"Hind's Hall" is a

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. ...

by American rapper

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper. A native of Seattle, Washington, he started his career in 2000 as an independent artist rele ...

, released as a single on May6, 2024. Written and produced by Macklemore, it expresses support for the pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses that call for

divestment from Israel Disinvestment from Israel is a campaign that aims to use disinvestment to pressure the government of Israel to put "an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories captured during the 1967 military campaign." The disinvestment campai ...

and a

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. The song's title is a reference to pro-Palestinian activists' renaming of Hamilton Hall at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

to "Hind's Hall" in honor of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. In the song, Macklemore is critical of the United States's funding of Israel; he describes Israel's occupation of the

Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. Additionally, Macklemore announces his opposition to the music industry for their silence on the issue, and to President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

because of Biden's support for the Israeli government and military.

Background

In 2024, pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses have taken place across the world, particularly in the United States, as protesters called on their universities to sever links with Israeli entities due to Israel's actions in the

. Protestor encampments have been raided by US police, who arrested more than 2,300 students, many of whom face expulsion and campus bans. Protests at Columbia University have been prominent. At Columbia, activists occupied Hamilton Hall and renamed the building as "Hind's Hall" in honor of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by Israeli forces in

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

along with her relatives and paramedics who came to her rescue. On April30, 2024, New York police sieged Hamilton Hall and arrested the protesters inside.

Composition

"Hind's Hall" was composed and produced by Macklemore, and samples "Ana La Habibi" by Lebanese singer

Fairuz Nouhad Wadie Haddad (, ; born November 20, 1934 or November 21, 1935), known as Fairuz (, ), is a Lebanese singer. She is widely considered an iconic vocalist and one of the most celebrated singers in the history of the Arab world. She is pop ...

. In his lyrics, Macklemore is critical of the United States' funding of Israel and describes Israel's occupation of the

. He also criticizes US politicians' acceptance of donations from pro-Israel lobbying organizations such as

Christians United for Israel Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is an American evangelical organization that supports Israel. Its statement of purpose is "to provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, parachurch organization, ministry or indivi ...

(CUFI) and the

American Israel Public Affairs Committee The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...

(AIPAC). Macklemore characterizes Israel's military operations during the war as "a

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

", and makes references to the

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

and the Israeli military's killing of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip. Macklemore calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. He condemns the music industry's "platform of silence" on the war. He also references the ongoing feud between rappers

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

and

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

, saying he considers it a minor issue compared to the war. Additionally, Macklemore declares President

to be complicit in the Israeli government's mass murder of Palestinian civilians, saying "The blood is on your hands, Biden". Macklemore proclaims that he will not vote for Biden in the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

, and that he is undecided. The song also denounces Congress' banning of TikTok, the

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

apparent in policing and policy decisions, and the

conflation Conflation is the merging of two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, or opinions into one, often in error. Conflation is defined as 'fusing blending', but is often used colloquially as 'being equal to' - treating two similar but disparate c ...

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

with

anti-Zionism Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

. Macklemore quotes the title of the 1988 song "

Fuck tha Police "Fuck tha Police" is a protest song by American hip hop group N.W.A that appears on the 1989 album ''Straight Outta Compton'' as well as on the ''N.W.A's Greatest Hits'' compilation. The lyrics protest police brutality and racial profiling ...

" by hip hop group

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

Release

The single was released on social media on May 6, 2024. Macklemore announced that once the song was available on streaming services, all of the single's proceeds would be donated to

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...

. Macklemore performed the song live for the first time on May 9, 2024 in New Zealand, saying, "I stand here today and every day forward for the rest of my life in solidarity with the people of Palestine, with an open heart, in the belief that our collective liberation is at stake – that we all deserve freedom in this life of ours". On May 11, the song was made available on major streaming platforms including

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

, and

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...

. The song's music video includes a photo of a college building spray-painted with the phrase "Free Palastine". Some internet users erroneously believed the photo was taken at Columbia University and used it to criticize the protesters. The photo was taken of Tabaret Hall at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

in Canada. On September 21, 2024, Macklemore released a new version of the song titled "Hind's Hall 2", featuring Palestinian and

Palestinian American Palestinian Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Palestinian descent. There are around 160,000 Palestinian American refugees according to the 2023 American Community Survey, making up around 0.05% of the U.S. population. Th ...

artists Anees, MC Abdul, Amer Zahr, the LA Palestinian Kids Choir, the Lifted! Youth Gospel Choir, and Tiffany Wilson. In the song, he endorsed the

Uncommitted National Movement The Uncommitted National Movement is a protest campaign aimed mainly to pressure the United States government to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza war and impose an arms embargo on Israel. The group received some support in the 2024 Democratic Part ...

, warning presidential candidate

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

that she would lose the state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in the

unless she supported an

arms embargo on Israel Since 7 October 2023, several countries such as Italy, Japan, Spain, Canada, Colombia, the Netherlands and Belgium have ceased the sale of weapons to Israel. Key U.S. allies such as Britain and France are debating it. However the United States a ...

. All proceeds from this version would be donated to

. He performed the song at the Palestine Will Live Forever Festival in Seward Park Amphitheatre in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

on September 21, 2024.

Reception

Solcyre Burga in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' called it "the latest addition to the catalog of American protest songs that includes

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

's "

Strange Fruit "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song Protest song, protests the Lynch ...

" and Crosby, Stills, and Nash & Young's "

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

." Guitarist

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is known for his tenure with the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello was a membe ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

tweeted: "Honestly @macklemore’s 'Hind’s Hall' is the most Rage Against The Machine song since Rage Against The Machine."

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...

, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

's presidential candidate in 2024, publicly thanked Macklemore for making the song. Reception from social media has been positive, with many users praising Macklemore's use of his platform to protest. Aja Romano of '' Vox'' called the song "electrifying" due to its

surprise release A surprise album or surprise release is an album or single with little or no prior announcement, marketing or promotion. The strategy contrasts traditional album releases, which typically feature weeks or months of advertising in the form of sing ...

; they noted that Macklemore's position as a white

independent artist Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties afforded by i ...

has helped him to express himself freely without career-ending consequences, especially considering the song's contentious subject matter.

Charts

Release history

References

External links

Official video
on YouTube

''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (May 2024)
Official video
on Twitter {{authority control Reactions to the Gaza war in the United States 2024 singles 2024 songs Anti-Israeli sentiment in the United States Macklemore songs Songs written by Macklemore Anti-war songs Political rap songs Songs about Joe Biden Songs inspired by deaths Protest songs 2024 controversies in the United States Songs about Palestine 2024 in American music