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Finally, the Falls Road is getting its own8 Mile.
Kneecapis a heavily fictionalized biopic of the Belfast hip-hop group of the same name.
They also have many, many songs aboutdoing illegal drugs.
Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams also has a cameo in a scene set during a ketamine trip.
This time, he gets to usehis own voice.
(Or in republican parlance, the northofIreland.)
Now, like Adams before them, theyre on an American-media blitz.
Still, theres no getting around the fact that Kneecap come from a divided land.
In a laudable example of the groups anti-sectarian principles, no one mentions that my surname smacks of Protestantism.
But they were maybe not as effective asfuck.Fuckis international.
Its an easy word to say with your mouth, you know?
Moglai Bap:We have plenty of words forvaginain Irish.
:We have 32 words forfield.
It goes into how the Irish language ties you into your ancestry and your land.
Place names start to make sense whenever you translate them back into Irish.
DJ Provai:The wordfuckdoes exist in Irish as well.
Ive heard you also had to come up with Irish words for things like MDMA.M.B.
:We actually recycle old Irish words that arent really used.Snaoisis snuff, which is powdered tobacco.
In Belfast there was a small group of us, wed all speak Irish together.
:Its like any post-conflict society.
There has to be measures put in place to rebuild communities.
All these young people are growing up being taught by their parents whove clearly been traumatized about what happened.
They still lock the gates of thepeace wallsat 10 p.m. every night fully grown adults being penned in.
Combined with that, theres a massive suicide rate.
Its one of the most deprived areas in that part of Europe.
:But you dont wanna get too boiled down in focusing on negative things.
There are a lot of positives in comparison to the way it was.
:Americans know about that.
Americans do it best.
A lot has changed for the better.
:West Belfast is in the best position its probably ever been with infrastructure and funding.
Thats the real difference.
A lot of loyalist politicians are in it for the career rather than actual positive change.
:Obviously where were from, its one of those things thats unavoidable.
We knew we were gonna have to touch on it at least.
And it was important that its just young fellas, everyones surviving.
Characters werent like, We just love the Irish language.
We dont mention the Irish language, really.
:Its just a language.
If someone speaks English, youre not gonna assume theyre massive language activists.
I grew up speaking Irish and it wasnt for any political mission or anything.
:Theyre silly and goofy.
They make money by doing graft, pulling moves.
We wanted to stay away from that kind of style.
Theres no reason working-class people cant be [in a posh accent] steeped in culture and very articulate.
Tell me about the Irish-language community in Belfast.
I only know about theGaeltacht, so my mental image is of someplace very rural.M.B.
:It wasnt until 1969 when the Irish-language movement in Belfast started.
Before 1971, there was no Irish-language primary school when they started the school I went to.
It was community funded for about 14 years.
So they built it themselves.
And the Irish-language secondary school is where you guys met?M.C.
:Hes a few years older, so he wouldnt have been hanging around.
An 11-year-old and a 16-year-old hanging out is a bit different from a 26-year-old and a 31-year-old.
:We started a festival and partied together, and thats how we all met.
And Provai was like the oldest veteran of the Irish-language movement.
He would translate pop songs.
:We couldnt afford any of the other ones.
:So thats where Kneecap was born.
We had this squat, like a social squat for partying into the late hours.
Because there arent too many places in Belfast where you might stay out late.
:A lot of Americans dont know that, actually.
We have really bad drinking laws.
Youd think with Ireland, the epicenter of alcohol …
But thats why we drink so much, because we have such little time to drink.
You have to drink faster and more because the pubs on a weekday will close at like half-eleven.
:Its actually forcing us to drink more.
We were in Utah we were only allowed one drink at a time.
:You cant buy double drinks.
You cant have a shot and a beer.
You cant order drinks for other people.
:But it’s possible for you to have six wives.
:You have six wives and they all have to buy their own drink.
What sort of training did you have to do to learn how to act for this film?M.B.
:We made sure we werent gonna be forced to pretend to be trees.
:Act like the color blue.
That was what we were practicing.
Just weird exercises like staring into each others eyes for ten minutes.
:It felt like a minute, though, for me.
Its like a little game.
Acting is very playful.
Just kinda not being too serious.
[Does posh accent again] Letting go of your inhibitions.
I assumed the real DJ Provai wanted to keep his anonymity.M.B.
:Everybody keeps saying that.
