Driving up north recently, I passed a mural of Bobby Sands with his famous quotation: “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.” And, reflecting on what kids find funny now, more than 40 years later, I wondered what he would have made of Kneecap.
He could hardly have imagined such a development, in fairness. Rap music as we know it today was still in its infancy when Sands died. Blondie had just introduced it into the pop mainstream in January 1981. The idea of the British hit parade ever featuring a band rapping in Irish was still in the realms of unwritten science fiction.
That the word Kneecap might one day acquire comedic value would itself have seemed far-fetched.
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