Macklemore isn’t exactly who springs to mind when you picture a radical artist.
Hailing from liberal Seattle, he’s a self-described privileged white rapper who, despite making relatively inoffensive music, has somehow found himself at the centre of global controversy thanks to two simple words: ‘Free Palestine’.
Ejected from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour as a result of his political statements amid pressure from stadium owners across the United States, Macklemore is an unlikely hero for free speech and the Palestinian cause, yet here we are.
The record-breaking ginger loop pedal botherer has caved to seemingly overwhelming pressure, and Macklemore will be sitting at home while the dates continue, with new supports as yet unannounced, and a statement from Sheeran passing the buck on to his promoters who ultimately made the decision.
For me, there’s a pretty big hypocrisy at the heart of this issue – and not just from Sheeran.
A number of the stadiums issuing ultimatums to his team have either recently hosted or are due to host, YE, formerly known as Kanye West – whose actions are, to put it mildly, extremely questionable.
Amid spiralling behaviour a few years ago, the rap icon called for ‘death con 3 (sic) on Jewish people’, briefly sold a $20 T-shirt bearing a black swastika after advertising it at the Super Bowl, released a song called ‘HEIL HITLER (HOOLIGAN VERSION)’, and appeared in a Twitch livestream giving a Nazi salute.
Kanye will take his tour to Arlington Texas in November, having already played Tampa in June. Both of those stadiums were reported to have objected to Macklemore supporting Sheeran and dates they were due to host.
For the billionaire owners of American stadiums it seems one of these two rappers is beyond the pale and remarkably, it’s not the person who made pro-Hitler comments.
Macklemore’s own public pronouncements of solidarity with the Palestinian cause have hardly been tub-thumping – each has been carefully prepared, the team around him aware of the sensitivities at play.
On September 4, the rapper’s support set at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, ended with him telling the gathered throngs: ‘A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so that I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very, very dear to my heart: Free Palestine.’
Performing his song ‘Hinds Wall’, Macklemore then utilised footage of the devastation in Gaza as visuals on the stadium’s gargantuan screens.
When I saw it, I agreed but didn’t think it was particularly notable. However, the febrile nature of American political life transformed the statement – and the accompanying visuals – into a hurricane for the news cycle.
American billionaire businessman Robert Kraft, owner of the stadium, was furious
The New England Patriots Chairman spoke out against Macklemore, seeking to ban him to ensure the stadium didn’t ‘platform hate speech’ and accusing the rapper of ‘a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.’
That latter comment seems to be a reference to a stage costume Macklemore wore on stage in 2014, which he apologised for after some believed it perpetuated anti-Semitic stereotypes.
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Kraft, who has praised Donald Trump, isn’t exactly who I would trust to be a moral arbiter of right and wrong.
It’s hard to imagine the pressure that was exerted on Ed Sheeran by Kraft and his fellow stadium owners, but it’s impossible to ignore the message this has sent.
Initially, Sheeran’s silence spoke volumes, a reflection of his long-standing ‘non-political’ approach, which aside from some vaguely anti-Brexit comments and once angrily denying he was a Tory, he has mostly stuck to.
But then he made it worse.
In a beautifully eloquent 1000 word statement Macklemore saluted his friend, but acknowledged that following a week of ‘difficult conversations’ with Ed Sheeran they had arrived at a ‘place of fundamental disagreement.’
I was moved by his words, and dismayed by Sheeran’s own statement today, in which he insists he is ‘not complicit’ as if he can speak it into reality, and passes the buck for sacking Macklemore on to his promoters.
If Macklemore’s statement was an exercise in poignant courage, Sheeran’s is the opposite.
But the crux of the argument is entirely simple – this is a test case for free speech, a quality the United States constitution, indeed the entire country, is built on.
Macklemore hasn’t sought to offend, and indeed his subsequent statements to his ‘Jewish brothers and sisters’ have made that clear.
‘Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, is in no way a criticism of you,’ he is reported have told a crowd.
That doesn’t sound like hate speech, no matter what America’s billionaire class thinks.
YE’s tour continues. The most abhorrent anti-semitism it’s possible to imagine was swept away with a full page apology in the Wall Street Journal.
Macklemore, however, gets nothing. The implication is clear – free speech isn’t a right for all, it applies only to those that billionaires deem worthy of it, and even close friends like Sheeran aren’t willing to offer solidarity.
The picture in this country isn’t exactly any clearer. Multiple pro-Palestine supporters are currently facing legal action, but at least YE won’t be appearing any time soon – his mammoth three-night Wireless takeover in North London’s Finsbury Park collapsed within days of being announced.
The piercing eloquence of Macklemore’s statement makes it all the more effective, especially when contrasted with Sheeran’s weak words. It’s not hard to imagine the damage this will cause the Shape of You singer’s reputation, whether that was its intent or not.
The right wing pushback has only served to spread Macklemore’s message still further – millions who are immune to his beige, limp rap music have rallied to his cause.
In many ways, a group of censorious billionaires have spread the message of Palestinian solidarity further than the actual shows ever could.
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