Over two years ago, we were introduced to 11-year-old Gazan Abdel Rahman al-Shantti, aka MC Abdul, who was rapping in English “to spread love between us and Israel.”
“I would like to spread love between us and Israel,” he told an interviewer from a Russian news outlet. “There’s no reason for fighting and wars. We need to let this relationship become better and better.”
As a result of expressing this noble sentiment, he was attacked by haters on social media, leading to his father posting a video with him explaining how his son misspoke.
And it seems to have done the trick. Young Abdel is now 14, and his message is clearly no longer “to spread love between us and Israel.” Here is an example of his most recent songs:
I’m exhausted
Last night I couldn’t sleep
And when I did I could hear bombs in my dream
Nightmare situation
How could they be so evil
Making martyrs out of children and innocent people
We expect the bombs not knowing where next—
Where is the gulf passion, this is heartless
It’s like they want us all living in darkness
Cutting off water and electricity for hours
They’re knocking towers
But that is not knocking the power that I have in my pen
When I’m writing I’m unstoppableThe microphone is the only escape possible
Cause that’s the way that I can speak my mind
Or wonder how if it’s to fight or find sleep at night
Knowing he can turn the city upside down all of the sudden
Slaughtering families with the push of a button
And although the below recent article is titled Teen Palestinian rapper highlights music as pathway to peace, his message is about anything but peace, and more about demonizing Israel.
A 14-year-old Palestinian rapper performed recently at Qatar Foundation (QF) after travelling from Gaza for the first time, to demonstrate that music can be used as a tool to spread love, joy and kindness.
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MC Abdul shows the difficulties of living in Gaza through his music – leaving his house, Israeli attacks, destroyed houses, and bombed streets.
He has lost classmates, many of whom would gather around him at school while he sang, and now he sings for them – and for other children, to defend their rights.
“In Gaza, our basic needs for living are not even met. Children may be bombed at any moment, they may lose their parents, and may suffer from mental trauma,” he said. “So, I sing for them, to help them remain hopeful for a better future.”
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“Resistance is not only about weapons,” al-Shantti said. “Raising the Palestinian flag at a huge event like the World Cup is resistance.”
“Singing for hope and peace is also resistance,” he added. “Qatar Foundation’s organisation of the ‘Qatar Welcomes Palestine’ campaign to shed light on our cause is resistance.”
His statement “Resistance is not only about weapons”,” implies resistance includes using weapons aka terrorism.
And he has clearly been hanging out with some unsavory characters.
The story of MC Abdul is desperately sad. Attacked for trying to promote a message of peace and love, he has since joined the ranks of those spreading lies and hate. And it is working – with an online following of close to half a million followers, he is learning that hate pays.
