Kneecap rapper on her unlikely big-screen fame: 'If we get an Oscar, we're going to Cash My Gold' | Ents & Arts News

“I feel sorry for all the people who spent thousands of pounds on drama school,” muses DJ Provai of Kneecap. His bandmate Mo Chara finishes his sentence. “They must be furious because they got all their dad's money – thirty grand for their diplomas, and we just stroll in and maybe get nominated for an Oscar.”

DJ Provai and Mo Chara are two thirds of the republican Irish-language rap trio kneecapthe unexpected successors of musical greats such as Freddie Mercury, Sir Elton John And Whitney Houston as the center of a music biopic for the big screen.

What is unusual about this film is that they play themselves, despite having no acting experience – and that their story is coming to cinemas as relatively new filmmakers and not after decades of mainstream success. “We know we are very lucky because, above all, [musicians] are dead whenever a movie is made about them,” says Chara.

The band broke through in west Belfast and made headlines around the world – albeit not all positive ones. They were banned from Irish public broadcaster RTE for their drug-taking references, and criticised by some unionists and former members of the British Tory government for songs such as Brits Out (which they say was an ironic dig at the government, not the British people as a whole – “it just meant that the British soldiers and the British state should get out of Ireland and Ireland should sort out its own affairs,” says Chara).

The film has been compared by critics to Trainspotting, 8 Mile and 24 Hour Party People, but also stars Irish-German actor and Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender. It was actually just a joke that the band hoped would appeal to their ever-growing fan base.

Expectations have been exceeded. In January, Kneecap won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, an internationally recognised event for independent cinema; earlier this month, the film was nominated as an official Irish entry for the 2025 Oscars shortlist for Best International Feature Film.

Kneecap goes to Hollywood?

“I think it gives the film real legitimacy for an international audience,” says Chara. “We're obviously over the moon. I can't wait to see all the pissed off celebrities, hopefully when we get to the Oscars.”

“Get the nice gift bag with the Rolex in it,” jokes Provai. “And if we win the Oscar, bring it back to Cash My Gold, have it melted down and make some Claddagh rings for our fans.”

On screen, on stage and in interviews, Kneecap get laughs. But their story is serious: it tells the impact of the Northern Ireland conflict on the generation of “ceasefire babies”, their desire for a united Ireland, the lack of opportunities for the working class – or “low-life scum” as they are called in the film – and the campaign for recognition of the Irish language in Northern Ireland.

According to the 2021 census, fewer than 6,000 people in the country speak Irish as their first language. But the number is growing, especially among younger people – and Kneecap and other artists and films that have brought the language to the fore in recent years have played no small part in that.

“We're getting loads of messages about it,” says Chara, speaking to Sky News via Zoom from outside Belfast alongside Provai. The third member of their trio, Moglai Bap, was unable to call. In fact, Chara says, Bap received a message that morning about exactly that topic, from an old friend who is now having a baby. After seeing the film, the decision was made to send the child to an Irish-speaking school.

The film's director, Rich Peppiatt, began taking lessons himself after meeting the band, and earlier this month Irish singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey said they had inspired him too.

“People think it's a gimmick, but it's not.”

Chara says he is excited to have “some kind of impact” on future generations.

“I feel it is a duty for all of us to keep the language alive, considering that families in the west of Ireland never started speaking English. They continued to speak Irish against all odds.”

“People think it's some kind of gimmick,” adds Provai. “It's not, it's the everyday language we use, that's how we communicate with each other.” When they first decided to make music – “a good way to get free tickets to Glastonbury and Electric Picnic and [other festivals]”- not rapping in Irish was never a consideration, “because that's how we live our lives”.

“You don’t have to understand everything – just the mood”

Kneecap's bandmates knew from the start that “making music in a language nobody really speaks was not a good business model,” as Chara puts it. “You're shooting yourself in the foot.” But business was never the point. “We just did it for ourselves and for fun in the beginning, and then there was a demand for it.”

They are signed to independent label Heavenly Recordings, “a real label,” he says. You'd think some industry bosses would have been concerned about the mass appeal of their language choice. Heavenly never interfered. “We didn't have to have the conversation… I'm sure major labels would have let us do songs in English if they could.”

Plus, he adds, having two dictionaries to choose from when writing lyrics can make songwriting easier. “When we run out of words to rhyme, it basically opens up a whole different pathway in the brain. It also makes you think differently. When you speak Irish, I think you're in a different state of mind than when you speak English.”

Chara cites K-pop stars BTS as perhaps the best example of how music has overcome language barriers in recent years. “You don't have to understand everything, you just understand the vibe… a lot of people understand our feeling, the energy in our performances, rather than understanding the lyrics, and that's totally fine with me.”

Today, he says, rapping in Irish has opened more doors than it has closed. “It's a niche and I think people are interested in niche stuff now. I listen to Arabic hip hop and I don't understand a word of it. It just sounds good.”

The film “Kneecap” is now in theaters. Next stop: more tours – and then possibly the Oscars.