Kneecap, a Northern Irish rap trio, have revealed their debut album titled ‘Fine Art’ and released the visuals for their latest single ‘Sick In The Head.’ The album, set to be released on June 14th through Heavenly Recordings, was produced by Toddla T. “When working on the album we had periods of great productivity but also periods with a total lack of anything creatively. Towards the end of recording, we hit a proper wall and this is the result,” says Kneecap. The trio explains that their mental health was being tested and they were tired of being broke around Belfast. As a result, they reopened a community pub in West Belfast called The Rutz, which serves as a setting for the album.
Kneecap entered the studio with Toddla T in the summer of 2023 but decided to scrap the music they had prepared to record. The band decided to take the listener by hand and lead them into their world by setting the album in a pub. Speaking about the album, Kneecap said, “T’s idea was to tell the story of Kneecap, so the record was conceived as the listener stepping into Kneecap’s world.” The band also made sure that their single ‘Sick In The Head’ was in harmony with the album visuals.
The album features Kneecap’s collaboration with Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C on ‘Better Way To Live’, which was released in November. The tracklist for ‘Fine Art’ includes “Drug Dealin Pagans”, “Rhino Ket”, and “Way Too Much.” Kneecap has also announced a series of UK dates for November 2024, and they will be performing at Reading & Leeds this summer.
The government attempted to silence the group after blocking them from receiving the British Phonographic Industry funding award. The group claims that the decision was based on their provocative 2019 tour poster, which allegedly “pissed off the Tories.”
The band resorted to building and opening The Rutz as, according to Mo Chara, “Our mental health was being tested, and we said ‘Fuck it, we’re doomed to mental torture, we want to have some money to get through it.’ We’ve had enough of it while being broke round Belfast.” ‘Fine Art’ is the product of Kneecap’s creativity and will be available for fans to listen to soon
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