Tag: rap

Rapping their way toward Irish solidarity

Members of the Kneecap hip-hop band are (from left): Liam Og O’Hannaidh (stage name Mo Chara), JJ O’Dochartaigh (DJ Provai) and Naoise O’Carrolean (Moglai Bap). All play themselves in the new film Kneecap. (Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures)

By Richard Ades

Kneecap is a movie about Irish rappers who deliver their rhymes in their native Irish. As such, it can be a lot for American viewers to absorb, especially since it unfolds at a take-no-prisoners pace.

Once you get your bearings, though, writer/director Rich Peppiatt’s debut flick is a blast and a hoot.

The title refers to an actual Northern Ireland hip-hop band that took its name from the painful punishment often meted out by republican enforcers during the period of upheaval known as “The Troubles.” Set in 2019 or so, long after relative peace has arrived, the film purports to be the band’s origin story.

I say “purports” because Peppiatt’s clever script no doubt takes massive liberties with reality. If the story still has an air of authenticity, it’s partly because the band members all play themselves, and they do so with panache and conviction.

The trio’s founding members are Naoise O’Carrolean and Liam Og O’Hannaidh, lifelong friends who rap in their spare time but make their living selling drugs. The final member is JJ O’Dochartaigh, a bored music teacher who becomes involved with Naoise and Liam by pure chance.

But before that happens, a whirlwind prologue efficiently defines the characters and the divided society in which they live.

While Naoise is still a baby, his Catholic parents take him into the woods for a secret baptism ceremony, only to see it interrupted by a hovering military helicopter. Angry at the English- and Protestant-dominated government that he blames for curtailing his rights, the father, Arlo (Michael Fassbinder), becomes a republican activist and eventually fakes his own death to avoid being captured. This leaves Naoise virtually fatherless and forces his mother (Simone Kirby) to play the role of a grieving widow.

Liam is also affected, since Arlo has been a father figure to him. Like Naoise, he grows up into an angry young man who champions the Irish language as an act of rebellion.

Naoise O’Carrolean (left) has a rare meeting with his fugitive father, Arlo (Michael Fassbinder).

Meanwhile, JJ is plodding along, teaching students who don’t seem to be all that interested. When fate brings him into contact with two rappers who share his passion for music and the Irish language—and, it must be said, for drugs—he doesn’t need much prodding to join their band.

It’s a fascinating story, and writer/director Peppiatt tells it in an anarchic, wildly creative style that fits its subject. Watch for “sound waves” to be represented by squiggly lines, or for Irish rhymes to be translated in ever-changing fonts of lettering. And in one of several scenes of drug use, watch as the three hallucinating musicians suddenly morph into Claymation figures.

Raunchiness—in terms of language, nudity and sex—is another of the film’s defining elements. The sex scenes generally involve Liam and Georgia (Jessica Reynolds), the latest in a string of Protestant girlfriends. In an amusing twist, Liam always dates Protestant women because only they can stimulate the anger that apparently is needed to awaken his sex drive.

Though Kneecap takes on serious subjects, including the desire for Irish solidarity and the fight to make their native tongue an official language, the film seldom takes itself seriously. More often, it’s laugh-out-loud funny.

For a debut feature film—or any film, really—it’s quite an achievement.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Kneecap (rated R) opens Aug. 2 in theaters nationwide.

Living, rapping and dancing on the streets of L.A.

Yelp reviewer Tyris (Tyris Winter) celebrates a culinary find in Summertime. (Photos courtesy of Good Deed Entertainment)

By Richard Ades

I’ve been trying to find something to compare Summertime to, but it’s not easy. I thought of calling it a street-smart, spoken-word version of La La Land, but that falls hopelessly short.

Besides being set in Los Angeles, the musicals have just two things in common: energy and heart.

Rather than beginning with a massive traffic jam, Summertime starts with the simple scene of a guitarist (Olympia Miccio) singing, strumming and skating her way along a sidewalk. Then she collides with a fellow Angelino and subsequently disappears, as our attention shifts to someone else who just happens to be nearby.

That sets the pattern for the film, which director Carlos Lopez Estrada (Blindspotting) has designed as a stream-of-consciousness portrait of a day in the life of L.A., and in particular its Venice and Hollywood neighborhoods. We wander through their funky streets meeting one young and talented individual after another, all of them poetically sharing their dreams, fears, struggles and desires.

Some characters pay brief visits, while others reappear periodically. An early standout is Tyris (Tyris Winter), an Afro-coifed gay man who wanders from one restaurant to another writing Yelp reviews and searching for an elusive cheeseburger. He’s feisty and mercurial, but as the day progresses, we realize that underneath he’s nursing a pain whose cause is only suggested.

Paolina (Paolina Acuna-Gonzalez) rebels against her tradition-minded mother with the help of a bevy of spirited dancers.

Also dealing with personal challenges are Paolina (Paolina Acuna-Gonzalez), a Latina chafing under her tradition-minded mother’s rules, and Marquesha (Marquesha Baber), who’s receiving therapy for trauma related to body-image issues. Paolina faces her frustrations by imagining a rebellious dance featuring women in flowing red dresses, while Marquesha faces hers by tracking down and confronting her abusive ex.

Tying the film together is the comical tale of Rah and Anewbyss (Austin Antoine and Brice Banks), sidewalk rappers who struggle to find an audience until they catch the ear of a big-time producer. Then their careers take off at breakneck speed, especially after they ditch the rhymes about “Lambos” and start paying homage to their devoted moms.

The diverse cast includes Blacks and Whites, Latinas and Korean Americans, gays and straights. Each performer wrote his or her own story and poetic dialogue, resulting in a variety of moods and viewpoints. The miracle is that Estrada—with masterful help from cinematographer John Schmidt, editor John Melin and composer John S. Snyder—turns it all into a joyful and cohesive whole.

Summertime may have no plot, but it does leave us with a message of sorts: Live your life, face your demons, find your happiness—and respect other people’s right to do the same.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Summertime (rated R) opens July 16 at select theaters, including Columbus’s Gateway Film Center and Cleveland’s Cedar Lee.