Kneecap is used to controversy. On new album 'Fenian,' they're leaning further in

Music Kneecap is used to controversy. On new album 'Fenian,' they're leaning further in May 1, 202611:30 AM ET By  Juana Summers ,  Kathryn Fink Moglai Bap (left), DJ Provai (middle) and Mo Chara (right), members of Irish band Kneecap, pose for a photo at the National Hotel in Havana, on March 20, 2026. Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption toggle caption Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images/AFP The Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap got their start rapping about drugs and their ire toward the British government. They're still doing that. But according to member Mo Chara, their new album, Fenian, is a bid to be taken more seriously as musicians, to "not just be seen as a parody act." Given the album's subject matter, it's easy to imagine Kneecap has made progress on that front. The song "Palestine," featuring Palestinian rapper Fawzi, is a message of Irish solidarity amid Israel's war in Gaza. Another track, "Irish Goodbye," honors one of the bandmates' mothers, who died by suicide. "Carnival" details Mo Chara's legal troubles last year, complete with real recordings of fans shouting "Free Mo Chara" outside the courthouse. Sponsor Message YouTube Fenian is the group's third album, and on it, they're reclaiming a word from their native tongue. "Fenian" originally referred to an ancient Irish warrior. Then, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the word was embraced by Irish rebels fighting for freedom from the British. More recently, it evolved into a pejorative term. "In modern times, it was used as a derogatory slur against Irish people in the North," says Kneecap's Móglaí Bap, referring to the divide between Irish republicans and British loyalists in Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K. "If you're Irish and called a Fenian, it was like you were backwards or uncivilized." The power and politics of language have always been at the center of Kneecap's work. The Belfast-based group raps primarily in Irish, with English woven throughout. "I don't think a lot o...