The Alchemist Returning to Gainesville Amid Controversy

The Big Culture and Arts Festival has been facing boycott calls on social media over one of the headliner's ties to Israel.

Celebrity hip-hop producer Alan Maman, otherwise known as the Alchemist, will be coming to Gainesville next month for his second performance with the Big Culture and Arts Festival. He has familial and musical ties to Israel and has been documented as visiting Israel at least three times.

Maman is 48 years old and grew up in Beverly Hills California. Maman’s father, who died in 2017, grew up in Israel before moving to California. 

In 2012, Maman told Billboard, “I have an instrumental project that’s coming out with all Israeli records from when I went to Israel.” 

A few years later, Maman dropped his “Israeli Salad” album, which included tracks such as “Bone Thugs N’ Haifa” and “Tunnel Rat.”

One of the tracks is titled “Listen To Yitzhak.” Former Israeli Primer Minister Yitzhak Rabin was famous for signing the Oslo Accords in the 90s with Yasser Arafat, the former leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Arafat turned away from armed resistance in favor of cooperation with Israel and a two-state solution, an act pro-resistance Palestinians see as a betrayal.

Maman released "Israeli Salad" in 2015 but it still stands out in his discography as his first instrumental studio album.

Maman allegedly blocked individuals on Twitter after they questioned if he was a Zionist. This reportedly came after Maman claimed he was in "answer mode" and told his fans to "hit it" indicating he wanted his fans to believe he would answer questions from them.

Many individuals who defended Maman brought up his work with artists that voice pro-Palestine lyrics and cite his interview with the Rolling Stones in September 2025.

The Rolling Stones article was a long-form interview with Maman and Freddie Gibbs about their latest collaborative project. Deep into the interview, the reporter said, “I saw in one of your documentaries you had a scene with 'Free Palestine. Fuck The Police' graffiti. I was just wondering, do you ever feel compelled to speak to what’s going on in Gaza?" Maman responded:

"Never really was that type of artist. That was never part of my thing. I think everybody who’s suffering injustice should be free across the entire planet. Free Palestine, Free Congo. There’s so many that we could list. Any place where there’s injustice. [There’s] a lot of fucked up shit across the world. And I don’t stand for none of that. I think my whole life I’ve showed what I’m about. My life is in front of the world. I dedicated my whole life to this. Rap changed my life. So I owe everything to it. And that’s what I stay loyal to. 

There’s a lot of confusion about that topic. And people always try to get into it. There’s a lot of misinformation. That’s why I stay away from it. That shit was in a documentary. I saw fans saying that, but it’s like people forcing you to be a part of an agenda one way or another, I’m not really into. Of course, any injustices…I don’t stand for no foul shit on earth. I’m not even into religion in general. I was born Jewish, my family, everybody knows my history, but I’m about love, peace, my family, music, creativity, art, pretty much what I’ve always stood for my whole life. And I try to put something good out there."

In June 2023, Maman performed for the "White Night” events organized by the Tel Aviv Municipality. 

I24 News, an Israeli television channel, reported: 

“The Alchemist performance on Thursday night was sold out weeks in advance, and the hype in the city spread through word of mouth. Maman performed all his hits and expressed his gratitude to the Israeli audience, stating that he never expected to feel so at home in Tel Aviv, and he emphasized it will always be home for him.

Tel Aviv experienced a remarkable annual 'White Night' in celebration of its World Heritage Status for its 'White City' Bauhaus architecture. The performance by the Alchemist showed Israel's passion for hip-hop, and indicated the overwhelming desire for more events that bring global hip-hop stars to the Jewish State, which would further enrich the country's music scene.”

Maman also performed in Tel Aviv in 2014, a post shows.

Although it’s not confirmed if they personally know each other, Maman and influencer Israeli military commander Lilaq Logan follow each other on Instagram.

In February 2026, ahead of the upcoming Big Culture and Arts Festival this April, an Instagram account known as “No Normalizers GNV” began gaining traction after condemning Maman’s second performance. 

One post says that Maman’s response in the Rolling Stones isn’t anything more than dodging the question.

The account criticizes the "Israeli Salad" album cover, calling it an "offensive image of a nude woman as a beheaded avocado positioned in the Islamic prayer position of sujood. A sticker pack features the same nude woman cartoon and an avocado shaped grenade, normalizing 'israeli' occupation and violence."

The album cover art was created by an Israeli artist known as UNGA.

No Normalizers GNV identifies itself as being run by Gainesville community members and specifically four Palestinians who have "lost family and friends in Gaza, have family who were in the armed Resistance, have faced exile and displacement, and have engaged in directly supporting the people in the homeland." The account calls for Big organizers to “cancel the Alchemist, a Zionist, from headlining the Big festival for a second year.” 

A few days later, Big co-producer Lalia Fakhoury addressed the situation publicly on her Instagram account and argued that Maman isn’t a Zionist.

Fakhoury said that as a Palestinian woman, her "heart sank" last year after "this allegation of The Alchemist being a zionist was brought to my attention."

She doesn’t say that she talked to Maman himself, but Fakhoury did say that she spoke with “countless trusted people and organizers who collaborate closely with the Alchemist while actively fighting for the liberation of all people." No specific people were identified. She said, "they assured us that although his roots are Jewish, he is simply not a zionist.”

Fakhoury said that when Maman was in Gainesville last year, it “became clear he is just a producer in love with music” and that they were “open to it” when he “expressed interest in coming back.” 

Fakhoury said that she "hates" the “Israeli Salad” album name and finds Maman’s prior performance in Israel "unacceptable." However, she said that most “of the world was asleep to the illegal occupation of Palestine” at the time he made the album and said he performed in Israel "before the most recent genocide started in 2023." She also called I24, an Israeli television channel, a “zionist blog” and said it is not a credible source of information.

Fakhoury addressed the “Haram” album produced by Maman under his record label, which features two severed pig heads as cover art. She said the album was themed around “taboo” and “boundary pushing” and that Maman wasn’t the voice of the album.

Regarding Maman’s Rolling Stones interview, Fakhoury said she would’ve preferred if he “directly [addressed] the album name and his performance in I*rael” but that she also believes that people “should have the opportunity to redeem themselves if they haven’t enlisted in harmful ideologies like zionism.”

The comments section of Fakhoury's statement was largely supportive. One person did say that perhaps Maman could "release a statement of their own clarifying their position?"

Fakhoury responded that Maman "said a bit in his interview when he was asked about Gaza but there's way more that needs to be and should be said."

Maman has made several tweets relating to Israel, some of which have been cited by No Normalizers GNV: 

Last week, No Normalizers GNV submitted their response to Fakhoury, which states they will boycott Maman until he "decides to redact his Zionist propaganda album, publicly address his past Zionism and pay reparations to Palestinians."

Since then, one of the initial posts calling out Maman has garnered attention from the "Zionists in Music" Instagram page, which has over 45k followers and reposted it on their story.

Maman is set to perform in Gainesville on April 10 or April 11. Big is hosting numerous artists but Maman remains at the top of the lineup posted to their website, alongside Earl Sweatshirt.

The Lineup