Music reflects society and is often influenced by the political climate. This sampling of socially conscious albums features a diversity of artists, genres, and political issues. The albums are presented in alphabetical order. Many of the writeups were reused from what I previously wrote.
Anniversary – Adeem The Artist
The latest album by the country singer is the perfect balance of the personal and political. It addresses topics such as racist police officers (“White Mule, Black Man”), desensitization of war (“Night Sweats”), and the ongoing attack on queer rights (“Nightmare”). Adeem made the following statement concerning the motivation behind his music: “While I don’t consider myself a political activist, I do consider myself committed to the prophetic power of the truth and bound by blood oath to an ancient God who tasks me to seek peace and seek justice.”
New Monuments – Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones
The latest album by the experimental jazz musician is a potent thesis statement on the evils of colonialism. In the liner notes Kidambi wrote about how she learned to play the alto saxophone while attending protest rallies. “We noticed that holding instruments and playing music, often raucously and even joyously, was an immediate diffuser of tension,” she writes. “I remember warding off arrest just by playing and singing, with an officer unsure of how to apprehend me with the horn in my hands.
If You See Someone Stealing Food... No, You Didn’t. – Bambu
The latest album by the Filipino-US rapper and activist is in contention for best album title. Bambu wears his politics on his sleeves and there is no ambiguity with his feelings about systemic ills. But he also succeeds in addressing serious topics with a playful wit. Also released a few days after the US presidential election it appropriately closes with the election-mocking tune “A November To Remember”.
Cowboy Carter – Beyoncé
This is the 2nd installment of a planned trilogy dedicated to music genres that have had their black roots whitewashed. The motivation for Beyoncé’s genre-bending country album was also partly due to backlash received during a November 2, 2016 performance of “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks during the 50th Annual Country Music Association Awards. That cold reception led her to delve more in-depth into the history of the significant Black roots of country music. She also taps into her Houston roots which included regularly attending and performing at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Even though the existence of the album could be considered a statement of protest, it includes multiple socially conscious tunes such as the gospel-influenced bookends “American Requiem” and “Amen” and a gorgeous cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird”, which Paul McCartney wrote in response to the black people’s struggles during the American civil rights movement.
After the Revolution/The Red Album – Carsie Blanton
This is a bit of a cheat because it is technically two albums (or one and a half), but both releases deserve mention. The full-length is a bit more subtle with the politics, but it is there with lyrics littered with references to political divisions, gun violence, capitalism, and climate change. With tracks such as “Ugly Nasty Commie Bitch” and “You Ain’t Done Nothing (If You Ain’t Been Called A Red),” The Red Album EP says “fuck you” to subtilities and the indie-pop singer-songwriter wears her politics on her sleeve. Also, just in time for US election season, on the track “The Democrats,” she scathingly indicts both of the major political parties. The Republicans will “shoot you in the head” while “the Democrats will shoot you in the back.”
symbiont – Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin
The new collaborative album by Jake Blount and Mali Obomsawin is a riveting blend of Black and Indigenous futurism with traditional folk elements. It explores issues of racial and climate injustice and poignantly highlights the future ills that will result if things continue unchecked. Also, earlier in the year Mali Obomsawin released the cheekily titled Greatest Hits as part of the duo Deerlady, which is also worth checking out.
Humble As The Sun – Bob Vylan
This is the 3rd album by the genre-bending UK grime punk band. Like their previous albums, they are unafraid to be explicitly political addressing governmental and corporate greed and exploitation. Righteous vitriol never sounded so good, but they also balanced the anger with optimism.
Mawja – Aziza Brahim
This is the 5th album by the Sahrawi singer-songwriter, musician, and activist. Brahim describes the music as “desert punk” and she taps into her experiences of being born and growing up in a refugee camp in Algeria. The album explores themes of freedom, both personal and political
Cool World – Chat Pile
This is the sophomore album by the sludge-metal band fittingly named after the 200-foot-high heaps of contaminated gravel found in the ghost town of Picher, Oklahoma. Just like their excellent debut (one of the best protest albums of 2022), Cool World is an unsettling but compelling look at a decaying planet. “’Cool World’ covers similar themes to our last album, except now exploded from a micro to macro scale, with thoughts specifically about disasters abroad, at home, and how they affect one another,” says vocalist Raygun Busch.
