Macklemore became a trending Twitter (X) topic over the weekend following the release of “Hinds Hall 2” featuring Anees, MC Abdul and Amer Zahrhis, his second pro-Palestine anthem. Multiple people praised the Seattle native for having more courage to speak out than most politicians.
In verse three, Macklemore takes a direct shot at Vice President Kamala Harris, who is currently gunning for president. He scoffs at the notion of borders and warns Harris she’ll lose Michigan if things don’t change.
“Hey Kamala, I don’t know if you’re listening/But stop sending money and weapons or you ain’t winning Michigan,” he raps. “We uncommitted, and hell no we ain’t switching positions/Because the whole world turned Palestinian/I see them murdered children in 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.”
The video includes graphic imagery of the Israel-Hamas war that’s been ongoing since October 2023.
Macklemore released the original “Hinds Hall” in May and pledged all proceeds to UNRWA, an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides support for the humanitarian work of the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees.
The lyrics and accompanying video highlighted the Israel-Hamas War and was inspired by the work of student protesters at Columbia University, who occupied the campus’s Hamilton Hall and changed its name to “Hind’s Hall.” At one point, Macklemore pointed out there were much more important issues to discuss than the beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, which had just popped off weeks earlier.
“What happened to the artist?” he raps. “What do you got to say?If I was on a label, you could drop me today/I’d be fine with it ’cause the heart fed my page/I want a ceasefire, f### a response from Drake (Woo)/What you willin’ to risk? What you willin’ to give?/What if you were in Gaza? What if those were your kids?/If the West was pretendin’ that you didn’t exist.”
Macklemore received some pushback, most notably from Jewish rapper Matisyahu, who called the song antisemitic. He also reminded people Macklemore once issued an apology for perpetuating Jewish stereotypes by wearing a big prosthetic nose.
“It’s not about freeing Palestine, it’s actually the opposite,” he said. “It’s going to keep people not at peace with each other. It’s going to keep people fighting, because it’s riddled with antisemitic tropes. Again, it’s not about freeing Palestine. Let’s not forget for a second this is a guy who wore a prosthetic nose and had to make a public apology for putting on ‘Jew face.’ He’s obviously not about necessarily freeing Palestine but again, he has this concept that he perpetrates, which is like Jews run the world.
“This is an antisemitic idea that’s been going on for thousands of years, that we’re somehow this super human race, these puppet masters that you can blame all the world’s problems on. And if you go through that song, you’ll see time after time, where he literally makes references to us being puppet masters and controlling the world.
