A 12-year-old boy in Gaza has caught the world’s attention with a rap about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“Palestine (Freeverse)” by MC Abdul (aka Abdalrahman’s Alshantti) has already been viewed more than 4.5 million times since it was posted earlier this week on Instagram and more than 625,000 times on Twitter. On YouTube, it’s racked up nearly 100,000 views already.
The track, which uses the instrumental of Eminem’s “Cleanin’ Out the Closet,” was crafted with the help of Irish producer Garry McCarthy (aka GMC Beats), who has been mentoring the young rapper since 2019.
“So proud of this lil dude,” McCarthy tweeted. “I genuinely have never met a harder working kid in my life.” He said during a Zoom call with Abdul and his dad, he heard explosions. “4 wars and he’s only 12.”
In the video, Abdul is surrounded by bombed buildings in Gaza as he raps: “Living with limitations / pushed down by the occupation / Wanna see the pain? / Take a look at the people’s faces / Imagine being kicked out of the only house you’ve ever known / We’re praying for our souls while they’re preying on our homes.”
Abdul captioned the clip: “I just want the world to know about the situation in #Palestine. Music is what keeps me going … Stay safe everyone. All we want is #peace.”
Watch the video below: