American rapper Macklemore has cancelled his upcoming Dubai concert because of the Sudan war.
The “Thrift Shop” rapper explained on his social media page that he called off the show billed for October, based on the allegations that United Arab Emirates’ support for one of the warring factions.
“After careful though, numerous conversations with trusted organsisers and friends and my own reading/research, I have decided to cancel my upcoming show in Dubai this October.” the rapper stated in an official statement on Instagram.
“Over the last several months I’ve had a number of people reach out to me, sharing resources and asking me to cancel the show in solidarity with the people of Sudan and to boycott doing business in UAE for the role they are playing in the ongoing genocide and humanitarian crisis in the region,” stated Macklemore on Instagram.
“Until the UAE stops arming and funding the RSF I will not perform there,” the 41-year-old rapper added, referring to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces battling the Sundanese army.
Since April 2023, war has raged in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The Sudanese army, led by the country’s de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has alleged for months that the United Arab Emirates has been funding the RSF.
RSF, led by Burhan’s former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, earlier shared power with the army after staging a coup, however, the competition between the two flared into warfare in April 2023.
