SAINT Levant, the Palestinian-French-Algerian-Serbian rapper who went viral online, made his Coachella debut over the weekend. He brought a very catchy beat and Palestinian solidarity to the stage.
The 23-year-old played a set scheduled at a conflicting time with No Doubt’s highly anticipated reunion. But he still filled the Gobi Tent at the desert festival, where he played his hits and new works before a sea of fans, many sporting keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags.
“There are so many people we want to meet at the same time – but this is 100% our aim,” Mustafa Arch, a 32-year-old Syrian-Lebanese festivalgoer, told AFP after the set.
“Free Palestine – we are very happy to be here, this is probably the best day of the weekend for us. We will continue to represent the entire weekend,” said Arch.
The Israeli offensive on Gaza that began after a Hamas attack on October 7 has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced many more.
Some 1.5 million people have sought refuge in the southern city of Rafah, according to the UN, which said Israel was blocking food aid convoys because of an imminent famine.
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“Coachella, my name is Saint Levant and I was born in Jerusalem and raised in Gaza,” the artist told the cheering crowd.
“I hope you are all aware that the people of Gaza have experienced a brutal genocide over the past six months. And the Palestinian people have endured brutal occupation for the past 75 years.”
“It’s not just me who appears on stage, but the entire Arab world who appears on stage.”
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There is no turning back
This artist, born Marwan Abdelhamid, spent much of his childhood in the Gaza Strip.
In 2007 he and his family fled to Jordan, where he lived for approximately a decade before moving to California.
Saint Levant’s trilingual rap song “Very Few Friends” went viral after he released it in November 2022, and 2023’s “From Gaza With Love” also gained a growing fan base.
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In Saturday’s set he performed new works “Deira” and “5am in Paris;” he released the last one a few days ago.
“It’s about isolation,” he told the Coachella audience.
“A feeling that we Palestinians know well.”
The artist said he will soon release a broader project called “Deira,” named after a hotel his father built that was bombed in recent months.
Speaking to AFP after the set, Yara Brenton, 43, called it “amazing” to see her fellow Palestinian on stage.
Saint Levant’s performance follows last year’s performance by Elyanna, a Palestinian-Chilean who became the first Palestinian to perform at Coachella.
“I remember coming to Coachella a few years ago, there was nothing like it. I never saw myself represented in anything popular,” Brenton said. “It means a lot, and it means a lot to see so many young people who are also enthusiastic about this.”
He praised Saint Levant for being outspoken about the Palestinian cause on stage, and said that “a few years ago, this would not have been OK.”
“There are a lot more people who know about Palestine” today, Brenton said.
“And I don’t think there’s any turning back from this realization.” (AFP/Z-3)
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