Rap

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson continued firing verbal shots at each other Friday, escalating a week-old battle that risks extending into next month’s Democratic National Convention.

Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, suggested that Jackson is using “for his own purposes” the controversy that followed Clinton’s condemnation of a black rapper during a Rainbow Coalition speech last Saturday.

Responding to questions during a televised appearance before a convention of radio talk-show hosts in Washington, Clinton said Jackson’s continuing anger over the incident is “a mystery to me,” especially considering the fact that Jackson seems more angry now than he did a week ago.

“Each day the temperature has been turned up,” Clinton said.

In an interview published Friday in the New York Times, Jackson was quoted as saying Clinton used the speech before his organization to “stage a well-planned sneak attack, without the courage to confront but with a calculation to embarrass.”

Jackson also said Clinton was using the rapper’s comments to advance his presidential campaign with white voters by “containing Jackson and isolating Jackson.” Such a racial appeal, he said, “again exposed a character flaw” in Clinton, a reference to questions about Clinton’s morality that the candidate has worked hard to erase in the minds of voters.

The interview was the latest in a series of efforts by Jackson to exclaim how offended and embarrassed he was by Clinton’s behavior.

In a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times earlier this week, Jackson said Clinton failed to address his proposal for a $500-billion program to aid urban areas at the Rainbow meeting, but chose to engage in “a divisive political maneuver” aimed at him.

“Clinton has a ploy and I have a plan,” he said.

In his speech before Jackson’s organization, Clinton complained that rapper Sister Souljah urged blacks to kill whites instead of killing each other. He also chastised the coalition for recognizing Souljah at a convention which was honoring a white man who filmed the Rodney G. King beating and several blacks who risked their lives to rescue white riot victims.

“After I gave that speech, Jesse Jackson invited me to come back that night and play the saxophone,” Clinton told reporters here Friday. “He went back and had a very cordial meeting with me. So all these discoveries of things after the speech are for his own purposes.”

Clinton said he would “not back down” in his criticism of Souljah. “If Jesse Jackson wants to ally himself with that now and claim that’s the way he felt then, that’s his business,” Clinton said. He added: “Something has happened since the speech. This is not about the speech.”

If Jackson continues drawing attention to his dispute with Clinton, it risks becoming an issue at the July nominating convention, a prospect that Clinton forces had not anticipated.

Many key Democratic Party officials are former Jackson associates, including chairman Ronald H. Brown, but they were hoping for a harmonious meeting that could showcase Clinton. The dispute dominated discussions during convention planning sessions in New York on Friday, where Washington, D.C., Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly was reportedly selected as a keynote speaker.

Some officials feared that Jackson would use delegates pledged to former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. to seek the vice presidential nomination, but Jackson denied he was interested.

Jackson is publicly flirting with the independent candidacy of Texas businessman Ross Perot. But Clinton said he does not believe the controversy with Jackson will cost him black votes. “I’ve got to stand for what I believe and say what I believe and voters either respond one way or the other,” Clinton said.

Times staff writer Geraldine Baum from New York contributed to this story.

Irish rap group Kneecap has canceled all U.S. dates on its upcoming tour after its fiery criticism of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian causes brought legal trouble and criticism.

“To all our US based fans, we have some bad news,” the trio said in a statement. “Due to the close proximity of our next court hearing in London on September 26 — as the British government continues its witch-hunt — with the start of the U.S. tour, we will have to cancel all 15 U.S. tour dates in October. With every show fully sold out this is news we are sad to deliver. But once we win our court case, which we will, we promise to embark on an even bigger tour to all you great heads.”

The U.K. court hearing stems from charges that Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, allegedly displayed a flag in support of terror group Hezbollah at a show in London last year. (Ó hAnnaidh has denied the charges and said the band does not support Hezbollah).

The band’s Canadian shows will continue as scheduled.

The status of Kneecap’s U.S. tour was already shaky after it split from booking agency (and visa sponsor) Independent Artist Group in April following a Coachella performance that included intense criticism of the Israeli government and its attacks on Gaza.

The band also drew the ire of local British police after its recent Glastonbury performance, which included similar Palestinian advocacy that prompted an investigation but as of yet no charges.

No one really thought Clipse would get back together.

The duo, composed of brothers Pusha T and Malice, is well known for setting a new precedent for rap throughout the aughts. If you wipe the dust off and think back, you’ll probably remember them for hits like “Grindin’” or “When the Last Time,” both produced by the Neptunes — another duo, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo — and both off of their debut, “Lord Willin’.”

