‘Thrift Shop’ emcee Macklemore has released a powerful political track aimed at the US government in support of Palestinians who are currently trapped in a warzone. The US has seen protests on various university campuses that, in some cases, have turned violent.
The song, titled ‘Hind’s Hall’, pays tribute to Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl who was killed by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in the Gaza strip. Furthermore, all the track’s proceeds will be donated to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency dedicated to helping refugees in the Middle East and in the Gaza Strip.
The recent protests by Columbia and UCLA inspired the single. Students set up an encampment at the University of California LA, which became so large law enforcement was made to disperse the crowd.
This led to an escalation as the LAPD used gasses and smoke grenades to raid the encampment tent village on UCLA’s Dickson Plaza.
25 members of the encampment were hospitalised, and, as such, Macklemore (real name Benjamin Haggerty) was prompted to make a track addressing the use of police force against innocent protesters.
‘Hinds Hall’ hears Haggerty rap lines such as, “The people they won’t leave / What is threatening about divesting and wanting peace? / The problem is the protests, it’s what they’re protesting / It goes against what our country is funding.”
The ‘Can’t Hold Us’ lyricist also rhymes, “Block the barricade until Palestine is free / When I was seven, I learned a lesson from Cube and Eazy-E / What was it again? Oh yeah, ‘F*ck Tha Police’!'”
The demonstrations and marches pertaining to the current conflict in Israel have caused an enormous amount of distress to many people. Since the war began on October 7th, two people have already self-immolated as a sign of solidarity. This song may add more fuel to the fire and deepen the division but may also provide some resolve to those in troubled areas. You can listen to the track below.
