Peter Rosenberg is one of the most recognisable names in hip-hop radio. For years he hosted Hot 97, and now he co-hosts the Ebro Laura Rosenberg Show. He is also Jewish, and that identity has made him part of a very public argument about how Jews respond to antisemitism.
Rosenberg recently wrote on X that he was disappointed in “a lot of people” over Kanye West. The post came amid a wider dispute over Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, where an opener named Macklemore rallied the “free Palestine” cause during a performance. Sheeran was eight months into the tour when the controversy erupted.
Macklemore’s Exit From the Tour
Sheeran’s tour was already in full swing when Macklemore used the stage as a platform. The move drew attention to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, where thousands of children have died. It also drew a response from Robert Kraft, the New England Patriots owner and proprietor of Gillette Stadium, who viewed Macklemore’s comments as hate speech.
Kraft’s statement prompted Macklemore’s exit from the tour. Macklemore held fast to his position, arguing that the war in Gaza had resulted in the deaths of thousands of children. Other openers on Sheeran’s tour and his backing band dropped out in support of Macklemore.
Rosenberg wrote on X that he felt “openly lame” about Kanye West. “Disappointed in a lot of people,” he said, adding that “this man sang Heil Hitler ONE YEAR AGO.” He contrasted Macklemore’s treatment with the return of Ye, whose public statements have included admiration for Adolf Hitler and the sale of swastika-themed merchandise.
“A lot of people I love are being openly lame about Kanye.”
The Bar-Mitzvah at the Holiday Inn
Rosenberg grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. His mother was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after World War II. Her side is all Polish and ran from the Nazis. His father is from New York, and the family visited often as kids while listening to 98.7 Kiss and WBLS.
His bar-mitzvah was at a Holiday Inn, not the budget chain but the full-service version. “The proper Holiday Inn, not an Express,” he said with a laugh. He wore a Penguins Mario Lemieux jersey over his suit. His brother rapped over the instrumental to “What Goes Around Comes Around” by Grand Puba about being proud of him, and Rosenberg cried at the end of it.
“We did not really have a proper theme,” he said, but the venue was a solid choice for a young family. The brothers kept kosher at home and observed Shabbat on Fridays. Rosenberg went to synagogue somewhat regularly as a kid.
From PMD to Rosenberg
Rosenberg’s radio name was not always his real name. In college and his early days on commercial radio in DC, he was known as PMD, which stood for Peter from Maryland. That was his DJ name until he got to Hot 97 in 2007.
Ebro, his longtime co-host, pushed him to use his real name. “Nah, you should go by your real name,” Ebro said. Ebro saw the real name as more intriguing and interesting than a generic three-letter name. The decision was about radio, not Jewish solidarity.
Rosenberg felt confident despite the novelty of being different. He was so passionate about hip-hop that he believed his knowledge would earn respect. And for the most part, it did.
Ebro’s Perspective
Ebro is half-Jewish by blood, but he is hardly Jewish Jewish. “When it comes to Jewish stuff, he’s one of my non-Jewish friends,” Rosenberg said with a laugh. Ebro’s mother being Jewish is how he’ll often describe it.
Rosenberg noted that Ebro would have been defined as Jewish in Nazi Germany. “Which makes him Jewish technically,” Rosenberg said. People might assume Ebro was looking out for another Jew, but that’s not it. The decision to use his real name was ultimately about radio, not Jewish solidarity.
The two men share a view that the messaging is a mess. How is someone supposed to navigate this conflict when it constantly contradicts itself? They also agree that the loudest extremes drown out the rational middle. And that’s on all sides.
The Conversation Between Rosenberg and the Writer
The conversation between Rosenberg and the writer was an attempt to have a discussion in a fraught environment. Sheeran was in the middle of his Loop Tour, and the fate of the rest of its North American leg was suddenly uncertain.
Rosenberg’s post on X expressed his personal view. Macklemore rallied for a cause and faced consequences. Ye, whose public statements include admiration for Adolf Hitler and the sale of swastika-themed merchandise, returned without the same scrutiny.
The internal struggle is rarely talked through. Talk, for the most part, doesn’t exist. The loudest voices drown out the middle.
The story is about the difficulty of holding multiple truths at once. Israel is a sovereign nation, and the history of the region is complex, often debated, and rarely compromised. That complexity makes conversations hard.
Rosenberg’s honesty about his bar-mitzvah at the Holiday Inn and his Penguins jersey adds a human dimension to a story that could otherwise be grim. It shows that even someone who has spent decades in the spotlight has a story that is relatable and funny.
Source material: “Peter Rosenberg Talks Jewish Identity, Antisemitism, Macklemore, and Ye,” Rolling Stone.
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