Saint Levant Takes Center Stage at Coachella, Speaks Out on Gaza Conflict
DUBAI: The electrifying Palestinian French Algerian Serbian rapper known as Saint Levant wowed crowds at the prestigious Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California over the weekend.
Seizing the spotlight, the musician didn’t just entertain with his hits, but also used the platform to shed light on the ongoing war in Gaza. “Coachella, my name is Saint Levant and I was born in Jerusalem and raised in Gaza… as I hope all of you are aware, the people of Gaza have been undergoing a brutal, brutal genocide for the past six months. And the people of Palestine have been undergoing a brutal occupation for the past 75 years,” he passionately declared.
Performing a mix of his popular tracks including “Nails,” “From Gaza, With Love,” and a soul-stirring rendition of “Very Few Friends,” Saint Levant also introduced a new song titled “Deira” and “5am in Paris,” which was freshly released last week.
Describing the new track, he explained, “It’s about exile. A feeling that us Palestinians know a bit too well.”
Born as Marwan Abdelhamid in Jerusalem, the artist previously opened up to Arab News about his unique upbringing. “The actual cultural makeup is my mom is half-French and half-Algerian. My dad is Serbian, half-Palestinian. And they actually both grew up in Algeria. But they decided, in the early 90s, post the Oslo Accords, that Palestine was going to be free,” he shared.
Reflecting on his childhood in Gaza, Saint Levant recalled, “For everyone, childhood is very meaningful. And for me, it was a juxtaposition because I remember the sound of the drones and the sounds of the bones. But more than anything, I remember the warmth, and the smell… and the taste of food and just the odd feeling of soil.”