‘really important’ | 

DJ David Holmes sings praises of Belfast rappers Kneecap and insists they aren’t sectarian

Star says pro-republican band have more in common with working class kids from Shankill than people across the border

Today at 06:59

Belfast DJ David Holmes says Irish language rap band Kneecap aren’t sectarian, and those who sing “Up the RA” are “taking the p***”.

The 54-year-old, who grew up during the Troubles and composed the music for blockbuster film Ocean’s Eleven and BBC drama Killing Eve, was working with Sinead O’Connor just before her death in the summer.

Speaking to The Irish Times, Holmes reflected on his career ahead of his new album Blind On A Galloping Horse, which is released on Friday.

He also detailed how the generation of musicians that have come after him view the Troubles in a different light.

West Belfast group Kneecap have built a reputation since their formation in 2017 for producing controversial hip hop music that incorporates republican ideology and features songs such as Get Your Brits Out.

Holmes recalled seeing them live, and said “it’s pretty extraordinary— Kneecap are really important”.

“Number one, Kneecap aren’t sectarian. They’re pro-Irish. That’s how they grew up.

“They grew up speaking Irish. They feel they have more in common with the kids from the Shankill Road than they do with anyone from the South.

“They come from the same raw, working class background. Both ruled by a government that is undoubtedly corrupt — we’re talking about the Tories here.

“From what I’ve heard on the ground in Belfast, there are lots of kids from the Shankill who love them but they have to keep it on the down-low. So, I do think they’re important.”

As for the controversy around young people chanting ‘ooh, ah, up the RA’ at Wolfe Tones gigs, Holmes stated: “A lot of that is playful. It’s people taking the p***. A lot of kids these days don’t even know what that means.

“A lot of the time it’s kids out p***ed singing along for the laugh. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.”

Holmes, the youngest of 10 in a Catholic family, grew up on the largely Protestant Ormeau Road in the 1970s and 1980s.

When he was a teenager, the UVF told an older brother to leave the city after his best friend was shot dead outside their home.

“The head of the UVF in south Belfast, he knew we weren’t republican. We were definitely a nationalist family — nothing wrong with that. The head of the UVF pulled my dad aside and said: ‘Jackie, get rid of your son, because he’s going to get whacked’.

“Within 24 hours my brother was living in Chicago, and stayed there for the rest of his life.”