By Sammy Baroud
American rapper and artist, Macklemore, communicated a long, heartfelt message about Gaza to a sold-out Climate Pledge Arena in his hometown of Seattle, Washington.
The packed concert on December 21 commemorated a homecoming to Seattle after successfully touring the United States and Europe throughout 2023 for his new album “Ben”.
Soon after starting the concert with his 2012 hit song “Thrift Shop” and another song from his latest album, Macklemore switched to talk about the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Macklemore, who has been advocating the “Free Palestine’” message throughout the war, dedicated a four-minute speech that resembled a poem.
This wasn’t his first speech about the genocide in Gaza, as he also spoke at the massive protest in Washington D.C.
#macklemore speech in washington DC protests to support #Palestine #IsraelTerrorists #Netenyahu_is_Terrorist #GazaBleedingWorldSleeping #GazaCeasefire #Gaza_Geniocide #GazaHolocaust #Gaza_under_attack #GazaGenoside #GazaHolocaust #GazaHolocaust pic.twitter.com/JJ8UK7RJo2
— workplanix (@workplanix) November 6, 2023
The American artist addressed the subject of antisemitism, an accusation often made against those who advocate justice for the Palestinians.
“There isn’t a drop of antisemitic thought in my head or my blood. Never again means never again for all. Have we not learned the lessons?”
“I love my Jewish brothers and sisters so much and my perspective is one that’s saying ‘Free Palestine’ is also rooted in your protection.”
Macklemore didn’t shy away from calling out the bombardment in Gaza for what it is: a genocide.
“I want every soul in this arena to feel the reflection of love, but there’s innocent humans out in Gaza getting murdered with our dollars and those precious human lives are an extension of us.
“The word genocide is such a point of contention for some. And it’s more hurtful than seeing dead babies getting pulled out of the crumbled cement and the dust. Comparative suffering leads to believing the lie: there’s a them and there’s a us.”
“And imma say it till I die, with my chest to the sky. Free Palestine, the message is love.”
American rapper and artist, @macklemore communicated a long, heartfelt message about #Gaza to a sold out Climate Pledge Arena in his hometown of Seattle, Washington. pic.twitter.com/jceu52j2l1
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 24, 2023
He continued,
“At some point, we drew lines in the mud based on the color of our skin, the Gods we worshipped, and the Divine up above. And historically, we’ve exploited black and brown bodies to climb up the rungs, but the ladder doesn’t work when it depends on the oppression of some.”
The timing and venue of Macklemore’s speech gave it even greater meaning, as it is the conclusion of a major world tour and the return to his hometown of Seattle to perform in front of a very large audience.
“When I say ‘Free Palestine’, it’s not because I’m against anyone, it actually means we should protect everyone. It means equality for all, respect, peace, and love. It means a right to exist regardless of what sector you’re from,” Macklemore said.
The artist closed out the speech with a simple message that was met with echoing cheers of the thousands of fans in the 18,000 capacity Arena:
“And imma say it till I die, with my chest to the sky. Free Palestine, the message is love.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Sammy Baroud is a young Palestinian-American Sports Writer and an aspiring footballer. He contributed this article to the Palestine Chronicle. Follow him @sammybaroud
