Macklemore leads anti-America chant during charity concert in Seattle to benefit Palestinian refugees
Macklemore chanted “f*** America” during a performance in Seattle on Saturday at a charity festival benefiting Palestinian refugees.
The 41-year-old Seattle resident took the stage at the Palestine Will Live Forever Festival in support of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees and encouraged people to sing along to the chants “right away,” according to a Sunday article by TMZ.
The rapper told the crowd he wouldn’t stop them if they did, then said, “F*** America,” as the crowd erupted in cheers.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, has been highly critical of US foreign policy as the war between Israel and Hamas has escalated.
In May 2024, he released a protest song titled Hind’s Hall in support of the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
Macklemore, due to be seen in Germany in September 2023, chanted “f*** America” during a performance in Seattle on Saturday at a charity festival benefiting Palestinian refugees
All proceeds from Hinds Hall will be donated to UNRWA.
In the protest song, the Grammy-winning rapper criticized US President Joe Biden for his military support for Israel.
He said in his song, “The blood is on your hands Biden, we can all see it. And f*** no, I’m not voting for you in the fall.”
The rapper, best known for his pro-LGBTQ+ rights anthem Same Love, also criticized the music industry for being “complicit in their platform of silence.”
In the song’s video clip, his lyrics are interspersed with fragments of protests at American universities, where violent confrontations occurred between demonstrators and campus police.
Funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees was largely cut this year after allegations that agency staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
Macklemore has long supported the Palestinian people.
In November, Macklemore gave an impromptu speech at a pro-Palestine rally in Washington, DC, in which he told the crowd, “I don’t know enough about it, but I do know this is a genocide.
The 41-year-old Seattle resident, who was photographed in Los Angeles in March, encouraged people to join the chants “right away,” according to a TMZ article Sunday.
Macklemore, who was shown in Texas in March 2023, has been a vocal critic of US foreign policy as the war between Israel and Hamas has intensified
His speech was preceded by a statement on October 19 in which he condemned Hamas’ bloody invasion of Israel and Israel’s brutal response to the Gaza Strip, calling it “an ongoing genocide” and a “US-backed catastrophe.”
Macklemore rose to fame through his collaboration with producer Ryan Lewis as the duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis from 2009 to 2016.
Their single “Thrift Shop” reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2013, and their second single “Can’t Hold Us” also reached number one on the Hot 100 chart.
The duo won four Grammy Awards at the 2014 ceremony, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.