At the surface level, Clipse was an insanely talented rap duo out of Virginia Beach, Va., closely linked to Pharrell, who would go on to be one of hip-hop’s most in-demand producers.

“I had just turned 8 when we moved from New York to Virginia,” Malice remembers. “I think it was a bit of a culture shock for me… I remember thinking how the people in Virginia just talked different.”

But the brothers, born Gene and Terrence Thornton, quickly noticed that a lot was happening around them. Malice remembers when they used to “congregate down at the ocean front” and freestyle: “everybody would come out there.”

It wasn’t long before they “bumped heads” with Pharrell, who was a friend of a friend.

“I had heard about Pharrell and he had heard about me,” Malice says. “One day, Pusha decided he wanted to rap on a song… it was called ‘A Thief in the Night.’”

“Pharrell was like, ‘Y’all should be a group.’ And we agreed, and it was easy… it all came together in Chad’s room in his attic.”

But their first brush with fame came even earlier than their debut, with the release of “The Funeral.” At the time, the brothers had struck a deal with Elektra Records with some help from Pharrell, but the company ultimately shelved their would-be debut “Exclusive Audio Footage,” which contained the song.

Clipse were released from their contract shortly after, but the project would live on through the love of fans — or, “family,” they say.

“For me, we were superstars when we shot ‘The Funeral’ video in ‘99 in Virginia… I mean, that was it; what else was there to do?” Pusha said. “The video debuted on HBO, and we shot it at home. For me, that was the Grammys.”

“That was the mountaintop,” Malice chimed in.

“That was the mountaintop!” Pusha echoed.

Those early Clipse days were special, and the duo saw themselves at the center of a cultural shift and as a driving force in the rap game at the time. And Virginia, oddly enough, is where it was all happening.

Malice, left, and Pusha T of Clipse have cemented themselves as legends of East Coast rap.

(Cian Moore)

It had a lot to do with Teddy Riley — the father of New Jack Swing — who set up camp in Virginia Beach along with his Future Recording Studios. That became a hub in the ‘90s for established artists like Luther Vandross and Whitney Houston as well as rising stars like Timbaland and the Neptunes.

“It was a time of creativity,” Pusha said. “Whether it was Pharrell and Chad up the street or my brother working with Timbaland in junior high school … the energy of Virginia was at an all-time high.”

“A lot of people in Virginia are very creative and aspire to make something out of this music thing,” Malice added. “And I think what we’ve done is show them that it is very tangible and doable and reachable.”

But it would all come to an end in 2010, when Pusha T and Malice went their separate ways. Albeit an amicable split, it was still abrupt, with the latter experiencing a spiritual reawakening that set a hard contrast to the drug-dealing-infused lyrics that often occupied their music.

It was certainly a shock to fans, but both would remain close. According to Malice, it had a lot to do with the lessons their parents bestowed upon them.

“The way our parents raised us, that family is absolutely everything … there is no bickering, there is no animosity,” he said. “My dad was really big on family, and not only family, but brotherhood. And I don’t even mean like, just biological brotherhood. I mean brotherhood and all that it entails.”

“We always used to say in the earlier Clipse days, ‘want for your brother what you want for yourself,’ and it’s something that we hang on to with both hands,” he added.

So, the door always remained open for a Clipse reunion. And there were hints.

They appeared on longtime collaborator Kanye West’s “Jesus Is King” in 2019, and Pusha T’s solo album “It’s Almost Dry” boasted an impressive Malice feature on track “I Pray for You” in 2022. On the latter, Malice is back, seemingly as if he never left the game:

“When I was in the mix / opened up your nose like I’m cuttin’ it with Vicks / Slavin’ over stoves like I rub together sticks / Paved another road so my soul would coexist / But Heaven only knows, I won’t dig another ditch.”

Malice made a rare guest appearance on Pusha T’s fourth studio album, “It’s Almost Dry,” in 2022.

(Cian Moore)

According to him, there were “quite a few baby steps involved” before an all-out Clipse project was underway. But an enlightening conversation with his father, who died in 2022, made it “make sense for my psyche.”

“One of the last conversations I had with my dad, I asked him what he thought about me rapping again. And why that was important to me was because my dad was definitely in a church. He was a deacon,” he recalls. “And just to hear him say that he thought that I had been too hard on myself, I didn’t even expect him to say anything remotely along those lines.”

“And he was like, ‘You know what to do now.’”

It took Clipse around two years to complete “Let God Sort Em Out,” befittingly, entirely produced by Pharrell. Its rollout led with “Ace Trumpets” and the infatuating “So Be It.” The latter track ingeniously flips an obscure sample of “Maza Akoulo” by Saudi Arabian musician Talal Maddah. Notably, it also takes aim at artist Travis Scott over his alleged disloyalty.

