Say what you will about Macklemore, but he will rage against the machine. In the middle of the nastiest, and perhaps most unserious, rap beef of the decade, the Seattle MC directed his animus toward Israel’s “apartheid system†against Palestine. Macklemore released the anti-genocide, Palestine-solidarity track “Hind’s Hall†on May 6, the same day Israel seized a border crossing at Rafah, the city where 1.3 million displaced Palestinians have crammed for refuge, cutting off a vital aid route. All proceeds from Macklemore’s track will go to a United Nations–run nonprofit supporting Palestinian refugees. “I want a cease-fire, fuck a response from Drake (woo),†Macklemore spits. We guess Kendrick and Drake going bar-for-bar over who’s the worst abuser while an actual war decimates a whole country didn’t necessarily do it for the rapper. “What happened to the artist?†Macklemore raps. “What d’you got to say?â€
The title “Hind’s Hall†refers to the since-raided Columbia University building student activists occupied last week, which they renamed in remembrance of a 6-year-old victim of the war, Hind Rajab. Macklemore criticizes the brutal suppression of protesters in his bars, questioning the idea that calls for divestment from war profiteering and protesting for peace are somehow threatening and antisemitic. Calling out white supremacy and the buttressing of an apartheid system, he urges activists to continue their work until Palestine is free. “What if you were in Gaza? What if those were your kids?†Macklemore raps. “If the West was pretendin’ that you didn’t exist? / You’d want the world to stand up and the students finally did.â€