I dont see it.
Do you feel like you unlocked something in yourself?DJP:Uh, not too sure.
Never thought about it.
I was just in be mode.
[Mo Chara and Moglai Bap begin laughing uproariously.]
:Is that a Socrates quote?
I was just buzzing out there, really.
It was the role we were born to play.
:The IRAs looking sexier than ever.
Whats one thing people would be surprised to learn is not true?M.B.
:He doesnt have a sectarian kink.
:I dont think people would be surprised to hear that.
That bit was merely for the screen.
Michael Fassbenders not his real dad.
I know they look alike.
:Hes too young to be my dad.
Hed be deeply offended.
His babys like 2.
Who was harder to cast, Fassbender or Gerry Adams?M.B.
:Gerry Adams was very easy and Michael Fassbender basically begged us to be in the film.
He was absolutely starstruck when he met us.
No, Gerry Adams was very easy.
I think hes always longed to be an actor.
This might be his big break.
You have a lawsuit against the U.K. government after they rescinded a grant.
I know theres probably stuff you cant talk about, but what can you say?M.C.
:Its government funding, which is essentially taxpayer money, but Its an independent body.
This independent body, they basically gave us the go-ahead that there was 15,000 pounds of funding coming.
Before that happened, Kemi Badenoch, a Tory MP, vetoed it.
By that logic, you shouldnt have to pay taxes if youre a republican.
:Its very U.S.S.R. Well fund to support art but only if it supports our politics.
They could have said anything.
They could have said theyre opposed to drugs.
But for some reason they chose politics.
And we come underneath that bracket.
So its still going to court and well see what will happen.
Hopefully, this will be the court case that will have the United Kingdom on its knees.
It will fall apart and crumble after that.
:Theyre our frenemies.
:Its so perfect for us.
It doesnt do them any favors, but they just keep giving us PR.
:It does them favors.
They get to go on TV and have their faces on the news.
Were in a dysfunctional symbiotic relationship with them.
Mo Chara, you said something about wishing youd had more time to think of an answer.M.C.
:Fuck, I can barely remember that myself.
I think its important, obviously.
The divide where were from in the North is between working-class people.
Its good for the government to keep us divided, thinking that were so different.
We do advocate for a united Ireland because the British government has failed us for 100 years.
Its not like this is a trial run.
Youve had enough time and its failed.
A united Ireland is for everyone.
Were not gonna throw all the loyalists or Protestants out.
You know what I mean?
Theres a massive Nigerian community.
Theres a massive Syrian community.
We think multiculturalisms a fucking good thing.
Jesus, I mean, try eating English food without the spices that theyve stolen from around the world.
You talk about bringing people together.
You have Protestant fans.
But at the same time youre playing with this very loaded imagery: the balaclava, things like that.
:We dont have to box everything up.
I mean, we take the piss out of dissident republicans.
We take the piss out of each other.
:We piss on each other.
:The place we come from is so serious.
Obviously we have such strong political imagery, even something so silly as a flag.
We take all this imagery and break it down and take the fucking piss.
I think that is the progress our generation will make.
Taking the piss takes the sting out of the past.
:People say, you cant joke about that, or you cant talk about that.
:The Irish language has enough of them.
One of the things I admire about you guys is you do put your values into practice.M.C.
:We started a gym in Aida in the West Bank.
We helped with other bands to raise 80,000 pounds.
Weve been doing that a long time.
:We think its very important, that link between Palestine and Ireland.
No matter how small it is.
Is it going to be harder to live your values if you get more successful?M.B.
:Weve done what weve done from day one.
When we did this film, we told them were not gonna stop talking about Palestine.
If its a hit, will you do a sequel?M.B.
:Hopefully well get an ad for Beamish.
Have you tried that?
Basically its stout, but everyone drinks it down in Cork.
Its a smaller company.
Guinness is owned by one of the biggest companies in the world.
:Guinness is cunts.
Its smart but its fucking disgusting.
DJP:Also Guinness was selling guns to both sides in the community as well.
[Note: Vulture has reached out to Guinness for a response to these claims.]
So if we really want to live our values, whats the most ethical drink to drink?M.C.
:Go toRosmucin Connemara and buy poitin off a 75-year-old.
Its the most ethical drink in the world.
:Or if you go to Kneecap.ie, our merchandise will make you feel really good.
