Tom Morello hails Kneecap as “the Rage Against The Machine of now”
Tom Morello has said Kneecap are “clearly the Rage Against The Machine of now”, praising them for speaking truth to power.
The guitarist and founding member of the Los Angeles band appeared on The Strombo Show last week, and was asked by host George Stroumboulopoulos which young artists he felt were embodying similar anti-establishment sentiments to his old band.
He was quick to point to the Irish rap trio: “[They’re at] the top of the list,” he said. “I mean, they’re clearly the Rage Against The Machine of now. Like, there’s them and there’s a gap to the next one.”
When asked to address the slew of controversies that have hit the band in recent months, Morello responded: “What they’re doing in their art is what people could probably stand to do more in their lives: to really speak truth to power. And, you know, Kneecap are not terrorists.
“What is terroristic is, you know, 20,000 dead Palestinian children. That’s the story. Not some Irish rappers who don’t like that that’s happening. [That] should not be the story.”
Kneecap have been in the headlines regularly this summer – their Glastonbury set was one of the weekend’s most anticipated performances, and the BBC decided to pull their livestream coverage of it just hours before they took to the West Holts Stage. In the set, they hit out at Keir Starmer, who had called for them to be removed from the line-up, and reiterated their support to the people of Palestine.
Avon and Somerset Police later said they were investigating the set, as well as Bob Vylan’s, under possible criminal charges.
That investigation follows two others from London’s Met Police – one into Mo Chara allegedly shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” and displaying a Hezbollah flag on stage, for which he appeared in court and been granted unconditional bail, and the other into alleged on-stage comments in which the band said “the only good Tory is a dead Tory”, for which they will not face any further action.
The band have consistently denied supporting Hamas or Hezbollah, and say they do not incite or condone violence, describing the legal action against them as “a carnival of distraction”.
They have also recently defended their actions on stage, arguing that it is not their job to “tell people what’s a joke and what’s not”.
Asked about whether he regrets the comments about MPs, Mo Chara said: “Why should I regret it? It was a joke – we’re playing characters, it’s satirical, it’s a fucking joke. And that’s not the point. The point is, that wasn’t an issue until we said ‘Free Palestine’ at Coachella. That stuff happened 18 months ago, and nobody batted an eyelid.”
Most recently, the band have revealed that a poster for their upcoming show at Wembley Arena on September 18 has been banned from the London Underground, as it was deemed to be “likely to cause widespread or serious offence”.
“How petty can political policing and interference get…” the band wrote. “Speak out against genocide and they’ll use every single angle they can to silence you. Join the IOF [sic], murder kids, fly to London and nothing happens – you’ll be welcomed and applauded.”
They concluded: “See it. Say it. Censored.”
The post Tom Morello hails Kneecap as “the Rage Against The Machine of now” appeared first on NME.
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