DUBAI: US rapper Macklemore voiced his support for Palestine as he kicked off his Free Palestine Tour at Dublin’s 3Arena on Monday.
The 43-year-old urged audiences to confront the “devastation beyond our imagination” as Palestinian flags filled the venue. The performance came weeks after the musician was removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour.
Several surprise guests joined Macklemore during the evening, according to Reuters, including Hozier and Kneecap. Irish folk group Beoga, who left Sheeran's tour in solidarity with Macklemore, also took to the stage.
Macklemore referenced the recent backlash throughout his performance.
“Six weeks ago, it was two words. Two words is all that it took,” he told the audience. “Two words that are rooted in love and liberation. Not against anybody, not divisive. Not a call for hatred. But a call to recognize our shared humanity. Free Palestine.
“I said, free Palestine! The same thing that I want for all of us, freedom, dignity, the right to exist without fear. Being able to raise our children in the homes that we grew up in, not having to prove our humanity to the rest of the world.”
He added: “And yet, those two words are so threatening to some people. They would rather silence those two words than confront what they actually mean. Because freedom that requires another person's oppression is not freedom at all.
“That's why we are here tonight. That is why we are here, because throughout history, music has given people a place to resist, to come together as a collective, to share our grief, to share our stories, to move from the heart, to mobilize people with the frequency of love. The heartbeat in our drum that makes us feel alive, that makes us feel connected.”
Other surprise celebrity guests included “Game of Thrones” star Liam Cunningham, who opened the evening saying: “Tonight, we celebrate life. We honor resilience. We stand with Gaza!”
The Free Palestine tour will continue in Paris and London this week with US dates due to be announced later, Macklemore has said.
