Kneecap on “upcycling” the Irish language in a “hazy attic”

Apple Music’s acclaimed audio series Origin Stories continues its second season by taking listeners to number 51 Hawthorn Street, the West Belfast home where the global phenomenon Kneecap first began. Joining host Matt Wilkinson, the trio explores how their journey from local activists to Sundance winners was rooted in the specific cultural landscape of their hometown.

The group recalls their early days recording “in a hazy attic,” a significant site where they wrote the tracks that would eventually normalize Irish-language hip-hop. Despite the perceived limitations of their native tongue, they refused to compromise. “There’s no word for this in the Irish language. Why should we break into English just to say that word?” they explain, describing their process of “upcycling” and “recycling” old words to fit a modern context.

Kneecap’s rise was famously accelerated by their debut track ‘C.E.A.R.T.A’ being pulled from the airwaves. “The same thing happened with the radio basically… then it got taken down. Somebody started a petition then, and that was the best thing that could have happened to us.” They discovered that their music possessed a “cultural pull” that transcended linguistic barriers, noting that fans who “didn’t speak a word of Irish” would learn their lyrics phonetically out of respect for the “native language.”

The episode also delves into the international success of their film, which the band initially feared wouldn’t “go any further than Ireland.” Instead, it became an “international story of identity,” resonating with audiences from the Basque Country to Aboriginal Australia. Ultimately, the group credits their community for their success, noting that people in West Belfast feel a sense of “ownership” over the band. Their philosophy remains grounded in the collective effort of the revival: “It didn’t matter if it didn’t work as long as you tried… if we get it halfway, then someone else would come and pick it up next time.”