No Frills Reviews

Punk spirit and Irish roots fuel a unique new strand of regional rap

The second album from West Belfast trio, KNEECAP, almost has the feel of a major label debut. Coming six years on from their actual debut, their star (or rather their notoriety) has been on the rise since. Known for their fiercely pro-Irish stance, headline-making controversies, and now even a fictionalised biographical film. Fine Art will serve as an introduction to many, but rather than positioning themselves as statement-making provocateurs, they use this opportunity to bring themselves back down to earth.

While their newfound fame provides a backdrop, with snippets of news reports and opportunistic A&R men, the album unfolds around a night beginning in the pub and full of drugs, drugs, and more drugs. From sketches of run-ins with ruthless dealers, coke-fuelled paranoia, or the futile pursuit of the next buzz; to the moments of clarity, community, and euphoria. It’s neither a celebration nor condemnation, it’s just the reality.

The production helps capture the feel of a night out; highs, lows, and the bleary-eyed moments in between. Helmed by Toddla T, they have someone whose fingerprints are evident across the UK’s hip-hop and club scenes for the past 20 years. That influence is evident on an album that’s as indebted to grime as it is rave, as it is garage. But it’s also an album that’s rooted in Ireland; the nods to traditional folk music, the accents, and the rapping itself as they alternate between their native tongue and English.

For all their political stances and controversies, what they’ve ended up with is a gritty regional rap album; coke rap set on the streets of Belfast. But that may actually be the boldest statement they could make; popularising a work that’s emphatically Irish, steeped in history, but unmistakably modern.

Best tunes: Fine Art, I’m Flush, Better Way To Live, Parful

---

More Reviews