Macklemore dropped from festival line-up after criticising America
It’s been confirmed that Macklemore will no longer be headlining the Neon City festival in Las Vegas.
Despite only recently being announced for the event, which is set to take from November 22nd until 24th, the ‘Thrift Shop’ was dropped from the line-up as the festival posted on social media, “Macklemore will no longer be performing due to unforeseen circumstances.”
While it has not been specified why the rapper will no longer be performing, his departure comes just a day after he stirred up controversy by chanting an anti-America remark at a pro-Palestinian festival in Seattle. This could just be a coincidence, but it could well be the case that Macklemore was dropped from Neon City because of the controversy surrounding his comments.
A clip of Macklemore’s speech has recently gone semi-viral as he addresses the crowd. “Straight up; say it. I’m not gonna stop you,” said Macklemore, “Yeah, fuck America.”
The comments aren’t out of character for Macklemore recently, though. He has been a pro-Palestinian advocate for a while, making numerous political statements and releasing music that clearly outlines his stance on the current conflict. ‘Hind’s Hall’, released in May, is a hard-hitting protest song that pulls no punches in emphasising the need for a ceasefire, and he recently released a follow-up effort.
In the track, Macklemore calls out controversy in both the government and the music industry. “The problem isn’t the protests, it’s what they’re protesting, it goes against what our country is funding,” he says in the opening few bars of the track.
The rapper continues, “Yet the music industry’s quiet, complicit in their platform of silence, what happened to the artist? What you gotta say? If I was on a label you could drop me today and be fine with it ‘cause the heart fed my page, I want a ceasefire, fuck a response from Drake.”
Many activists are frustrated at the silence from both the government and mainstream artists regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza. As such, when Macklemore released the song, they were happy that someone with a platform was not only speaking out against the conflict but also against those who weren’t speaking out.
As is always the case with any political statement, though, many people weren’t happy with the song and felt that Macklemore’s opinions shouldn’t be considered.
One musician and famous activist who liked the song was Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello. “Honestly @Macklemore’s ‘Hind’s Hall’ is the most Rage Against The Machine song since Rage Against The Machine,” he said in a post on social media.