A few weeks ago, your latest single, “The Recap,” dropped. In it, you lampoon Tory opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, who tried to block a grant you received from the UK government last year because Kneecap “opposes the UK itself.” How would you describe your relationship with the UK?

The relationship we have with the people of England is very strong. Many of us have family there due to emigration. We just have a problem with the English government. There have been eight hundred years of English colonization of Ireland, and we’ve had enough.

Kemi Badenoch tries to project that we hate the English — but that’s not true at all. We have some of our biggest gigs and most loyal fans there. But we have a problem with how the UK has handled its relationship with Ireland and how it has oppressed the Irish language.

The British government has no right in Ireland. It doesn’t serve the Irish people, and it doesn’t even serve the English people. We would advocate for the working classes in Ireland and England to come together. Our message is about unity and not division.

Your music combines over-the-top satire and scathing critique, usually of the UK, its government, and the upper classes. On the one hand, you say, “Kill your MP,” while on the other, you stand for Irish unification and human rights in Palestine. How can your listeners distinguish what is an exaggerated joke and what is dead serious?

We don’t just rap about England and the UK. We also have very exaggerated stories about Ireland that make fun of Irish republicans. In one of our songs, we’re chased by dissident republicans, who make us their gigolos and force us to have sex with old people. We often ridicule and criticize our own community. Nobody is free from being mocked by Kneecap.

Over the last months, you’ve become one of the most vocal artists regarding the situation in Gaza. You called Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide at Coachella and demanded a free Palestine at Glastonbury. Do you feel any kind of pressure that this spotlight puts on you?

In a global context, we might feel a bit isolated, but in Ireland we stand alongside many other bands that speak up for Palestine, such as Fontaines D. C., Lankum, and The Murder Capital. Maybe it’s not the norm to speak up for Palestine in Germany or America, but in Ireland it is. For us, this is a natural progression of the shared history of colonization that we have with Palestine.

This shows the dysfunction of politics. Bands shouldn’t be feeling pressure over political agendas and genocides happening. The pressure should lie on the politicians and decision-makers who are responsible for children starving to death in Gaza and funding genocide. I think it’s important for people with a platform to direct that pressure to where it’s needed.

While support for you is strong in Ireland, you’ve faced severe backlash in other parts of the world, including a terror investigation in the UK and your visas having been revoked in the United States. Have these reactions made you reconsider your stance and public image?

We’ve had this stance and talked about Palestine since we started this band. In 2018, we raised money for a gym in the West Bank. Because we talk about our own history and politics in our music, it felt natural to talk about the colonization of Palestine as well. If some countries and festivals want to ban us, that won’t change anything. One day, we’ll look back and find it controversial that some people didn’t speak up. History will stand by us.

The reason why we’re still talking about this is because nothing has changed. But for the people in Palestine, the situation has become a lot more urgent. Time is a thing that they don’t have. That’s why urgency is needed.

One country where the institutional backlash against you was particularly severe is Germany. Several big festivals pulled you from their lineup, and all of your shows there were canceled without providing an official reason. How did you react to that?

Other Irish bands also had gigs canceled in Germany. Our position to speak up against a genocide is quite moderate. If Germany wants to oppose that without providing any explanation, we can’t do anything about it. But it won’t stop us from speaking out against what’s happening.

We had sold-out gigs in Germany and have a massive fan base there, agreeing with our message. It’s the political classes at work and not necessarily the people.

While you’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing for your recent Glastonbury set, Bob Vylan are now under investigation for their “Death to the IDF” chant. They responded by calling the backlash against them a distraction from what’s happening in Gaza. Would you agree?

Definitely. During our five days at Glastonbury, 150 or more people were killed in Gaza. Still, all the media attention was on finding something wrong with our gig when there was nothing. For us, that’s clearly a distraction from the actual destruction happening in Palestine.

Together with artists such as Massive Attack, Brian Eno, and Fontaines D. C., you started a network to support musicians critical of Israel in speaking up against the country. Would you say there is a climate of fear in the industry regarding criticizing Israel?

There’s definitely a fear of speaking out, especially among up-and-coming bands. If they speak out, they’re facing a backlash and are blackmailed financially. But this happens in the background, because most people stand by us and don’t want to cancel artists for their views on Palestine.

There was a letter secretly sent out that revealed all the lobbying going on against us behind the scenes. Doing this away from the public shows that there is also a sense of shame in this silencing, because they know what’s happening is wrong.

While the terror investigation against Mo Chara is moving forward on August 20, you just announced a big UK tour in the fall. Do you fear that you as a band are living on borrowed time?

Not at all. The propaganda against us is the same as that against the Palestinian movement. They want to make us seem small. We haven’t had many gigs canceled and managed to replace almost all of them. We’re not on borrowed time at all. We’re getting strong support from the fans and most festivals, and we have an upcoming sold-out tour. That speaks for itself.

Your heavy use of Irish in your music has rekindled interest in the Irish language and culture. Do you feel like there is a momentum in this?

This started when we released the movie. We weren’t sure how it was going to be received because we thought of it as a local story about the Irish language and us in Belfast. But afterward, we recognized that the rediscovery of identity and of native indigenous culture is a global phenomenon right now. We’ve met aboriginals in Australia and indigenous people in America and Europe who have this yearning for rekindling their native identity.

The story of colonization is global, and the methods of oppression are the same in Wales, the Basque Country, or Australia. They took away their language. When you take away somebody’s language, you take away their identity. And once you take away their identity, they’re easier to control. That’s what the movie made us realize: it’s not just about the Irish language — it’s a wider story. I think that’s why Kneecap connects with people. Many who listen to our music don’t speak Irish, but our energy and ethos resonate with them.

One of your main causes is a unified Ireland. In your native Northern Ireland, more people still favor staying within the UK. How do you respond to that?

The biggest hurdle to a united Ireland is that unionists don’t feel safe. It’s very important that they have a place in Ireland. They should be able to hold dual citizenship if they want to, for example.

Economically, it would make sense for us to run our own affairs. Devolution hasn’t worked for us, as London and Stormont keep on undercutting each other. We need something else, like an independent provincial system.

We have more in common with the Protestant working class than with middle-class Catholics. A united Ireland would need to benefit the common people. Currently, we do not benefit from the people in Westminster creating laws for us and being in charge of our finances. Protestant working-class areas are some of the most deprived in the entire UK. They suffer from high suicide and poverty rates. We’re hoping for a positive change here.

So for you, unification would also be a question of self-empowerment of working-class people.

It would allow for the working class not to struggle from day to day, and it would massively alleviate the mental health crisis.

The mental health issue in the North due to the Troubles has never really been dealt with. This bleeds into our generation, the “cease-fire babies.” England does not want to face the problems it has left here. A united Ireland should be inclusive and give everyone a voice, rather than discriminating against people.

How soon do you think this will happen?

Brexit brought a lot of unionist farmers closer to the idea of a united Ireland. A majority in the North voted to stay in the European Union. Economically speaking, the English government is making our case for us, because being in the EU is a lot better than being in the UK. Not just for the subsidies but also for human rights. Then there’s of course the cultural aspect. Once we realize that we’re better off together, things will change.

The Irish language has been reserved for one side of the community. But historically, Irish was spoken by everybody on the island, even by settlers. Irish should become an inclusive language again, rather than it being politicized. It’s growing in East Belfast and the North. That’s a good sign for a united Ireland.