Artists Come Together for Gaza and Sudan
“He had a deep desire to begin a life there,” Mustafa says, describing his late brother. “My parents shared that desire with him. But the conditions of the war forced him back to Toronto, where he was murdered just six months ago.”
Mustafa didn’t bring that up for no reason. He acknowledged that everyone, no matter who you are, is connected to every war and everyone who dies because of it.
“We are connected to every genocide, and it will reach us eventually,” he says. “In my case, it reached me immediately, but it will reach us eventually. As Gwendolyn Brooks tells us, ‘We are each others’ harvests. We are each others’ business, and we are each other’s magnitude and bond.’ That’s what we are: here for each other tonight.”
As lights shone down in the colors of Gaza and Sudan, the show began with spoken word from poets Hala Alyan, Safia Elhillo, and Clairo on the guitar. It left the crowd empathizing with the grief, resilience, and experience of those in Gaza and Sudan.
Each musician performed two songs on the acoustic guitar and the piano with gentle yet powerful voices. Clairo started us off by playing the acoustic guitar and a cover of Judee Sill’s “Lopin’ Along Thru the Cosmos.” Stormzy brought out some of his most gentle and soothing melodies, one song being “Holy Spirit” with his ethereal background singers.
6LACK performed an acoustic version of “PRBLMS” and a freestyle acknowledgment of genocide. Charlotte Day Wilson followed on the piano with her euphonious voice. The crowd went wild for Omar Apollo as he sang “3 Boys,” “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All,” and played the piano behind Mustafa's poetry. Mohammed El Kurd lost his passport so he couldn’t perform. Instead, Mustafa recited El Kurd’s poems on his behalf — and powerful was an understatement. Mustafa held a keffiyeh to symbolize empowerment and endurance throughout the genocides, then performed his own song, "Name of God."
070 Shake then took her hometown stage to perform her verse on “Violent Crimes” and a softer version of “Skin and Bones.” The crowd couldn’t contain themselves when Daniel Caesar performed his hit song “Best Part” on the guitar and had the crowd sing along to the impressive high-note parts that no one could hit except himself.
The show neared a close with a belting, heartfelt performance by Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna as an instrumentalist played the oud, an Arabic-stringed instrument. Nick Hakim sang and performed two moving songs on the piano. Palestinian rapper MC Abdul brought the crowd to life with his raps about occupation, dislocation, and genocide. Comedian and actor Ramy Youssef ended the show with a lighthearted comedy set to lift the crowd's mood.
