everything – just the vibe’
The Kneecap bandmates knew from the start it was “not a good business model, doing music in a language that nobody really speaks”, as Chara puts it. “You’re kind of shooting yourself in the foot there.” But business was never the point. “We just did it for us and for the craic at the start, and then there was a demand for it.”
They are signed to the independent Heavenly Recordings, “a proper label”, he says. You might imagine some industry bosses would have had thoughts on the mass appeal of their language choice. Heavenly never interfered. “We didn’t need to have the conversation… I’m sure major labels would have us doing songs in English, if they could.”
Plus, he adds, having two dictionaries to choose from when it comes to writing lyrics can make songwriting easier. “If we run out of words to rhyme it kind of opens up this whole other pathway, basically, in the brain. Also, you think differently. If you’re speaking in Irish, you’re in a different mindset than when you’re speaking English, in my opinion.”
Director Rich Peppiatt, actor Michael Fassbender and the Kneecap bandmates pictured at the UK premiere, opening the Sundance London Film Festival. Pic: PA
Chara cites K-pop stars BTS as perhaps the biggest example of how music has smashed through language barriers in recent years. “You don’t have to understand everything, you just understand the vibe of it… a lot of people understand our feel, the energy, at our gigs, rather than understanding the lyrics, and that’s perfectly fine with me.”
Now, he says, rapping in the Irish language has opened more doors than it’s closed. “It’s niche and I think people are into niche things now. I listen to Arabic hip-hop and don’t understand a word of it. It just sounds good.”
Kneecap, the film, is out now. Next stop, more touring – and then, potentially, the Oscars.
Entertainment
PM’s rap battle with Sky’s Beth Rigby goes viral – and one of the AI satirists behind it explains why
Satire has long been an occupational hazard for politicians – and while it has long been cartoons or shows like Spitting Image, content created by artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming the norm.
A new page called the Crewkerne Gazette has been going viral in recent days for their videos using the new technology to satirise Rachel Reeves and other politicians around the budget.
On Sky’s Politics Hub, our presenter Darren McCaffrey spoke to one of the people behind the viral sensations, who is trying to remain anonymous.
He said: “A lot of people are drawing comparisons between us and Spitting Image, actually, and Spitting Image was great back in the day, but I kind of feel like recently they’ve not really covered a lot of what’s happening.
“So we are the new and improved Spitting Image, the much better Have I Got News For You?”
He added that those kinds of satire shows don’t seem to be engaging with younger people – but claimed his own output is “incredibly good at doing” just that.
Examples of videos from the Crewkerne Gazette includes a rapping Kemi Badenoch and Rachel Reeves advertising leaky storage containers.
They even satirised our political editor Beth Rigby’s interview with the prime minister on Thursday, when he defended measures in the budget and insisted they did not break their manifesto pledge by raising taxes.
“Crewkerne Man” says providing satire for younger people is important as Labour is lowering the voting age.
Asked why he is trying to be anonymous, the man said the project is not about one person – or even the whole group – but rather their output.
He also claimed the UK is “increasingly seeing arrests – especially with comedians”, pointing to the Graham Linehan case.
“So we just never know where the Labour Party is going to drive the policy next, in regards to free speech,” he said.
“So for me, certainly it’s a matter of safety.”
Watch Beth Rigby’s actual interview with Sir Keir Starmer below.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The prime minister defends the budget
The creator of an AI actress has told Sky News that synthetic performers will get more actors working, rather than steal jobs.
AI production studio Particle6 has ruffled feathers in Hollywood by unveiling Tilly Norwood – a 20-something actress created by artificial intelligence.
Speaking to Sky News’ Dominic Waghorn, actor and comedian Eline Van der Velden – who founded Particle6 – insisted Norwood is “not meant to take jobs in the traditional film”.
AI entertainment is “developing as a completely separate genre”, she said, adding: “And that’s where Tilly is meant to stay. She’s meant to stay in the AI genre and be a star in that.”
“I don’t want her to take real actors’ jobs,” she continued. “I wanted to have her own creative path.”
Norwood has been labelled “really, really scary” by Mary Poppins Returns star Emily Blunt, while the US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA said in a statement: “Tilly Norwood is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers – without permission or compensation.”
Responding to the criticism, Ms Van der Velden argued that Hollywood is “going to have to learn how to work with [AI] going forward”.
“We can’t stop it,” she said. “If we put our head in the sand, then our jobs will be gone. However, instead, if we learn how to use these tools, if we use it going forward, especially in Britain, we can be that creative powerhouse.”
Eline Van der Velden said she wanted the character to ‘have her own creative path’
Read more:
How AI music is fooling most of us
Tom Hollander ‘not scared’ of AI star
Ms Van der Velden said her studio has already helped a number of projects that were struggling due to budget constraints.
“Some productions get stuck, not able to find the last 30% of their budget, and so they don’t go into production,” she said. “Now with AI, by replacing some of the shots […] we can actually get that production going and working. So as a result, we get more jobs, we get more actors working, so that’s all really, really positive news.”
Entertainment
Sally Rooney tells court new books may not be published in UK due to Palestine Action ban
Irish author Sally Rooney has told the High Court she may not be able to publish new books in the UK, and may have to withdraw previous titles from sale, because of the ban on Palestine Action.
The group’s co-founder Huda Ammori is taking legal action against the Home Office over the decision to proscribe Palestine Action under anti-terror laws in July.
The ban made being a member of, or supporting, Palestine Action a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Rooney was in August warned that she risked committing a terrorist offence after saying she would donate earnings from her books, and the TV adaptations of Normal People and Conversations With Friends, to support Palestine Action.
In a witness statement made public on Thursday, Rooney said the producer of the BBC dramas said they had been advised that they could not send money to her agent if the funds could be used to fund the group, as that would be a crime under anti-terror laws.
Rooney added that it was “unclear” whether any UK company can pay her, stating that if she is prevented from profiting from her work, her income would be “enormously restricted”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Why was Palestine Action proscribed?
She added: “If I were to write another screenplay, television show or similar creative work, I would not be able to have it produced or distributed by a company based in England and Wales without, expressly or tacitly, accepting that I would not be paid.”
Rooney described how the publication of her books is based on royalties on sales, and that non-payment of royalties would mean she can terminate her contract.
“If, therefore, Faber and Faber Limited are legally prohibited from paying me the royalties I am owed, my existing works may have to be withdrawn from sale and would therefore no longer be available to readers in the UK,” Rooney added, saying this would be “a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression”.
Rooney added that it is “almost certain” that she cannot publish or produce new work in the UK while the Palestine Action ban remains in force.
She said: “If Palestine Action is still proscribed by the time my next book is due for publication, then that book will be available to readers all over the world and in dozens of languages, but will be unavailable to readers in the United Kingdom simply because no one will be permitted to publish it, unless I am content to give it away for free.”
Sir James Eadie KC, barrister for the Home Office, said in a written submission that the ban’s aim is “stifling organisations concerned in terrorism and for members of the public to face criminal liability for joining or supporting such organisations”.
“That serves to ensure proscribed organisations are deprived of the oxygen of publicity as well as both vocal and financial support,” he continued.
The High Court hearing is due to conclude on 2 December, with a decision expected in writing at a later date.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024