Rapper Saint Levant paid an emotional tribute to Palestine during his debut Australian performance in Sydney, using the stage to reflect on identity, displacement and cultural pride.
The artist, known for blending Arabic, French and English influences in his music, spoke about the importance of amplifying Palestinian voices on a global platform. Born in Jerusalem as Marwan Abdelhamid, Saint Levant is the son of a French-Algerian mother and a Palestinian-Serbian father. He relocated to Jordan in 2007.
Addressing the Sydney audience, Saint Levant highlighted the role of art in shaping perceptions of Palestine and the wider Global South.
“Art has played a very important role in portraying Palestine, the Arab world and the Global South as subhuman. Today, I am here as representation of the Global South,” he said, according to Grazia.
Moreover, the performance drew strong support from concertgoers, many of whom waved Palestinian flags and wore keffiyehs, the traditional scarf closely associated with Palestinian heritage and resistance.
Saint Levant also reflected on the legacy of displacement that has shaped his family’s history. His stage name was inspired by his paternal grandfather, who was displaced from Palestine in 1948.
“I was eight years old when I left Gaza,” he told the crowd. “The stories that you hear, I’ve heard them all my life.”
Despite the weight of that history, the rapper emphasized resilience, warmth and hospitality as defining characteristics of Arab culture.
“To anyone who thinks that Arabs are not human, you clearly have not been to an Arab household,” he said. “I invite you to come one day and experience our hospitality.”
He concluded with a call for greater understanding and recognition of shared humanity.
“To anyone who says that we are not human, we are much more. We are lovers, we are fathers, we are mothers, we are teachers, and we are caregivers,” he said.
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