The Massive Attacks took a position in favor of the Kneecap, the Belfast Rap Trio ended up in the center of the controversy in the United Kingdom and in the United States for the controversial contents of some of their externalizations. The attacks arrived after the coachella Festival, the group launched slogans against Israel, and following the spread of old videos in which they praised Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as declarations such as: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory”.
Following the criticisms, the Kneecap published a message of excuses aimed at the families of the British parliamentarians Jo Cox and David Amess, murdered in recent years, also declaring that he has never supported Hamas or Hezbollah.
In the midst of political pressures – with exponents of the right asking for the exclusion of Kneecap from summer festivals such as Glastonbury or Trnsmt – the Massive Attack have chosen to intervene publicly. In a post on social networks, they criticized the hypocrisy of politicians who, on the one hand, ask for the censorship of a young punk band, and on the other hand they silence the crimes in progress in Gaza: “If those who govern us find no time to condemn, for example, the killing of 15 humanitarian operators in Gaza, the use of hunger as a weapon against the civilian population or the death of thousands of children at the hands of a state with the most military technologies with military technologies with military technologies with military technologies Advanced in the world, what value do their suggestions have on who should get on the stage of a festival? “, Bristol's band writes.
Always lined up in favor of the Palestinian cause, the Massive Attacks reiterate their commitment: “In over thirty years of career we have publicly denounced illegal occupation, apartheid and the impunity with which the Palestinians are killed. We know how much the silence of politicians costs and how risky to express solidarity to an oppressed people”.
While recognizing the severity of the past declarations of the Kneecap, especially in relation to the murders of Cox and Amess-“The words count and there is no room for lightness or irresponsibility”-the Trip-Hop group accusation and media conservatives to exploit the indignation to distract from the horror in progress in Gaza: “The real news is not the Kneecap. The news is Gaza. The accomplice silence, passive consensus and support for crimes against humanity “.
In support of the Kneecap and the freedom of expression, dozens of artists who signed an open letter promoted by the Heavenly Recordings label have also lined up. Among the signatories there are Pulp, Idles, Fontaines DC, Paul Weller, Primal Scream, Pogues, Sleaford Mods and the same Massive Attack.
“Last week – reads the document – we witnessed a clear and coordinated attempt to censor and cancel the Kneecap from the public scene”. An action that, according to the signatories, represents a threat to artistic freedom: “In a democracy, no politician should decide who has the right to perform in front of thousands of people”. Finally, the letter emphasizes that the importance of freedom of expression is independent of the opinions expressed: “Whether or not the ideas of the Kneecap are shared is irrelevant. What matters is to defend the right of each artist to express himself freely. This censorship campaign must be condemned, and those who drive the music industry has the duty to oppose any attempt to silence the uncomfortable voices”.
In recent days, the same Kneecap, a Northernish rap trio that for years has transformed the anger and historical memory of the conflict in Northern Ireland in performance Visceral and provocative, they had released a press release that tried to relocate the narration within more complex coordinates: the refusal of violence against civilians, the implicit condemnation of attacks on 7 October, and an explicit distance from any form of support to armed organizations. A line of clear demarcation, which the three rappers trace remembering their background marked by the Troubles and by a long history of sectarian violence. “It is a principle that we know well,” they write, letting the weight of the Northern Collective Memory transpare.
But it is the second part of the press release that strikes more for tones and content: the group denounces what calls “a wave of moral hysteria” fed by the establishment, which would have dug in the archives in search of decontextualized phrases to paint the collective as an instigator of hatred. “They want to make you believe that words do more damage than a genocide”, accuse, in an attempt to overturn the media frame and bring attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where – according to the Kneecap – “two million Palestinians are reduced to hunger” and “at least 20 thousand children were killed”.
The press release closes with a passage full of ambivalence: the apologies to the family of Jo Cox and David Amess, two British parliamentarians killed in distinct attacks, which however are not enough to appease the accusations made by a part of the public opinion. “Ours has always been a message of love, inclusion and hope”, say, claiming an artistic identity that knows no boundaries and that, according to them, continues to unite generations, classes and cultures.
But the echo of their words to Coachella – where they have openly criticized the US administration – had a boomerang effect in the United Kingdom, triggering violent reactions and a wave of political indignation. “The real crimes you do not find them in our performances: they are in the silence and complicity of those who hold power. Shame,” they conclude, with the raw tone that distinguishes them.
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
