Belfast, UK · Irish rap

Kneecap

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Belfast's bilingual rap provocateurs — republican mischief, mosh-pit energy, real bars, and a film's worth of mythology already.

Kneecap's members go by Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, stage names for Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and J. J. Ó Dochartaigh. The group's name plays on the paramilitary punishment of kneecapping and on the Irish phrase "ní cheapaim", meaning roughly "I don't think so", a joke on a band that raps about the very things that could get someone kneecapped, like drugs.

Formed in 2017, the trio released their first single, "C.E.A.R.T.A.", the same year, inspired by Móglaí Bap spray-painting the word on a Belfast bus stop and a friend's arrest over it. The song was briefly banned from an Irish-language radio station over drug references and swearing before fan pressure got it reinstated. A mixtape, 3CAG, followed in 2018, and their debut album, Fine Art, arrived in 2024.

DJ Próvaí's tricolour balaclava echoes the imagery of Troubles-era paramilitaries, and the group's live shows are known for their rowdiness. Their lyrics sit inside working-class Belfast youth culture, Irish republicanism and Irish-language rights, and on stage they have also spoken out in support of Palestinian nationalism.

A semi-fictionalised film, also called Kneecap, starring the trio as themselves, was released in 2024 and widened their audience considerably, feeding into the recurring controversies around their lyrics and public statements. A second studio album, Fenian, followed in 2026.

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Irish rap