It highlights an ongoing dissatisfaction that the brothers have with the current state of rap, an overall landscape that they say is “flawed.”

“We were coming to set standard and reset the table,” Pusha says.

“We had many opportunities to come back and do something, but it just wasn’t the right time,” Malice adds. “Money’s not going to dictate anything we do. We don’t ever compromise our art for anything. Whatever we do is going to be done at the highest level, and it’s going to feel right.”

It was no surprise that the album featured verses from the West Coast’s Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, the Creator, who are some of the best wordsmiths out right now.

On “Chains and Whips,” Pusha T opens up lethally: “The question marks block your blessings / There’s no tombstones in the desert / I know by now you get the message.”

Malice follows suit, assuring “Your lucky streak is now losing you / Money’s dried up like a cuticle / You’re gasping for air now, it’s beautiful.”

[Warning: Video contains profanity.]

Lamar is a real stand out on the album, and it’s no surprise. Last year, he tore apart Canadian rapper Drake across four diss tracks, which hit its peak with “Not Like Us.” The track ended up hitting 1 billion streams in January 2025, won five Grammy Awards, and broke the internet with its performance at the Super Bowl.

Needless to say, the Compton-born rapper and longtime friend of Pusha T has been on a roll.

“Let’s be clear, hip-hop died again / Half of my profits might go to Rakim / How many Judases that let me down? / But f— it, the West mines, we right now / Therapy showed me how to open up / It also showed me I don’t give a f—.”

Of the collaboration, Malice says “when it comes to Kendrick, I think we are of the same mindset of how important the culture is and that we keep it in existence.”

Indeed, this is something that Clipse have always maintained and they’ve taken issue with in contemporary rap. Especially given the longevity they have — Malice and Pusha T have been in the game since the early ‘90s and are 53 and 48 years old, respectively.

“I don’t think people have been in the game this long and competed at this level, you know?” Pusha says. “I think it’s a new frontier. We’re at a point of really cracking the ceiling to longevity in rap.”

“Not only cracking the ceiling; I feel like we kicked down the entire door,” Malice jumps in. “Looking backwards over the years, rappers have been getting away with murder!”

“We’re here coming for the goal every time. And I think that’s the problem: A lot of people are in the game just existing,” Pusha adds. “Not competing, you’re just in it existing in a minor artistic way.”

If “Let God Sort Em Out” wasn’t impressive enough, Clipse are back on the road, playing sold-out shows across the country. On Saturday, they’ll touch down in Los Angeles at the Novo as part of their first tour as a duo in 15 years.

Malice, who refers to fans as “the family,” is eternally grateful to be back doing what he does best for the people he loves.

“They [the family] see through a lot of the circus acts that’s going on in hip-hop and they speak for us when they show up, when we have sold-out shows, in the record sales,” he says. “We don’t take none of that for granted. It’s a real thing and crucial to our existence.”

After gracing the Weatherfield cobbles and other hit shows, Suranne Jones stars in Netflix’s political thriller Hostage, sharing the spotlight with a grime star.

Bombshells, diplomacy and danger collide in Matt Charman’s new thriller Hostage – and some grime fans might be surprised to see one of their favourite stars grace the screen.

From the cobbles of Coronation Street to Doctor Foster, Vigil and Gentleman Jack – winning a TV Bafta on the way – Suranne Jones has cemented herself as one of Britain’s best-loved acting talents.

Now, the versatile star is taking on her most powerful role yet – quite literally – as the British Prime Minister in Hostage, Netflix’s explosive new political thriller from Oscar-nominated Matt Charman (Bridge Of Spies).

In Hostage, Suranne plays Abigail Dalton, a politician plunged into chaos when her husband, Dr Alex Anderson, is kidnapped. And she made sure she was thoroughly prepared and did her homework.

“I don’t think I’m allowed to say [who], but I did speak to three really high-up women from different parties,” Suranne, 46, says. “I read their books and I interviewed them, and that was very exciting.”

That attention to detail paid off. Abigail isn’t just a PM fighting for her family – she’s a woman balancing power and vulnerability. Portraying the latter involved getting close to her co-star and on-screen husband, Ashley Thomas, aka grime star Bashy.

“We did chemistry tests, and when he came in, it was just like, ‘Oh, you’re intriguing, handsome, lovely, smart, intelligent,’” Suranne remembers. “And then we met our daughter (Isobel Akuwudike), who is also brilliant. It was her first job.”

