Macklemore has published, for now on social media and soon on streaming services, a piece on the pro-Palestine protests of American students. Is titled Hind's Hallas Hamilton Hall at Columbia University in Manhattan was renamed by students demonstrating in honor of Hind Rajab, the 6-year-old girl killed in Gaza in January.
The piece begins by talking about the university protests that played a key role in the police eviction of Hamilton Hall. The problem, says Macklemore, is the economic interests behind pro-Israel investments. “When I was 7 I learned a lesson from Ice Cube and Easy-E. What was it like? Ah yes, fuck the police”.
Police defend a system designed by white supremacists, Macklemore says. “You can pay Meta, but you can't pay me. You can ban TikTok, remove us from the algorithm, but it's too late, we've seen the truth, we're witnesses to it, we've seen the rubble, the buildings, the mothers and children and all the men you killed.”
Macklemore raps about the difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism (“I saw Jewish brothers and sisters demonstrating and screaming Free Palestine”), about the state of apartheid, about genocide. Finally, he points the finger at artists who don't take a stand: “What happened to you? What do you have to say? If I had a contract with a record company, they could drop me today. It would be fine with me because I wrote these things from the heart. I want a ceasefire, who cares about Drake's response.”