The Cime Interdisciplinary Music Ensemble – Cime
This is an adventurous album by the trans-jazz-punk artist that deals with themes of displacement, acceptance, and the right to live. It fittingly opens up with a tone-setting riveting statement of intent “A Tranny’s Appeal to Heaven.”
pink balloons – Ekko Astral
The debut album by the Washington, D.C.-based punk band takes a serious stance on the life-threatening challenges faced by trans individuals and critiques how capitalism exploits those who challenge it (such as the harrowing “190” and the poignant lyrics “have friends still hiding while you throw a parade”). But on several tunes, they accomplish the impressive feat of being serious without taking themselves too seriously. With an injection of playful humor, who says the revolution can’t be fun?
REVELATOR – ELUCID
The latest album by the underground rapper is a potent exploration of personal and societal themes, intricately weaving narratives that challenge the status quo. Also, in the poignant closer “ZIGZAGZIG,” he confronts the bloodshed in Palestine.
Ashk Haye Moghavemat – Faraway Ghost & Sunken Cages
The Farsi album title translates to “Tears of Resilience”. The compelling album skillfully blends both modern and more traditional forms of music. One of the album’s many highlights is the somber “Threnody for the Children” a mourning to the over 11,300 children slain by the Israeli military since last October.
NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD – Godspeed You! Black Emperor
The title of the 8th studio album by the Canadian post-rock band is a reference of those who died during the Gaza genocide between October 7, 2023-February 13, 2024. Musically, the album is a chilling soundtrack to global suffering and societal neglect. Like their previous releases, there is a cinematic feel that embraces feelings of beauty and despair.
The Past Is Still Alive – Hurray For The Riff Raff
This is the 9th studio album by the project of Alynda Segarra. They started to compose the album a month after the death of their father. Even though the gorgeous and heartfelt tunes are deeply rooted in the personal, like previous releases the personal intersects with the political exploring environmental and LGBTQ+ issues.
I Lay Down My Life For You – JPEGMAFIA
The latest album by the underground rapper could be viewed as his rock album. The metallic elements (one of the tracks is named “JPEGULTRA!” and another “vulgar display of power”) paint the perfect backdrop for his trademark caustic wit. It also contains elements of social commentary in songs such as “New Black History,” “Exmilitary,” and “Jihad Joe.”
The Thief Next To Jesus – Ka
Not going to lie, sadly I never listened to a Ka album until after his passing. But if this is representative of the rapper’s work I need to do a deeper dive. The album is a captivating look at the complexities of one’s faith and how religion can be used as a tool of oppression.
Strange Medicine – Kaia Kater
The latest album by the Canadian musician explores the concept of healing from both personal and political turmoil. Featuring a gifted cast of musicians such as Allison Russell, Aoife O’Donovan, and Taj Mahal, they well complement Kater’s considerable musical chops and her ability as a social commentator.
Flight b741 – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
The latest album by the eclectic and prolific Aussies has been described as “a cheerfully rocking album about global collapse.” It addresses issues such as climate change, highlighted in the tune “Antarctica” which features the lyric “Take me away, where the temperature stays below 25/78. I felt so at home down here, had to step out of the heat. Antarctica, that’s the place, synthetic breeze on my face. I’m a polar bear in denial, I can’t help but hate the heat.”
Fine Art – KNEECAP
The sophomore album by the explicitly political Belfast rappers effortlessly blends the English and Irish language. The chaotic album features potent satirical lyrics and it also addresses how the band was withheld governmental funding because of their political views.
The Liberated Woman’s Songbook – Dawn Landes
This album features reworkings of tunes from Liberated Woman’s Songbook, a 1971 book featuring 77 folk songs about women’s struggles compiled by Jerry Silverman. The 11 tunes reworked by Landes include tunes composed in the 1800s. The fact that these tunes come across as modern social commentary highlights that despite progress there is still a long way to go.
EMBLEMS – Lt Headtrip X Bloodmoney Perez
This psychedelic art rap project blends the politically charged lyrics of MC Lt Headtrip with the industrial-influenced production of Bloodmoney Perez. The production paints the perfect landscape for Lt Headtrip to explore themes about social constructs, post-modern apocalypse, and the dissolution of knowledge.
#RICHAXXHAITIAN – Mach-Hommy
This is the latest album by the elusive rapper with a cult following (some of his albums have sold over $1000). Like his previous albums, he effectively taps into his Haitian heritage and well articulates the wealth disparity within Haiti.