READ MORE: Teeth whitening solution so ‘effective’ shoppers of all ages love it is 30% off

Ashley also prepared thoroughly to portray medic Alex. He consulted real-life doctors, but it was the emotional weight of Alex’s kidnapping that hit the hardest.

“That was tough. Putting yourself in those places is heavy – especially as Alex is a father,” says Ashley. “The environment I’ve come from, I’ve witnessed and experienced a lot of trauma, so there were things I was able to pull from.”

While Abigail grapples with domestic turmoil, things aren’t calm across the Channel either. French President Vivienne Toussaint – played by French-American actress Julie Delpy – is battling her own political scandal after being blackmailed.

During a state visit to the UK, Vivienne is forced to work with Abigail to expose a common enemy, despite their vastly different political backgrounds.

“She’s quite conflicted, which I liked,” Julie, 55, says. “She is someone who started out with ideals but had to give up part of what she believes in to get access to power.”

Vivienne is dangerous and captivating – a role that seemed made for Julie, who has spent her career tackling complex characters. “She might not be a very good person, but she’s more than just a bad guy,” Julie adds.

But beneath her icy exterior lies a secret: an age-gap relationship that threatens everything. “A May-September relationship these days isn’t a big deal – but this is a little darker and more complicated than that. A little more destructive,” Julie explains.

“Her husband is key in her ascent to power, so to put herself in this situation and put everything at risk is kamikaze.” Hostage shows Vivienne’s struggle to keep her Achilles’ heel hidden.

“She’s good at handling situations and power, but her weakness is her hidden side,” Julie says. “She’s romantically involved with someone she shouldn’t be and that’s a huge weakness for a politician – especially a woman.”

Before Sunrise actress Julie embraced the opportunity to portray someone morally grey. “I loved the idea of playing someone very different from me,” she says. “She’s not the most likeable of characters, but that’s fine with me.

If they are unlikeable as a person, you find a way to approach them as a human being. When I played a Nazi character, she was obviously repulsive, but then you have to think that she sees it differently.”

Despite Vivienne’s complicated personality, Julie found herself intrigued by her. “It was interesting to see someone that seems so rational and together, but behind the mask, her life is a mess,” she says.

“I’m the opposite – I look messy and crazy, but I would never do what she does!” And when it comes to politics? “I’m not interested at all [in politics] because of the compromises you would have to make. I don’t even do that in the movie business, and you see a lot of people give up their morals to succeed. I’m not able to do that. I’m just not that kind of person.”

Julie’s first day of filming for Hostage set the tone that the tense series demanded. “I’m always nervous, and not just on the first day,” she admits.

“My first day on Hostage was a kissing scene – so it was even more stressful than usual. I didn’t know this person so I had to switch off my mind a little.”

If that wasn’t enough, the role involved linguistic hurdles, too. Julie had to learn the more official, formal speeches in English. “Those are hard enough in your own language, but to do them as a non-native speaker was tough,” she says.

Luckily, the tension on screen was offset by the real-life camaraderie with her castmates – particularly Suranne. “She’s a lovely person and a great actress,” Julie says.

“Sometimes, it takes a little time to find your way with certain people, but with Suranne it was immediate. I like communication to be quick and fast and clear, I have no time for ego and she’s like that as well. So it made it very easy.”

The friendly feelings appear to be mutual. Suranne revealed during a recent appearance on the Table Manners podcast, “There were a lot of unrepeatable stories, told in the make-up trailer. Julie would be talking in the corner, and then everyone would go quiet!”

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Dhaka, Bangladesh — On July 16, 2024, as security forces launched a brutal crackdown on student protesters campaigning against then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s increasingly authoritarian government, Bangladeshi rapper Muhammad Shezan released a song.

Titled Kotha Ko (speak up in Bangla), the song asked: “The country says it’s free, then where’s your roar?”

It was the day that Abu Sayed, a protester, was killed, becoming the face of the campaign to depose Hasina after 15 years in power. Sayed’s death fuelled the public anger that led to intensified protests. And Shezan’s Kotha Ko, along with a song by another rapper, Hannan Hossain Shimul, became anthems for that movement, culminating in Hasina fleeing Bangladesh for India in August.

Fast forward a year, and Shezan recently released another hit rap track. In Huddai Hutashe, he raps about how “thieves” are being garlanded with flowers – a reference, he said, to unqualified individuals seizing important positions in post-Hasina Bangladesh.

As the country marks the anniversary of the uprising against Hasina, protest tools that played a key role in galvanising support against the former leader have become part of mainstream Bangladeshi politics.

