Macklemore said he canceled an upcoming October concert in Dubai because of the United Arab Emirates' role “in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis” in Sudan through its reported support for the paramilitary force fighting government troops there.
Macklemore's announcement reignited attention on the UAE's role in the war gripping the African nation. While the UAE has repeatedly denied arming the Rapid Support Force and supporting its leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagallo, UN experts reported “credible” evidence in January that the Emirates were sending weapons to the RSF several times a week from northern Chad.
Sudan was plunged into chaos in mid-April 2023 when long-running tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders erupted in the capital Khartoum and spread to other regions, including Darfur. According to estimates, more than 18,800 people have been killed in the fighting, while more than 10 million have fled their homes. Hundreds of thousands are on the brink of starvation.
At a contentious UN Security Council meeting in June, Sudan's embattled government directly accused the UAE of arming the RSF, and an Emirati diplomat angrily told his counterpart to stop “growing up”. The UAE has been involved in ongoing peace talks to end the fighting.
The Emirati Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment on Macklemore's public statement on Sunday, nor did the Media Office of the city-state of Dubai. Organizers last week announced the show had been canceled and refunds would be issued, without giving an explanation for the cancellation.
In a post on Saturday on Instagram, Grammy winner Macklemore said he had a number of people “asking me to cancel the show in solidarity with the people of Sudan and to boycott business in the UAE for their role in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis”.
Macklemore said he reconsidered the show in part because of his recent, public support for the Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip. He recently began performing a song called “Hind's Hall,” in honor of a young girl named Hind Rajab who was killed in Gaza in a shooting that Palestinians blame on Israeli forces that opened fire on a civilian car.
“I know this will likely jeopardize my future appearances in the area and I really hate to disappoint any of my fans,” he wrote. “I was very excited too. But until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF, I will not play there.”
He added: “I have no judgment against other artists who play in the UAE. But I pose the question to my peers scheduled to perform in Dubai: If we used our platforms to mobilize for collective liberation, what might we achieve?”
The RSF was formed by Janjaweed militants under then-Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades before being toppled during a popular uprising in 2019. It is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and other crimes against during the Darfur conflict in the 2000s.
Dubai, home to long-haul airline Emirates, the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa and other tourist destinations, has long sought to attract A-list artists to the city-state in a brand new arena and other venues. But performers have previously acknowledged the difficulties of performing in the United Arab Emirates, a hereditary federation of seven sheikhdoms in which speech is tightly controlled.
That includes comedian Dave Chappelle, who drew attention in May in Abu Dhabi when he referred to the Israel-Hamas war as “genocide” while also joking about the UAE's massive surveillance apparatus.
Macklemore, a 41-year-old rapper born Benjamin Hammond Haggerty in Kent, Washington, won Grammy Awards in 2014 for his song “Thrift Shop.”
