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Kneecap have crossed a line – but what about the establishment?

The Observer

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May 04, 2025

Northern Irish rap group Kneecap exist to shock. They take their name from a brutal vigilante punishment associated with Republican para-militaries, in which the "offender" is shot through the knee.

- Sarah Ditum

Band member DJ Próvaí (pronounced "provo") wears a balaclava in the colours of the Irish flag. Their lyrics celebrate hard drugs and overthrowing the British state. If outrage generated is their metric of success, this has been a spectacular week for Kneecap.

A 2023 concert video surfaced that appeared to show the band saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” That is now being assessed by counter-terrorism police, along with a second clip from last year in which a member appears to say: “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” This followed the band's appearance at Coachella festival in California on 18 April, when Kneecap projected pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans, and led the crowd in abusive chants.

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