Rap, social media memes and graffiti are now also a part of the arsenal of young Bangladeshis looking to hold their new rulers accountable, just as they once helped uproot Hasina.

‘Do less drama, dear’

As mob violence surged in Bangladesh last autumn in the aftermath of Hasina’s ouster, a Facebook meme went viral.

It showed the familiar red and green seal of the Bangladesh government. But instead of the golden map of the nation inside the red circle, it depicted stick-wielding men beating a fallen victim.

The text around the emblem had been tweaked – in Bangla, it no longer read “People’s Republic of Bangladesh Government,” but “Mob’s Republic of Bangladesh Government”.

The satire was biting and pointed, revealing an uncomfortable side of post-Hasina Bangladesh. “It was out of this frustration that I created the illustration, as a critique on the ‘rule of mobs’ and the government’s apparent inaction,” said Imran Hossain, a journalist and activist who created the meme. “Many people shared it on social media, and some even used it as their profile picture as a quiet form of protest.”

After the student-led revolution, the newly appointed interim government under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus embarked on a sweeping reform agenda – covering the constitution, elections, judiciary and police.

But mob violence emerged as a challenge that the government struggled to contain. This period saw mobs attacking Sufi shrines and Hindu minorities, storming women’s football pitches, and even killing alleged drug dealers – many of these incidents filmed, shared and fiercely debated online.

“After the July uprising, some groups in Bangladesh – many of whom had been oppressed under the previous regime – suddenly found themselves with a lot of power. But instead of using that newfound power responsibly, some began taking the law into their own hands,” Hossain said.

As with rap songs, such memes had also played a vital role in capturing the public mood during the anti-Hasina protests.

After security officials killed hundreds of protesters on July 18 and 19, Sheikh Hasina was seen crying over damage to a metro station allegedly caused by demonstrators. That moment fuelled a wave of memes.

One viral meme said “Natok Kom Koro Prio” (Do less drama, dear), and was viral throughout the latter half of July. It mocked Hasina’s sentimental display – whether over the damaged metro station or her claim to “understand the pain of losing loved ones” after law enforcement agencies had killed hundreds.

Until then, ridiculing Sheikh Hasina had been a “difficult” act, said Punny Kabir, a prominent social media activist known for her witty political memes over the years, and a PhD student at the University of Cologne.

While newspaper cartoonists previously used to lampoon political leaders, that stopped during Hasina’s rule since 2009, which was marked by arrests of critics and forced disappearances, she said.

“To face off an authoritarian regime, it’s [ridiculing] an important and powerful tool to overcome fear and surveillance,” Kabir said. “We made it possible, and it broke the fear.”

‘If you resist, you are Bangladesh’

As fear of Sheikh Hasina faded from social media, more people found their voice – a reflection that soon spread onto the streets. Thousands of walls were covered with paintings, graffiti, and slogans of courage such as “Killer Hasina”, “Stop Genocide” and “Time’s Up Hasina”.

“These artworks played a big role in the protests,” said political analyst and researcher Altaf Parvez. “Slogans like ‘If you are scared, you’re finished; but if you resist, you are Bangladesh’ – one slogan can make all the difference, and that’s exactly what happened.

“People were searching for something courageous. When someone created something that defied fear – creative slogans, graffiti, cartoons – these became sources of inspiration, spreading like wildfire. People found their voice through them,” he added.

That voice did not go silent with Hasina’s departure.

Today, memes targeting various political parties, not just the government, are widespread.

One of Imran’s works uses a Simpsons cartoon to illustrate how sycophants used to eulogise Hasina’s family for its role in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war when she was in power. Now, the cartoon points out, loyalists of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s leader Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman are trying to flatter their family for their contribution to the country’s independence movement. Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led the freedom struggle, while Zia’s husband Ziaur Rahman was a senior army officer who announced the country’s independence on March 27, 1971.

Another meme from a popular Gen-Z Facebook page called WittiGenZ recently highlighted allegations of sexual misconduct by a leader of the National Citizen Party (NCP) – a party formed by Bangladesh’s students.

What comes next for political art in Bangladesh?

Political analysts in Bangladesh believe the tools that contributed to toppling Sheikh Hasina will continue to be relevant in the country’s future.

“Memes and photo cards in Bangladesh essentially do what X does in the West. They provide the most effective short-form political commentary to maximise virality,” said US-based Bangladeshi geopolitical columnist Shafquat Rabbee.

Bangladesh’s central bank unveiled new banknote designs inspired by the graffiti created by students during last July’s monsoon uprising, a nod to the art form’s widespread popularity as a means of political communication.

