‘Hind’s Hall’, the new song from popular rapper Macklemore, is named after a building on the campus of Columbia University in New York that was occupied by students in protest against the war in Gaza. The building was renamed from Hamilton Hall to Hind’s Hall, in tribute to the six-year-old girl Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Last week, more than a hundred activists were arrested at the university. More than 2,300 people have been handcuffed during student protests across the country. But it’s not about the protests, Macklemore says in the song: “The problem isn’t the protests, it’s what they’re protesting. It goes against what our country is funding“, referring to American support and arms supplies to Israel.
Macklemore doesn’t mince his words. He expresses his undisguised support for the Palestinians and against Israel’s violence in Gaza. In the song, he calls Israel “a state that must rely on an apartheid system to maintain a violent history of occupation that has been repeating itself for 75 years.” The rapper also lashes out at President Joe Biden: “The blood is on your hands, Biden. And fuck you, I’m not voting for you in the fall.” Once ‘Hind’s Hall’ is available on streaming services, proceeds will go to UNRWA, announced Macklemore, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
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It is not the first time that the rapper has expressed support for the Palestinians. In October, he shared a message on his social media: “I deeply sympathize with the Israelis who have lost loved ones to this horror. […] But killing innocent people as collective punishment is not the answer. That is why I support the people around the world who are calling for a ceasefire.” In the same post, he also criticized the claim that criticism of the Israeli government is anti-Semitic. At a concert in Arizona earlier this year, he brandished a keffiyeh, a Palestinian scarf, and in October 2023 he signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. In November he spoke at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Washington DC.
Complicit silence
Macklemore’s criticism of Biden is notable. In the past he supported the democratic camp. In 2016, he appeared alongside then-President Barack Obama to discuss the opioid crisis – he himself has a history of addiction. The rapper was also always a fierce opponent of Donald Trump. After his election in 2016, he made the anti-Trump song ‘Wednesday morning’. In 2017, he also participated in the ‘Women’s March on Washington’: the protest marches against the misogyny of the newly appointed president.
Not only Biden, but also the music industry is criticized in ‘Hind’s Hall’. Her silence makes her complicit, Macklemore believes. The song also contains an explicit reference to the hip-hop riot between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar, which has captivated the music business for weeks. “I want a ceasefire, fuck a response from Drake.” There are more important wars, he means.
Macklemore has been accused of anti-Semitism in the past. In 2014, he showed up for a surprise appearance in Seattle with a black wig and beard and a false crooked nose. The rapper insisted it was a random costume, but acknowledged it “could be seen as a Jewish caricature within a stereotyping context.”
Woolly texts
Macklemore is known as a committed positive person. In his hit ‘Thrift shop’ (2012) he talks about how he buys his clothes in second-hand stores, in ‘Same love’ (2012) he stands up for same-sex marriage, supports the LGBTI community and criticizes he the homophobia of the hip-hop scene. In other songs he criticizes consumerism and reflects on white privilege, cultural appropriation and his position as a white rapper within a black genre. He’s also not afraid to show his soft side, posting photos of himself with his young children. He is popular, but is also dismissed by some as a softie who writes woolly lyrics. A reputation that he consigns to the trash bin with the outspoken, unvarnished ‘Hind’s Hall’.
