The R&B musician Kehlani was scheduled to perform at Cornell University and New York’s SummerStage, but saw both performances cancelled in connection with her vocal support of Palestine. These repercussions, the loss of opportunity or performance income, are an example of why some musicians may be hesitant to speak out. But those who do have inspired others to reconfigure their idea of loss. In an open letter, fellow musician Vic Mensa commended Kehlani for choosing “to center humanity and courage as boldly and uncompromisingly as you have” despite the backlash.
“I’ve been awe inspired by the way you’ve stood up. Especially at a time when I fell back. And I asked myself, ‘Although i need to feed my son, what kind of man do i want to inspire him to be?’” Mensa wrote in the letter published on Instagram. He shared with it a screenshot of a news report with the headline “Kehlani Pride Month Concert Cancelled After Artist Says ‘I Am Anti-Genocide.’”
The article refers to the SummerStage cancellation as well as Kehlani’s response to having her offer to perform at Cornell revoked. “If you want to cancel me from opportunity, stand on it being because of your zionism. Don’t make it anti-jew,” she wrote in the caption of an Instagram video. In the clip, she stated: “I am anti-genocide, I am anti the actions of the Israeli government, I am anti an extermination of an entire people, I’m anti the bombing of innocent children, men women… that’s what I’m anti.”
Nearly all two million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s mass destruction of infrastructure. Estimates say that between 45,000 and 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, when Israel launched a brutal response to Hamas-led militants killing around 1,200 civilians and soldiers on Oct. 7, 2023. The attacks are ongoing following ceasefire violations, and Israeli forces are currently blocking food, medicine, and aid from entering Palestine, per Associated Press.
“I have often thought about your choices over the last 18 months. Wished I was more brave. And more self sufficient,” Mensa wrote in his letter to Kehlani. “The truth is, your people love you. Not because of an opportunity provided to you by a booker here, or a city there, but because they cherish the depth of your soul. None of this can change that. As long as you have them you can never lose. The powers that be may be great, but I do believe we can all agree – there is a greater power.”
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Earlier in the note, he said: “The all-powerful presence of the divine, is taking note – of every selfless action, of every sacrifice, of every time we jeapordize our security to do what’s right. I toe the line with you. Sometimes I think ‘my baby can’t eat beliefs’ and I hold my tongue. And something inside me dies slowly. It eats me from within.”
Kehlani responded to the open letter in the comment section. “I’m glad we got each other. you’ve spoken life into me more times than i can count, i love you,” she wrote. “10 toes, brother.”
