Kneecap have dropped a fresh track before their big London gig at the Wide Awake festival, following a recent legal snag that one of their crew members found themselves in. The rap trio hailing from Belfast took to Instagram to share their new single, The Recap, which kicks off with a snippet of Sky News’ Wilfred Frost detailing a counter-terrorism police probe. They even slyly plugged their WhatsApp channel for good measure.
The bandmates Liam O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain, and JJ O Dochartaigh gave a shoutout to their 25,000 fans who snagged tickets for the festival on Friday night. They didn’t forget to throw shade at Conservative Party honcho Kemi Badenoch, hinting at some past beef with her by jokingly advising her to take a seat for their latest drop. Kneecap had a legal tussle with Ms. Badenoch last year, winning a discrimination case against the UK government after she tried to block their funding. The trio also took a swipe at her and the Conservative Party’s election flop in their new track, featuring DJ Mozey.
The controversy doesn’t stop there – O hAnnaidh, performing as Mo Chara, got slapped with charges for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a gig in North London last year. The band didn’t let this dampen their spirits, though, putting on a surprise show at the 100 Club on Oxford Street. O hAnnaidh, with his mouth taped shut, cracked a joke about watching his words and made sure to give a shoutout to his lawyer during the gig. The band even led the crowd in a chant for “free Mo Chara” and had some laughs about the police presence at the venue. O hAnnaidh, 27, is set to have his day in court at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 18.
Formed back in 2017, Kneecap is known for their edgy lyrics in both Irish and English, making waves in the music scene. They even got a nod in the semi-fictional band origin flick Kneecap, starring none other than Michael Fassbender. Fans will recognize hits like Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live (featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC), and 3Cag. Not really sure why this matters, but the band’s central London gig sold out in a mere 90 seconds, with a whopping 2,000 folks on the waitlist.
