Rapper Macklemore is being applauded on social media for his release of the song “Hind’s Hall,” a tribute to the campus building that Columbia University students occupied last week in protest of the war in Gaza. The song comes after the encampment was raided last week by officers with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
“Once it’s up on streaming all proceeds to UNRWA,” Macklemore wrote Monday night, referring to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the agency tasked with supporting Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere.
A music video accompanying the release includes everything from images and videos of protesters and the police response, as well as Palestinian children under bombardment and Israeli soldiers.
“What is threatenin’ about divesting and wantin’ peace?” Macklemore sings. “The problem isn’t the protests, it’s what they’re protesting.”
Hind’s Hall
Later, the lyrics continue: “You can ban TikTok, take us out the algorithm / But it’s too late, we’ve seen the truth, we bear witness / Seen the rubble, the buildings, the mothers and the children / And all the men that you murdered, and then we see how you spin it / Who gets the right to defend and who gets the right of resistance / Has always been about dollars and the color of your pigment, but /White supremacy is finally on blast / Screamin’ ‘Free Palestine’ ’til they’re home at last.”
In the song, Macklemore also rejected the idea that it’s antisemitic to be anti-Zionist, questioned whether “occupyin’ the quad is really against the law,” and blasted President Joe Biden’s response to the war.
“Where does genocide land in your definition, huh? / Destroyin’ every college in Gaza and every mosque / Pushin’ everyone into Rafah and droppin’ bombs / The blood is on your hands, Biden, we can see it all / And fuck no, I’m not votin’ for you in the fall,” he says.
The song caused a stir on social media, leading pro-Palestine advocates to quickly commend Macklemore’s activism. Digs were also taken at other music artists who have been silent since the war began.
Reactions online
“We’re going to take away DJ Khaled’s Palestinian passport and give it to you,” quipped one person on X.
The song even prompted Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello to weigh in, dubbing Hind’s Hall the “most Rage Against The Machine song since Rage Against The Machine.”
Another person joked: “my senior year of college we had to vote between macklemore and kendrick lamar for spring fling. macklemore won. i never thought a day would come where that wouldn’t be embarrassing but here we are.”
Independent presidential candidate and left-wing thinker Cornel West commented, “I salute my brother Macklemore using his powerful artistry to tell some painful truths!”
Similarly, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein reacted: “This is very powerful. Thank you for creating this, Macklemore.”
Another person noted Macklemore’s history of progressive activism, writing: “heartening to see Macklemore return to his roots. before he popped off decade ago, he was running in anti-capitalist radical circles in the west coast & did few fundraiser shows for us (grassroots anti-colonial, anti-capitalist migrant justice group). movements keep us grounded.”
But others offered humorous praise, with one user joking about Macklemore’s 2012 hit “Thrift Shop”: “Inshallah Macklemore will discover a very good deal at any thrift shop he visits.”
Pushback
While the vast majority of reactions on social media appeared to be positive, not everyone was impressed.
One user on X highlighted a 2014 incident in which Macklemore was accused of antisemitism after donning a fake nose, black beard, and wig during an event in Seattle.
Macklemore denied that he was attempting to stereotype Jews and instead claimed that he had merely thrown together a “random costume.” Although the Anti-Defamation League took him at his word, others, such as comedian Seth Rogen, felt the rapper’s actions were intentional.
“[F]irst you trick people into thinking you’re a rapper, now you trick them into thinking you’re Jewish?” Rogen tweeted at the time.
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