Macklemore reaffirms “art is resistance”
The world balanced itself out when British musician Ed Sheeran tried to silence American rapper Macklemore for his support for Palestinian liberation. The latter’s Free Palestine Tour completely sold out while Sheeran lost all his opening artists for his Loop Tour.
What went down?
Last month, Ed Sheeran fired Macklemore after two performances during which he advocated for the people of Gaza facing genocide at the hands of Israel and occupied West-Bank.
“A big… reason why I wanted to do this tour in [the] first place is so I can stand up in stadiums like this and say two words very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” said Macklemore on Sept. 4 at the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey.
Following his statements, Macklemore played his song “Hind’s Hall,” inspired by the Columbia University students’ pro-Palestinian protests and renaming the Hamilton Hall to Hind’s Hall after Hind Rajab. Rajab was a five-year old Palestinian girl killed by the Israeli Defence Force in 2024. Having listened to the song, it’s safe to say that the song is the definition of “art is resistance.”
Talk about “getting what you give,” because following Macklemore’s exit, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Finneas backed out of Sheeran’s upcoming concerts in solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinian cause.
Well-deserved criticism
After receiving enormous and, honestly, well-deserved criticism by the world, Sheeran tried the whole “I don’t choose sides” narrative, which, ironically, also backfired.
He said, “I have never wanted to be an activist musician but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”
I find it hard to understand how Israel’s genocide on the people of Gaza is a “complex issue” to understand? Or, why is it hard or uncomfortable to choose sides when one side has over 74,000 people dead according to the local health ministry and the other is the reason behind these deaths?
Over the course of the last three years, I have encountered many such people who are “neutral” or don’t understand the issue enough to take sides. These days it is very easy to learn or gain knowledge on topics, thanks to our over-achievers in the technology world. A simple Google search can help you educate yourself with dozens of credible articles and if reading isn’t your jam, then go watch documentaries.
I guess media censorship has played a big role in the Israel-Gaza topic when it comes to informing people. There has been extra effort to show both sides of the story when one simply bleeds more.
Why is it hard or uncomfortable to choose sides when one side has over 74,000 people dead according to the local health ministry and the other is the reason behind these deaths? -Arufha Malek
Awful friend Ed!
Anyways, let’s get back to Sheeran. Both Sheeran’s team and Macklemore clarified that Macklemore’s removal primarily came from higher-ups, like Robert Kraft, the owner of the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.
In a social media post, Macklemore mentioned that Sheeran is his “brother” and they have known one another for 13 years.
“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium […] Kraft has rallied some of the other stadium owners and, collectively, they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,” wrote Macklemore.
Well, Sheeran seems like an awful friend to let go of a friend for big bucks.
In a statement shared with the CBC, Kraft said, “Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”
Reading these statements raise a few questions, one of which is whether or not Kraft saw the whole footage of Macklemore’s speech because right after his advocacy for Palestinian people, Macklemore addressed the Jewish people.
“To all my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide is no way criticism of you,” said Macklemore.
What does the future hold for Macklemore?
Macklemore has used his fame and platform to voice numerous social issues like addiction recovery, women’s rights, the Sudanese crisis, etc. He has also been a pro-Palestinian voice since the beginning, as he signed the Artists4Ceasefire letter on Oct. 30, 2023.
Being an “activist musician” has finally paid off for him. His upcoming “Free Palestine Tour,”announced on Sept 24. and taking place in Dublin, Paris, and London, has completely sold out.
While announcing this tour on social media, Macklemore also wrote that all the proceeds will benefit the Palestinian cause.
Seeing the world’s reaction to this whole incident, as the majority stood with Macklemore, made me realize something; it took a long time for us to get here.
Oppression of Palestinians started somewhere in 1967 and it took almost 8 decades for the majority of the globe to see their plight, but we’re here. We should be thankful to people like Macklemore, Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, Bella Hadid, and many more artists for using their fame for advocacy, but above all, we should not forget the people of Gaza and hundreds of journalists who were killed by the Israeli forces for raising their voices.
