IRISH RAPPERS KNEECAP CHALLENGE UK GOVERNMENT'S FUNDING RESTRICTION OVER POLITICAL VIEWS

Irish rappers Kneecap are an unrelenting force of political activism and social commentary, and they are now fighting back against a government ruling that threatens their freedom of expression.

Last year, the Belfast trio applied for a grant supervised by the United Kingdom’s Department For Business And Trade and the Department For Culture, Media and Sport that would fund their overseas endeavors. Soon after the British Phonographic Industry approved the request for £15,000, business secretary Kemi Badenoch revoked it.

Given the group’s advocacy of Irish republicanism i.e. uniting the region under one republic, a government spokesperson made it clear that they did not want to allocate any funds to “people that oppose the United Kingdom itself.”

On Thursday (June 20), the high court in Belfast gave Kneecap the green light to challenge the government’s decision via a judicial review that has been scheduled for November.

“Fifteen grand wouldn’t pay for the bar tab in America. This is an attack on artistic culture, an attack on the Good Friday Agreement and an attack on us and our way of expressing ourselves,” DJ Próvaí of the three-piece told RTÉ News. “We are paying taxes and surely we have a right to the benefit of those taxes, regardless of our political beliefs.”

Kneecap’s activism extends past Ireland and the United Kingdom as they have also been firm in their support for Palestine amid Israel’s ongoing attacks in the Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

In late February, they elaborated on their unwavering advocacy for those affected by the violence in the Middle East during an appearance on The Late Late Show.

“We use our platform to highlight the genocide that’s happening in Palestine at the moment,” Móglaí Bap told host Patrick Kielty. “30,000 Palestinians have been murdered by American weapons, and mostly two-third of them [are] women and children.

“That’s why we feel [the need to] use this platform as an opportunity to appeal to Irish people to attend rallies and protests and to support the BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement to show solidarity with Palestine, and hopefully, one day, Palestine will be free.”

Kneecap is currently touring across Europe and North America, following which they will pursue legal action against the UK government later this year.