And rap, Rabbee said, found a natural entry in Bangladeshi politics in 2024. In Bangladesh’s context, back in July 2024, political street fighting became a dominant and fitting instrument of protest against Hasina’s repressive forces, he said.

The artists behind the songs say they never expected their work to echo across Bangladesh.

“I wrote these lyrics myself,” Shezan said, about Kotha Ko. “I didn’t think about how people would respond – we simply acted out of a sense of responsibility to what was happening.”

As with Shezan’s song, fellow rapper Hannan’s Awaaz Utha also went viral online, especially on Facebook, the same day – July 18 – that it was released. “You hit one, 10 more will come back,” a line said. As Hasina found it, they did.

The rappers themselves also joined the protests. Hannan was arrested a week after his song’s release and was only freed after Hasina resigned and fled to India.

But now, said Shezan, rap was there to stay in Bangladesh’s public life, from advertising jingles to lifestyle. “Many people are consciously or subconsciously embracing hip-hop culture,” he said.

“The future of rap is bright.”

PILTON, England — Irish-language rap group Kneecap gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans on Saturday at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terrorism charge against one of the trio.

Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organization for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London in November. The rapper, who was charged under the anglicized version of his name, Liam O’Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August.

“Glastonbury, I’m a free man!” O hAnnaidh shouted as Kneecap took the stage at Glastonbury’s West Holts field, which holds about 30,000 people. Dozens of Palestinian flags flew in the capacity crowd as the show opened with an audio montage of news clips referring to the band’s critics and legal woes.

Between high-energy numbers that had fans forming a large mosh pit, the band members led the audience in chants of “Free Palestine” and “Free Mo Chara.” They also aimed an expletive-laden chant at U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has said he didn’t think it was “appropriate” for Kneecap to play Glastonbury.

The trio thanked festival organizers Michael and Emily Eavis for resisting pressure to cancel Kneecap’s gig and gave a shout-out to Palestine Action, a protest group that the British government plans to ban under terrorism laws after its members vandalized planes on a Royal Air Force base.

The Belfast trio is known for anarchic energy, satirical lyrics and use of symbolism associated with the Irish republican movement, which seeks to unite Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., with the Republic of Ireland.

More than 3,600 people were killed during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland involving Irish republican militants, pro-British Loyalist militias and the U.K. security forces. Kneecap takes its name from a brutal punishment — shooting in the leg — that was dealt out by paramilitary groups to informers and drug dealers.

The group has faced criticism for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references, and for political statements, especially since videos emerged allegedly showing the band shouting, “up Hamas, up Hezbollah,” and calling on people to kill lawmakers.

Members of the group say they don’t support Hezbollah or Hamas, nor condone violence, and O hAnnaidh says he picked up a flag that was thrown onto the stage without knowing what it represented. Kneecap has accused critics of trying to silence the band because of its support for the Palestinian cause throughout the war in the Gaza Strip.

A performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April — where the band accused Israel, with U.S. support, of committing genocide against the Palestinians — sparked calls for the group members’ U.S. visas to be revoked.

Several Kneecap gigs have since been canceled as a result of the controversy.

The BBC, which airs many hours of Glastonbury performances, didn’t show Kneecap’s set live, but said it would “look to make an on-demand version of Kneecap’s performance available on our digital platforms” afterward.

About 200,000 ticket holders have gathered at Worthy Farm in southwest England for Britain’s most prestigious summer music festival, which features almost 4,000 performers on 120 stages. Headline acts performing over three days ending Sunday include Neil Young, Charli XCX, Rod Stewart, Busta Rhymes, Olivia Rodrigo and Doechii.

Glastonbury highlights Friday included a performance from U.K. rockers the 1975, an unannounced set by New Zealand singer Lorde, a raucous reception for Alanis Morissette and an emotional return for Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, two years after he took a break from touring to adjust to the effect of the neurological condition Tourette syndrome.

Dixon writes for the Associated Press.

Los Angeles County prosecutors on Wednesday charged 19 people with conspiring to murder a rapper who allegedly angered a member of the Mexican Mafia, a prison-based syndicate of Latino gang members.

According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accused Mexican Mafia member Manuel “Snuffy” Quintero issued an order in 2022 to kill Nelson Abrego, who performs under the name Swifty Blue.

In the complaint, prosecutors described a sprawling conspiracy that played out over TikTok messages and recorded jail calls, drawing in prisoners from Kern County, jail inmates in downtown Los Angeles and gang members in Paramount, the southeast Los Angeles County city that both Quintero and Abrego call home.

