Dozens of musicians and celebrities have come out in support of the rapper and Palestine solidarity campaigner, Kareem Dennis, better known by his stage name, Lowkey.
The British-Iraqi artist has been the subject of a hostile smear campaign by a pro-Israel group, believed to be affiliated with the apartheid state.
Thank you to these people for signing our open letter to Spotify opposing Israel lobby attempts to remove my music and censor Palestine. The letter will be online later today. pic.twitter.com/7by4APkPB0
— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) March 30, 2022
Anti-Palestine lobby group demanded last week that streaming giant Spotify delete Lowkey’s music, especially the 2010 track “Long Live Palestine Part 2”.
The song that the pro-Israel group is campaigning to ban features Palestinian hip-hop group, DAM, British Palestinian artiste, Shadia Mansour, Iraqi-Canadian rapper, Narcy, among others.
#watch | The Rapper Lowkey express his solidarity with #Palestine pic.twitter.com/Mkfsn5BiWD
— Palestinians Abroad (@PalAbroadE) March 29, 2022
Denouncing the campaign, Lowkey said:
“The attempt to remove my music from Spotify by a group which was birthed and cultivated by BICOM (Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre), worked with the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and publicly identified itself as an Israel lobby group is ultimately an own goal for the apartheid regime.”
Lowkey has received support from numerous artists, who have put their names to an open letter defending the artiste, while also denouncing the smear campaign to silence him.
The letter, seen by The Electronic Intifada, has been signed by rappers Wretch 32 and Ghetts, model Anwar Hadid, actor Michael Malarkey, Pink Floyd co-founder, Roger Waters, and hip-hop DJ, Charlie Sloth.
The signatories are calling “on Spotify and all other platforms not to buckle to pressure groups who would rather see his music removed than grapple with the issues he highlights.”
They describe Lowkey as “the target of a coordinated smear campaign to demonize, defame and de-platform him.”
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
