Massive Attack respond to Kneecap government backlash: “[They] are not the story. Gaza is the story”

Massive Attack have released a statement in support of Kneecap as they face renewed scrutiny and concert cancellations after leading pro-Palestine chants at Coachella festival earlier this month. 

The Bristol duo of Robert “3D” Del Naja, Grant “Daddy G” Marshall shared a message urging government and media to stop focusing on the political Irish rap trio‘s statements and instead on the causes they have sought to raise awareness of. “Kneecap are not the story”, they wrote. “Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story. And the silence, acquiescence and support of those crimes against humanity by the elected British government is the real story.”

They also wrote: “If senior politicians can find neither the time, nor the words to condemn, say, the murder of fifteen voluntary aid workers in Gaza, or the illegal starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare, or the killing of thousands & thousands of children in the same territory, by a state in possession of the highest precision weapons on earth; how much notice should a music festival take of their moral advice on booking performing acts?

“As a band that has spoken publicly for more than 30 years about the illegal occupation, apartheid system and killing with impunity of thousands of Palestinians, we are hyper aware of the both the human cost of abject political silence, and the commercial implications of publicly expressing solidarity with an oppressed people.”

Kneecap called out Coachella organisers for apparently censoring their pro-Palestine messages and anti-Marageret Thatcher chants on the livestream of their 11th April set at the California festival. They continued to share pro-Palestine chants at their second Coachella set, which was not a part of the official livestreaming programme, the following weekend.

After the festival, Coachella organisers reportedly said the band “blindsided” them with their political statements. Since then, videos from Kneecap gigs in 2023 and 2024 have resurfaced and reignited outrage towards the band. The 2024 video from London venue Kentish Town Forum purports to show a member shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”, while critics claim the 2023 clip shows the band saying, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP”. Both videos are now being investigated by counter-terrorism police. 

A number of Kneecap’s upcoming shows have been cancelled, including several shows in Germany and the Eden Project, with outrage now targeting their planned Glastonbury appearance. 

On 28th April, Kneecap shared a statement on X, acknowledging the snowballing controversy. “They want you to believe words are more harmful than genocide”, they wrote. “Establishment figures, desperate to silence us, have combed through hundreds of hours of footage and interviews, extracting a handful of words from months or years ago to manufacture moral hysteria.”

Kneecap continued, calling the news cycle a “transparent effort to derail the real conversation”: “Let us be unequivocal: we do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah. We condemn all attacks on civilians, always. It is never okay. We know this more than anyone, given our nation’s history… We also reject any suggestion that we would seek to incite violence against any MP or individual. Ever. An extract of footage, deliberately taken out of all context, is now being exploited and weaponised, as if it were a call to action.”

Kneecap also extended a “heartfelt apology” to the families of Jo Cox and David Amess, two British MPs who were murdered in 2016 and 2021 respectively. “We never intended to cause you hurt,” the group wrote. “Kneecap’s message has always been — and remains — one of love, inclusion, and hope. This is why our music resonates across generations, countries, classes and cultures and has brought hundreds of thousands of people to our gigs.”

In a 29th April appearance on RTÉ’s Prime Time, Kneecap’s manager Daniel Lambert criticised the ongoing focus on the band: “Children are starving to death, and we’re spending six or seven days talking about Kneecap”, he said. “…We spent less than a day talking about 15 executed medics.”

Dozens of artists, including Annie Mac, Bicep, Idles, Fontaines D.C., Primal Scream and Toddla T, as well as Massive Attack, cosigned a statement shared by Heavenly Recordings in support of Kneecap on 30th April. “These artists support the right to Freedom of Expression”, the lead-in to the statement reads. “This past week has seen a clear, concerted attempt to censor and ultimately deplatform the band Kneecap… Chillingly, it is also clear to us that influential figures and personalities within the wider music industry are attempting to influence this campaign of intimidation. As artists, we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom.”

Massive Attack closed out their individual statement with a message of solidarity: “Solidarity with all artists with the moral courage to speak out against Israeli war crimes, and the ongoing persecution and slaughter of the Palestinian people.”

Last December, Kneecap won their discrimination case against the UK government for blocking the group’s arts grant funding in early 2024. 

For more on Kneecap’s storied career and tradition of political activism, revisit Brian Coney’s in-depth feature from July 2024. 

Read Massive Attack’s statement in full below.