Quintero, 49, was arrested Wednesday and has yet to enter a plea. It wasn’t clear from court records whether he has a lawyer. A longtime member of the Paramount Varrio gang, Quintero has served prison time for assault, manufacturing methamphetamine and false imprisonment, court records show.

Manuel Quintero, shown in a Feb. 15, 2014 photograph from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, has been identified by law enforcement officials as a member of the Mexican Mafia.

(California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

On New Year’s Eve in 2022, an alleged subordinate of Quintero, Giuseppe “Clever” Leyva, told an informant he’d notified gang members in Paramount, Compton and downtown L.A. that they had instructions to attack Abrego “on sight,” the complaint says.

Leyva, 34, is now in custody on an unrelated federal case that charges him with selling drugs and guns in Imperial County. He pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine in March and has yet to be sentenced. His attorney in the federal case didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

After the informant asked if “Snuffs is mad” at the rapper, Leyva allegedly said of Abrego: “F— him.”

It’s unclear why Quintero was angry with Abrego, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

In a 2024 interview with The Times, the rapper declined to discuss any potential issues with the Mexican Mafia or “jailhouse politics.”

Abrego previously said his music resonates with people because “everybody wants to be a gangster.”

“Whether you’re a lawyer, a police or a kid going to school, everybody wants to be big, bad and tough,” he said in 2024.

Eight months after he spoke to the informant, the complaint says, Leyva warned another person in a TikTok message to stay away from the rapper.

“Let me give u a lil 411 s u won’t get mis guided with the internet,” he wrote, according to the complaint. “With Swifty his career is done.”

“I talked to him tried to guide him but he didn’t listen,” Leyva allegedly continued, adding that now the rapper was “getting his blues” in Men’s Central Jail.

In November 2023, Abrego was jailed on a gun possession charge. Onesimo “Vamps” Gonzalez, held two cells down from the rapper, called his mother and told her to ask an associate if “the one who sings” was “still good,” according to the complaint.

Gonzalez’s mother hung up. When her son called back, she allegedly said, “He’s no good.”

Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles.

(Al Seib/Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

Both Gonzalez and his mother are charged in the conspiracy. Gonzalez was already in custody; Dominga Gonzalez, 66, was arrested Wednesday at her Bellflower home, according to a statement from the FBI.

Two days after mother and son spoke, another jail inmate, Jonathan “Dreamer” Quevedo, called a man imprisoned in Kern County who was using a contraband cell phone, according to the complaint.

After mentioning “Swifty Blue,” Quevedo allegedly asked Jacob “Eagle” David if he recalled a “raza rapper” who was “in the shower.”

Prosecutors believed this was a reference to Jaime Brugada Valdez, a rapper known as MoneySign Suede who was stabbed to death in the showers at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad in 2023.

“The end result should be the same,” allegedly replied David, who was imprisoned for carjacking and robbery.

The next day, the complaint says, David instructed Quevedo to tell the attackers: “Handle that s— with prejudice… You know how that’s like a court term? Well, this s— [is] with prejudice.”

Quevedo allegedly confirmed it was “already in motion.”

When inmates were let out of their cells at 5:50 the next morning to take a shower, Adrian “Slick” Bueno, Andrew “Largo” Shinaia and Jude “Crazy” Valle entered Abrego’s cell, the complaint says. While Michael “Weasel” Ortiz obstructed a nearby camera, Bueno, Shinaia and Valle beat the rapper and “sliced” him, prosecutors charged.

About five hours later, Quevedo called a woman from jail and asked her to tell David in state prison that “old boy got his rap session,” according to the complaint.

“They didn’t really get a good show,” Quevedo allegedly said. “Expect them to be performing in probably the 4000 floor” — another area of the jail — “here soon.”

The attempt on Abrego’s life was unsuccessful, and by March 2024, the complaint says, Leyva told Joshua “Demon” Euan in a TikTok message the rapper was recording a live stream outside his family home “as we speak.”

Euan drove to the house at 1 a.m. and sent Leyva a photograph of a gun in the cup-holder of a car, according to the complaint. “He ain’t here,” he wrote to Leyva.

Later, Euan allegedly told Leyva he sent people to vandalize Abrego’s family home. According to the complaint, he sent photographs of graffiti that read, “Swifty Blue 187,” a reference to the California penal code section for murder.

Euan, 37, eluded arrest Wednesday and remains at large, according to the FBI.

British police say Mo Chara displayed a flag of Lebanon’s Hezbollah at a concert.

A member of the Irish rap band Kneecap has been charged with a “terrorism” offence in the United Kingdom for waving a flag of the armed Lebanese group Hezbollah at a concert in November 2024 in London.

