How Kneecap are taking their Indigenous language to the world

The iconic Irish hip hop trio, Kneecap, are making their way back to Aotearoa shores in 2027.

The group spoke with Moana Maniapoto, connecting over their shared experiences of using music to take their Indigenous languages to the world.

Many of Kneecap’s songs feature the Irish language, with several tracks spelling out Irish words through their titles.

“It unintentionally became our thing; it was the first song we did, it was the most popular song we have,” said Mo Chara.

He is referencing their first single C.E.A.R.T.A, which translates to “rights”.

“Like most people in Ireland don’t speak Irish, so being able to bring people musically on the journey with us on stage, whether it’s in any country in the world.

“So spelling out words, it’s actually kind of helped as far as getting people ready at shows and stuff.

“Maybe we’ve cracked the formula,” said Chara.

Maniapoto recalled back in 1991 doing something similar with her group Moana & the Moahunters for their song A.E.I.O.U.

“It was to encourage people to pronounce our language better because they were mutilating [it],” said Maniapoto.

She referenced that it was not played on the radio back then due to it being “a bit radical”, but can now see artists of different ethnic backgrounds singing in te reo Māori in the current day.

She asked the Irish musicians if they are seeing the same in their homeland, with more Irish being sung.

Chara stated many people already used the odd word of Irish in their songs, or would use an Irish name for their band.

“But we’ve seen it a lot more socially now, like conversationally.

“We get a lot of messages [from] people who don’t speak the language but are going to send their kids to an Irish language school,” he said.

Although Kneecaps have received praise for their push to revitalise their language, Chara says the group get “too much credit”.

“The real people who deserve all this credit are the families in the West of Ireland, who for two thousand years have never broke that chain.

“Because of these families in the West of Ireland, who against all odds saved this language when it was driven to almost extinction.”

In the Republic of Ireland’s 2022 Census, more than 1.87 million people - around 40% of the population - reported having some ability to speak Irish, but only 71,968 said they spoke it daily.

“I think the overall opinion on the language has definitely changed; people don’t feel so ashamed of it, I think,” said Móglaí Bap.

‘Low IQ weasels’

The group found themselves in hot water with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters earlier this month after backing Green MP Tamatha Paul over her viral “bastard language” comments opposing the bill to make English an official language.

In a tweet, Peters called them a “bunch of low IQ weasels who have no idea about history, and even less of an idea about the woke cultural madness they foolishly promote”.

In response, Chara said, “That’s got to go on the poster, surely”.

“He sounds like a lot of fun.”

While Bap was keen to have Peters show up.

“He’s invited to the party.”

The trio will perform in Auckland on 9 February 2027, before heading to Wellington the following day.

The hip-hop group have also partnered with Manaaki Rangatahi, with $1 from every ticket sold going towards the organisation’s work to prevent and end youth homelessness in Aotearoa.

Watch the full interview in the video above, and catch Te Ao with Moana at 8pm Monday on Māori+.