‘We haven’t stop laughing since Feile mural kicked off’ say Irish rap trio Kneecap
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In an interview with the Guardian, Kneecap, who perform almost exclusively in Irish, said the mural depicting a burning police Land Rover with the message ‘The RUC aren’t welcome’ (in Irish) was just a “piece of art”.
They also said they have fans from all sides of the community in NI, adding that they attended the Twelfth celebrations on the Sandy Row and were well received.
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Hide AdBoth UUP leader Doug Beattie and Alliance leader Naomi Long said the mural was “grooming” young people into sectarian hatred.
MCs Moglai Bap told the Guardian: “Anti-police sentiment has been longstanding in the hip-hop community. This isn’t new. We didn’t burn a police Land Rover, we painted one.
“Some people are more worried about a piece of art than the effigies of real politicians hanging off bonfires. We don’t want to be fighting or advocating violence. We want people to be thinking.”
Of the unveiling of the mural at Hawthorn Bar off the Falls Road, he said: “We left for Europe the day after it all kicked off. We haven’t stopped laughing.”
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Hide AdOf the band’s visit to Sandy Row on the Twelfth, he said: “All of a sudden I heard someone singing the hook to CEARTA in Irish. I turned around and suddenly there were like 14 young loyalists singing along. I ended up drinking Buckfast with them. That’s where we’re at. They like to make it out that we’re here to split people up but on the ground, it’s not like that. It’s working-class people that get our craic.”