Liam O’Hanna, whose stage name is Mo Chara, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on June 18, charged under the Terrorism Act, British police said on Wednesday.

Kneecap has been vocal in its support for the Palestinian cause since the October 7, 2023-led Hamas attacks and Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, equating the struggles of the Irish under British colonial rule to that of Palestinians under that of Israel.

Pro-Palestinian chants are a regular fixture in their gigs. The band says they have been targets of a smear campaign for calling out Israel’s genocidal war.

KNEECAP STATEMENT:

Since our statements at Coachella — exposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people — we have faced a coordinated smear campaign.

For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments’ complicity in war crimes.… pic.twitter.com/mBojb5QBOP

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 25, 2025

The Belfast trio is also well known for its political and satirical lyrics and use of symbolism associated with the Irish Republican movement, which seeks to unite Northern Ireland, currently part of the UK, with the Republic of Ireland.

More than 3,600 people were killed during three decades of violence in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles” involving the Irish Republican Army (IRA), pro-British Loyalist militias and the UK security forces.

Kneecap takes its name from a brutal punishment, which involved being shot in the kneecaps, that was meted out by paramilitary groups to informers and drug dealers.

The band has been praised for invigorating the Irish-language cultural scene in Northern Ireland, where the status of the language remains a contested political issue in a society still split between Protestant British Unionists and Catholic Irish Nationalist communities.

It has also been criticised for lyrics laden with expletives and drug references.

Kneecap came under intense scrutiny and criticism last month during their performance at the music festival Coachella in California when they projected the words “F*** Israel. Free Palestine.” on stage.

“The Irish not so long ago were persecuted by the Brits, but we were never bombed from the f****** skies with nowhere to go! The Palestinians have nowhere to go – it’s their f****** home and they’re bombing them from the sky. If you’re not calling it a genocide what the f*** are you calling it?” read the words projected by Mo Chara.

Kneecap came under renewed scrutiny at the start of this month when UK intelligence said they would investigate comments made by the rap group about UK and Middle East politics.

They were reported to police over footage from a 2024 concert in which a band member appeared to say: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Footage from another concert, in 2023, appears to show a member of the trio shouting “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah” – the UK considers both to be “terrorist” organisations.

In response, Kneecap said it had “never supported Hamas or Hezbollah,” and accused “establishment figures” of taking comments out of context to “manufacture moral hysteria” because of the band’s criticism of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.

Several Kneecap gigs have been cancelled as a result of the controversy, and some British lawmakers have called on organisers of June’s Glastonbury Festival to scrap a planned performance by the group.

JUSTIN Bieber has broken his silence on explosive rumours that he was abused by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Hip-hop star Diddy, 55, whose sex trafficking trial kicked off this week, infamously hosted a teenage Justin at his home in 2009.

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And since the rap mogul’s arrest last year, unfounded gossip online has linked the Canadian singer reported mental health problems with his former mentor’s alleged crimes.

Sean Combs – who is charged with sex trafficking and prostitution – strongly denies all allegations of misconduct.

Now, Justin, 31, has released a statement refuting claims he was targeted by the rapper.

A spokesperson told TMZ: “Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him.

“Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.”

Last year, video emerged of Diddy and Justin spending “48 hours” together.

Fans online branded the clip “disturbing” considering the 24-year age gap between the pair.

Justin also sang on Combs’ 2023 record The Love Album: Off The Grid which sources now say the pop superstar deeply regrets.

A source told the Mail Online: “He was featured on Diddy’s most recent album, and had he known any of this, there is no way he would have done it.”

This comes as Combs’s ex Cassie Ventura claims she had sex for up to four days with male escorts while living in fear that he would beat her.

The pregnant 38-year-old told a court: “You make the wrong face . . . then I was getting hit in the face.”’

Singer Cassie said she was a sexual novice when she fell in love with Diddy having been won over by his huge wealth and charm.

Within a year, she said she agreed to marathon “freak off” sex sessions with strangers to prove her love and keep him happy.

But Cassie told the court in New York how she began to experience a different side of Diddy — what she called “his abusive side”.

She added: “Very controlling over my life, the things I wanted to do . . . but there’s still love there.

“Control was everything from the way I looked, what I was working on that day, who I was speaking to.

“You make the wrong face and the next thing I knew I was getting hit in the face.”

Cassie testified despite being eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her third child with husband, Alex Fine, a personal trainer hired by Combs to work with her.

She said she was 19 when the rapper signed her on a ten-record deal to his Bad Boy Records label in 2006.

P Diddy, who denies all the charges, faces life imprisonment if convicted.

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