As one of the most anticipated acts for the Octagon this year, rap trio Kneecap need no introduction. Hailing from West Belfast, their November tour has taken them from France to Amsterdam, Leeds to Newcastle, to finally making their long awaited two nights in Sheffield. Whilst I can’t speak for Tuesdays gig, Monday night brought about a performance big enough to shake the SU walls a few steps over. All this in spite of a slightly hungover band, thanks to one to many down Fagans the night before (can you blame them?)
A whiplash for a Monday evening crowd, hip-hop artist Miss Kaninna opened up the stage with her powerful statements on Palestine, women’s rights and her experience growing up in Tasmania. A proud Aboriginal woman, she laid her soul and her story bare on the stage through these small yet mighty monologues, and upbeat tunes that propelled the room. There’s no better guest for a headliner as strong as Kneecap, than someone who solely can command the moment, and use such a platform to speak up. Miss Kaninna is a force to be reckoned with, but who would dare reckon?
“I’m sick of being loud and proud because I should just be happy to be THAT, BE ME.”
Miss Kaninna, speaking to the crowd on Monday
Before the lads took the stage, I was asked in the bar queue why I was there, what had drawn me to the gig. I am, of course, a fan of their music, but would be lying if their words outside of their records didn’t factor into it, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. Their attitude to stay on the right side of history, stand up for those who need it and stand up for themselves when being ridiculed for doing so, is both admirable and inspiring. Plus, like I said, they do have some bangers.
Highlights of the night included ‘Better Way To Live’ (I’m a sucker for some Grian Chatten), the crowd screaming back the refrain in ‘Your Sniffer Fogs are Shite’ and new tune ‘No Comment’. ‘Fine Art’, ‘C.E.A.R.T.A’ and ‘Guilty Conscience’ just built up the pits more, with each voice booming.
The set closed with celebrated tracks ‘Parful’, ‘H.O.O.D’ and ‘The Recap’ and, after DJ Próvai jumped into the wave of a crowd and the boys left the stage, out rang Dominic Behans’ (famously covered by The Wolfe Tones) ‘Come Out Ye Black and Tans’. It was a high energy finish, with the lights sparking on and people reluctantly flooding out of the doors, wrecked by the pit and envious of those who got to do it again the next night.
Whilst Kneecap seem to grown the label of ‘controversial’ like a lump, but its clear that the love for them, and their words, is universal. To my left, uni students breaking in scuffed trainers, hooches in hand. To my right, an elderly woman, clapping ecstatically as Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap storm the stage. If the message is right, and the music is good, the people will come.
