Rolling Loud: A 15-year-old from Gaza shares his story through Rap
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the world’s largest hip-hop and rap music festival, Rolling Loud. Spanning over four days, the festival began on March 14 and lasted through March 16, hosting dozens of artists each day. 15-year-old Palestinian rapper, MC Abdul, was scheduled to play on the last day of the festival where he took the stage at 3 p.m.
“You know I just hope that [others] get inspired, when they listen to my music I just want them to… feel the hope and believe in [themselves],” he said in anticipation of his set. “Everything is possible. Go ahead and put your mind to it. It doesn’t matter where you start, it matters where you finish it.”
Abdul grew up in Gaza with his family and moved to the U.S. to continue pursuing his rap career after going viral in 2020 from his cover of Wiz Khalifa’s “See you again.”
“I started making covers when I was ten years old,” Abdul said. “I would just rap famous songs, like old school shit and I just started evolving.”
The young artist first used music as a comfort tool and way to express his emotions on the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, such as in his song “Shouting at the Wall”: “The fourth war in my twelfth year / In this stage, I’m numb, no, I haven’t felt scared.”
With his newfound success, Abdul continues to use his platform and lyrics to spread awareness about Palestine, but also looks to be an inspiration for anyone going through hard times.
“I started writing my own things in my own thoughts, you know, because I believe music is my therapy and what other way to put it down other than on a piece of paper and a pen,” he said.
Following the Oct. 7 attack sparking the current Israel-Hamas war, MC Abdul took to Instagram: “Right now I am living my dream in the USA,” MC Abdul said in his post. “But right now, my family back in Gaza are living a nightmare. I can’t help but feel guilty for being here and not being able to hug and protect my siblings… But with whatever energy I have, all I can do is pour how I feel and what I’m experiencing into this new music that I’m writing.”
In February, he shared on Instagram that he was reunited with his mother and siblings from Gaza, but had lost upwards of 81 family members who were still living in the area.
A few weeks later, on March 6, Abdul announced that he would be traveling to Los Angeles to play at Rolling Loud. He was the youngest of all 88 artists to perform the entire weekend.
“It’s been a dream of mine to visit and come, you know, to perform at Rolling Loud,” Abdul said. “I came across the world just for this moment, to be on the stage that I grew up watching some of the biggest legends in the game, like Kanye, J. Cole and I’m honored to be here.”
Before taking the stage, Abdul said he wanted his music to encourage others to believe that anything is possible. He also mentioned he was excited to run into idols of his, Don Toliver or Future, admiring the rappers as he hopes to one day headline Rolling Loud like them.
On stage, the rapper took the opportunity between songs to speak to the crowd about his experience and the importance of the meaning in his lyrics.
“You guys have no idea what I had to sacrifice to be here with you today. I survived Gaza,” he said during the performance.
The young artist then performed his popular song “Shouting at the Wall,” which has garnered over 2.4 million views on Youtube.
“I want freedom for the population / Two million prisoners living in this location,” Abdul rapped out towards the crowd, “Shouting at the wall but nothing is ever changin’/ That’s life under an occupation.”
