Public Enemy #1: Macklemore Booted From Festival Following Anti-America Chant
The Las Vegas-based Neon City Festival dropped Macklemore from its lineup on Tuesday (September 24). Neon City organizers removed him from the bill days after he led a “F### America!” chant at the Palestine Will Live Forever benefit festival in Seattle.
“Please note: Macklemore will no longer be performing due to unforeseen circumstances,” Neon City announced.
Macklemore has been an outspoken supporter of Palestine amid Israel’s war on Gaza. He released the protest song “Hind’s Hall” in May.
“We see the lies in ’em/Claiming it’s antisemitic to be anti-Zionist/I’ve seen Jewish brothers and sisters out there and riding in/Solidarity and screaming ‘Free Palestine’ with them/Organizing, unlearning and finally cutting ties with/A state that’s gotta rely on an apartheid system/To uphold an occupying violent/History been repeating for the last 75/The Nakba never ended, the colonizer lied/If students in tents posted on the lawn/Occupying the quad is really against the law/And a reason to call in the police and their squad/Where does genocide land in your definition, huh?” he rapped.
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Macklemore dropped “Hind’s Hall 2” featuring Anees, MC Abdul and Amer Zahr on September 20. The sequel addressed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“Hey Kamala, I don’t know if you’re listening/But stop sending money and weapons or you ain’t winning Michigan/We uncommitted and hell no we ain’t switching positions/Because the whole world turned Palestinian/I see the murdered children of Gaza and I see my babies/Life being stripped from the bombs we’re making/When will Congress decide a Palestinian’s life is just as precious as an Israeli’s/We don’t own the earth, don’t own the earth/We’re killing each other over some lines in the dirt/We bleed the same blood, feel the same hurt/Palestinian life, does it have the same worth?/What happened to us?” Macklemore rapped.
Macklemore performed at Palestine Will Live Forever on September 21. He faced backlash for saying “F### America” after clips from the event surfaced on social media.