Family of Palestinian rapper MC Abdul trapped in Gaza

Teenage hip-hop star, whose music frequently centres on plight of his compatriots, describes 'nightmare' situation

Gaza rapper MC Abdul, 15, moved to the US to pursue a career in music. Photo: @mca.rap / Instagram

Young Palestinian rapper MC Abdul has told of his family's suffering while trapped in Gaza following the declaration of war between Israel and Hamas.

Posting on Instagram from the US, where he recently moved to, Abdul, 15, spoke of the carnage in the Gaza Strip and how a friend was killed in the escalating conflict.

"Right now, I am living my dream in the USA. But right now, my family back in Gaza are living a nightmare," Abdul, real name Abdulrahman Al-Shantti, wrote. "I can't help but feel guilty here and not being able to hug and protect my siblings.

"I have clean water, electricity to charge my phone and safety. They don't. As crazy as it sounds, I wish I could be back home in Gaza to be with them but I can't. My friend was killed yesterday. We used to play basketball together. He was just a kid. Like Me.

“So right now, I am gonna keep my people and country in my heart while I create and remind myself that the spirit of Palestine is the motivation for not only my music but everything I do. Please pray for Palestine.”

Abdul's post comes on the back of the release of The Pen & The Sword last month, a plaintive track which looks at the lost dreams of youth in Gaza.

“You should be building more schools not prisons / They bombed us. It ain't even make the news in y’all city,” he raps. “He could’ve been a scholar but he’s a child of Gaza. Missile hit his home and crushed it killed his ba ba (father).”

Who is MC Abdul?

Abdul performed the first show of his career in Doha, as part of last year's Fifa World Cup.

The rapper first made waves with his debut single Palestine, which was released during a previous wave of conflict in 2021, when it went viral.

The track features Abdul rapping about the Palestinian cause over beats of Eminem’s Cleanin' Out My Closet.

“Because my only mission is to make people listen... this one is for Sheikh Jarrah, hoping it can make a difference," he raps.

The success of the track caught the attention of Empire, the US record label and music distribution company founded in 2010 by Palestinian-American entrepreneur Ghazi Shami, who promptly signed him.

Under the deal, Abdul released Shouting at the Wall, another powerful track about life in Palestine, and appeared as a guest artist on The Beat Never Goes Off, a single from Tamer Nafar, a member of the acclaimed Palestinian hip-hop crew DAM.

Last year, he released another powerful song detailing the plight of Palestinians.

In What is it Worth?, he questions the futility of the ongoing conflict that has left generations of Palestinians growing up amid the devastation of their homeland. “What is it worth? Seeing my nation in mourning, seeing innocent lives destroyed?”

Abdul sings, over a dark marauding beat supplied by Canadian producer Adium. “What is it worth? Living my life under siege, I pray for the day I am free.”

In a rare 2021 interview with Nafar for Variety, Abdul recalled that it was listening to Eminem's Not Afraid, aged five, that sparked his interest in rap and, despite his potent lyrics, he doesn't view himself as a political artist.

“My message is about peace. Not the political side of it,” he said.

“I don’t understand what politics is – the thing I’m trying to say is that I want the children of the world to live in peace and harmony and I want to be the voice of the children in Palestine.

“I want to show people about my life, and what it means to be a rapper in Gaza City.”