Irish rap trio deliver ‘insane’ Melbourne show, display decapitated King George V’s head

Melbourne has never seen anything like it. A pro-Palestine trio from Belfast who hate the establishment just sent the city into a frenzy.

Federation Square is not small. Reaching capacity — where revellers are turned away — is no small feat.

That’s exactly what three rappers from Belfast managed to do last Monday in scenes the city has rarely, if ever, witnessed.

Kneecap, the trio from Northern Ireland, are loudly and proudly pro-Palestinian and anti-colonial. They sent the crowd into a frenzy for the free gig opposite Flinders Street Station while fans waved Irish, Palestinian and Aboriginal flags.

In a video posted to their Instagram, Kneecap wrote simply “Fed Square Naarm, insane stuff”.

On Saturday night inside live music venue 170 Russell, the scenes took a slightly bizarre turn as the severed bronze head of King George V resurfaced nine months after it was stolen from its bust in Melbourne’s King’s Domain.

“Some madman dropped by with a huge King George’s head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show!,” the group wrote.

Irish hop hop trio turned Melbourne into a frenzy. Picture: Instagram

The severed head of King George V turned up at 170 Russell on Saturday night. Picture: Instagram

“Allegedly his head was cut off last year in the city. Anyways he was put on stage for a few tunes and then whisked away. Remember every colony can fall.”

The image went viral, drawing a huge response online from Aussies including outspoken First Nations rapper Briggs.

The whereabouts of the severed head, captured during the King’s Birthday Weekend in June last year, has been a mystery for Victoria Police.

“It appears the head of the statue has been removed and red paint thrown at the monument,” a police spokesperson said at the time.

The trio — MCs Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap alongside DJ Próvaí — have galvanised support for their anti-colonial movement around the world and are having huge success. One of their hits is titled “Brits Out”.

A biopic about the group, released last year, won Sundance Film Festival’s audience award in January.

Federation Square was packed for the free gig on Monday. Picture: Instagram

A trailer for the film declares: “We found our calling giving the middle finger to the Brits”.

Taking inspiration from rappers including Eminem, Kneecap performs primarily in Gaelic tongue.

It has found them fandom worldwide, selling out shows in Australia, the US and UK. Noel Gallagher of Oasis fame described their Glastonbury set in glowing terms.

“I couldn’t believe how enjoyable it was,” he said.

“We went to see this Northern Irish street kids called Kneecap, they’re kind of pro Republican rappers,” he said.

“We get there and the tent is absolutely f***ing smashed packed — you couldn’t get in. These three lads walk out, one of them is in a balaclava and they rap in Gaelic.

“Being of Irish heritage I found that quite funny and they were really, really good.”

Unashamedly political, the Belfast trio told Rolling Stone they are well aware of the power they have for riling up conservatives in the British colony and abroad.

But they also say it’s “very tongue-in-cheek”.

King George’s statue, minus its head, and King’s Domain in Melbourne.

“We wanted to take the seriousness and the sting out of it and incorporate elements of life that we as young people enjoy — like partying and taking Class A drugs,” they told the publication.

“We’re political, but it’s not like a political party. I think because of where we’re from, everything has to be about politics. We’re a band, for f***’s sake. We make music.

“Obviously, we do things that are political. But I worry that just because we’re a band from Belfast that raps in Irish, any kind of political crisis, they’re like, ‘Oh, let’s f***ing ask Kneecap what they think.”

In Australia, they have found a sympathetic ear. Well, mostly.

There were thousands of comments on the group’s social media pages about the scenes at Federation Square last Monday.

“Dammit. Sydney could never even hope to be this cool,” one person wrote.

“(The crowd) almost crossed the street to St Paul’s and Flinders Street. It was a record crowd for sure, never seen so many people in Fed Square,” one wrote.

“Proud of my home town,” another wrote.