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Meet Kneecap, the Irish hip-hop trio who sparked controversy with their provocative political performance at Coachella
Sharon Osbourne has called for the rap group's US work visas to be revoked following their comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict at Coachella.
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for BAFTA
- Irish rappers Kneecap made comments about the Israel-Palestine conflict during their Coachella set.
- The trio has faced criticism for their remarks and has been dropped by their American booking agent.
- Sharon Osbourne called for Kneecap's US work visa to be revoked amid their political statements.
Kneecap has been making headlines for a number of years, but the hip-hop group's latest appearance at Coachella has caught the attention of the world.
The Belfast-based group performed on both weekends at the California festival. As has become custom for their shows, their performances included heavy political messaging about the conflict in Gaza.
While Coachella organizers attempted to censor the band after the first weekend by removing their set from the festival's livestream, this only increased interest in the performance.
Here's everything you need to know about the band and what's happened since their Coachella performance.
Kneecap is known for provocative lyrics and outspoken political views
Curzon Film
The band, which formed in 2017, is made up of rappers Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí, who rap in both English and Irish.
The band's "shows and tracks flip between satirical performance art and rampageous raves," reads their Spotify biography.
In 2025, their semi-autobiographical film, "Kneecap," won the BAFTA for outstanding debut, recognizing the work of first-time director Rich Peppiatt. In the film, Chara, Bap, and DJ Próvaí played versions of themselves alongside Michael Fassbender.
The Irish Times reports that the band's debut song "C.E.A.R.T.A." was inspired by a run-in with the police after Bap and his friend were caught spray-painting the word, which is Irish for "rights," on a bus stop. While Bap wasn't arrested, his friend was, and he spent a night in police custody waiting for a Gaeilge-English translator as he refused to speak in English to the police officers on duty.
Since releasing their debut album in 2018, the band has been the center of several other controversies. Notably, they became involved in a legal battle with the UK government in 2024 after they were awarded a $18,970 (£14,250) music industry grant but were later blocked because of their creative output, which regularly promotes Irish republicanism and opposition to British rule in Northern Ireland. The group filed a discrimination lawsuit against the UK government, which they won.
While performing in Australia in March, the band brought onstage the head of a statue of George V, which had been removed from a park in Victoria during a series of protests against colonial monuments in 2024.
Kneecap made their debut performance at Coachella on April 11
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
The band performed on both weekends of the festival, with both performances featuring political messaging voiced by the band and projected onto the screens behind them. NME reported that during their first performance, the trio led the audience in a chant about the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which was censored from the livestream on the festival's official YouTube page.
The band responded to the article on X, saying it was "not the only thing that was cut," as they also included messaging regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict in their set.
At the end of their show during the second weekend of Coachella on April 18, which the organizers did not stream, three messages appeared on the screens behind the band.
"Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people," the projected messages read. "It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes. Fuck Israel; free Palestine."
Some uncensored messaging to Coachella
