Kneecap take on “the British state” again on new single ‘No Comment’ with Sub Focus – featuring Banksy court graffiti artwork

Kneecap have shared a new single featuring the DJ and producer Sub Focus, ‘No Comment’ – listen to it here.

• Read More: Kneecap on the cover – giving peace, protest and partying a chance

Two minutes long, it’s an emphatic drum ‘n’ bass-infused track on which Sub Focus’ touch is evident. Lyrically, it addresses the legal case against rapper Mo Chara, real name Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, which was thrown out in September.

“I’m misbehaving in badness / Mo Chara’s wanted / The air bubble bandit,” he declares in the chorus, before discussing the group’s rise in prominence and the terror charge in a blend of English and Irish. “Have you ever been plastered on the news when you’ve got the heebie-jeebies?” he continues, “Far from ideal / Got death threats on my screen.”

“‘No Comment’ is all about getting harassed by the British State,” Kneecap said about the track. “Simple as. Us Irish are well used to it, been happening for centuries. Was a pleasure to work with Sub Focus on this, the man is a legend.” 

The cover art features a mural created by artist Banksy, which depicts a protestor lying on the ground with a judge over him with a gavel, and was removed from the Royal Courts of Justice in London once it was discovered.   

Kneecap first hailed the mural as hitting the “fucking nail on the head”, before criticising the decision to remove it, saying: “You can’t wash away genocide….your complicity will always remain.”

The single will be available on limited edition vinyl with ‘Get Your Brits Out’ as the B-side, appearing on the format for the first time – pre-order it here. It follows the trio’s other standalone singles earlier this year, ‘The Recap’, featuring Mozey, and ‘Sayōnara’, with Paul Hartnoll of Orbital.

Kneecap are currently on their UK headline tour, playing The Prospect Building in Bristol tonight (November 18) – find remaining UK tour tickets here – and it was at their show at Wembley Arena in London on September 18 when they first debuted ‘No Comment’. 

“I wasn’t the first and I won’t be the last Irishman in court in London on trumped up terrorism charges,” Chara said on stage, while NME said in a five-star review of the show: “Recent singles ‘Sayonara’ and ‘The Recap’ absolutely go off, with their violent drum n’ bass bleeding in the premiere of upcoming single ‘No Comment’. It seems like Kneecap aren’t going away anytime soon.”

In September, the terrorism charge against Chara was thrown out on a technicality relating to the way in which it was brought about. The rapper had been charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag and shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” at a previous gig in London in November 2024.

Weeks after the case was thrown out, a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said they would be “appealing the decision to dismiss this case”, and Kneecap responded on Instagram by describing it as “political policing,” saying: “This whole process has not been driven by the police or the courts, it has been driven by politicians backed up by British media.”

Their statement came after Chara said he was “absolutely” considering legal action against the British state, adding in an interview with Virgin Media: “Even if it had’ve went to court, we would’ve won anyway.

“It was a complete circus, it was a carnival, a distraction from what’s actually going on. And the more that they dragged this out, the longer they could keep this in the news, rather than talk about the actual issues.”