Following the release of his monumental Pro-Palestine single, “Hinds Hall,” Rapper Macklemore dropped “Hinds Hall 2.” Working in collaboration with Anees, an Arabic-American singer, Palestinian rapper MC Abdul and Amer Zahr, a Palestinian comedian and author, Macklemore posted to Instagram that all proceeds from the song will be donated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Similar to the first single, “Hinds Hall 2” is named after Columbia Pro-Palestine protesters renaming Columbia’s Hamilton Hall to Hinds Hall to honor six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed by the Israeli military while fleeing Gaza in a car with her family. The song’s music video features photography from Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza, videos of pro-Palestine protests from around the world, and videos of the song being recorded.
Opening with Anees’ beautiful vocals accompanied by the LA Palestine Kids Choir and the Lifted Youth Gospel Choir, he sings, “In our lifetime / We will be free / They can bury us / But they will find out we are seeds.”
Throughout the song’s opening, Anees melodically sings, “I say Free Falasteen / Because I know of every massacre we suffered / The Nakba, Sabra, Shatila and Rafah.” As he references some of the massacres Palestinians have experienced in the past 75 years, the music video displays videos of these massacres.
The Nakba, translating to catastrophe, refers to the displacement of over 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in 1948. For Palestinians, the Nakba represents the great destruction and sorrow of Palestinian society and their homeland. Shatila refers to a massacre conducted by the Israel army in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, where from Sept. 16, 1982, to Sept. 18, 1982, approximately 3,500 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese civilians were killed. Rafah, located in the south of Gaza, has been the target of multiple Israeli attacks since Oct. 7,
Anees continues to sing, “So if I’m not allowed to say / ‘From the River to the Sea’ / Then From the rind to the seed, Palestine will be free.” Describing the censorship that many people face when speaking about Palestine, Anees makes reference to the widespread use of the watermelon as a symbol to represent Palestine.
The use of watermelon pre-dates social media and became notorious as a symbol of Palestinian resistance in 1967, during the Six-Day War, when the Israeli government made displays of the Palestinian flag illegal in the West Bank and Gaza. To circumvent this ban, Palestinians began to use the watermelon to represent their flag, as the color and shape when the watermelon is sliced are similar.
MC Abdul, a 15-year-old rapper from Gaza, followed Anees’ verses. He rapped, “I’ve seen massacres / I’m grateful to be alive / You appreciate life / When you survive a genocide.” The eldest of five children, MC Abdul, whose real name is Abdulrahman Al-Shantti, spent most of his life navigating living under Israeli occupation in Gaza. According to Rolling Stone magazine, “By his thirteenth birthday, he had lived through four major bombardments on his homeland.”
At around three minutes, Macklemore begins his powerful rap, opening with, “They done woke up the world now / We know who you serve at the White House.” Macklemore continues throughout his verses, calling out the American government for its support of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.
Addressing Vice President Kamala Harris and her recent candidacy for President of the United States, Macklemore raps, “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.”
Being one of the few celebrities to speak openly about Palestine, Macklemore is sending the message that music is a powerful form of resistance and that people with a platform should raise their voices. With Macklemore and other Palestinian artists spearheading this call for change in the music industry, one can only hope that other artists use their platforms and join in spreading the message to free Palestine.
