Moglai Bap (left), DJ Provai (middle) and Mo Chara (right), members of Irish band Kneecap, pose for a photo at the National Hotel in Havana, on March 20, 2026. Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption

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Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

The Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap got their start rapping about drugs and their ire toward the British government. They're still doing that. But according to member Mo Chara, their new album, Fenian, is a bid to be taken more seriously as musicians, to "not just be seen as a parody act."

Given the album's subject matter, it's easy to imagine Kneecap has made progress on that front. The song "Palestine," featuring Palestinian rapper Fawzi, is a message of Irish solidarity amid Israel's war in Gaza. Another track, "Irish Goodbye," honors one of the bandmates' mothers, who died by suicide.…