Sun Without the Heat – Leyla McCalla
Long before Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, McCalla explored the black musician’s contributions to the history of country music and Americana. She did this through her work with Our Native Daughters, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and her solo work. Her 5th album also effectively taps into music from the African diaspora.
Songs For The Deceased – Meryl Streek
The explosive sophomore album by the Irish electro-punk artist is the perfect blend of the personal and political. On the album’s Bandcamp page, it aptly states “Songs For The Deceased isn’t just a statement about Ireland, it’s a call to arms around the world.”
Funeral For Justice – Mdou Moctar
The latest album by the Niger-based Tuareg musician is a powerful denouncement of colonial injustice. Moctar feels it is important to use his music to speak out. “We have to say that even if it’s difficult, even if it’s unsafe for us,” he said. “All those feelings push us to do this album and give it this strong name: Funeral for Justice.”
The Great Bailout – Moor Mother
The latest album by the prolific jazz poet and experimental musician Moor Mother explores the British slave industry, including an indictment of the 1835 act that compensated 46,000 slave owners with £20 million (over £2 billion today) for their loss of “property” due to the abolition of slavery. “Think,” she states on the motive of the album, “not one of the enslaved received a penny in the form of compensation.” She continues to say: “Someone needs to tell the truth.”
Night Palace – Mount Eerie
The latest album by the one-man band project of Phil Elverum is a sprawling album that heavily embraces themes of nature (a common trope he goes back to in his music). The compelling album also may be his most explicitly political featuring poignant commentary on environmental destruction and colonialism (best exemplified on the album highlight “Non-Metaphorical Decolonization”).
Dunya – Mustafa The Poet
Dunya, the title of the Sudanese-Canadian poignant full-length genre-bending debut, roughly translates from Arabic to “the world in all its flaws.” He uses a personal lens to explore themes of faith, childhood trauma, and gang violence.
Your Guide to Revolution – Mary Ocher
The Berlin-based artist who was born in Russia and grew up in Israel tapped into that experience on her compelling new album. Concerning the motives behind the album, Ocher states: “I grew up in Israel, where I certainly did not feel I belonged and felt tremendous remorse and anger over the way our government has been treating Palestinians for decades, creating different classes of citizens. I’ve been writing about it since I was a kid and eventually left the country at age 20.”
No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin – Meshell Ndegeocello
Ndegeocello’s 2nd album on the revered jazz label Blue Note Records is a fine showcase of the multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer’s considerable talents. It is also a fitting tribute to influential writer James Baldwin who heavily explored themes of Black oppression. On the album, those themes are also analyzed with a modern lens.
Möbius Strip Mall – Rent Strike
It is appropriate that a band called Rent Strike released an album filled with catchy anti-capitalistic tunes. Concerning the album, on a Reddit AMA singer and principal songwriter John Warmb said that “it’s a concept record about the Very Real psycho-spatial prison that has been erected in the landscape of our collective unconscious – a place where desire and libidinal energy are trapped in an endless and illusory cyclical loop of dissatisfaction and forced to function in service of the market. Fun stuff!”
Notes From A Holocaust/Bearing Witness/I Heard a Rumor/Jabaliya– David Rovics
Bit of a cheat because it is four albums by the veteran singer-songwriter and activist, but the prolificness and commitment to the cause are worth mentioning. Notes From A Holocaust is a cycle of songs written between October 13th and December 31st, 2023 in response to the Palestinian genocide. Bearing Witness continues its commentary on the Gaza genocide, but the album is also broader in scope, addressing other systemic ills. I Heard a Rumor is broken into three parts, firstly, the ongoing genocide in Palestine, secondly, tunes related to the class struggle and thirdly, a poignant critique of the rumor mill and propaganda machine. .Jabaliya still heavily focuses on the genocide in Gaza, but it explores other concerns as well. The includes tunes such as “Ballad of Donald and Kamala (When It Comes to Israel)” and “Jill Stein” which are critical of the two-party system where citizens are derided for voting third party.
Plagues Upon Plagues -SECT
Featuring a lineage that includes members of Earth Crisis, and Racetraitor (and Fall Out Boy?) it is no surprise that their intense 4th album is an aggressive assault filled with righteous indignation. The album explores plagues both literal, political, and ecological.
Earthworks – Straw Man Army
This is the third in a trilogy by the NYC anarcho-punks indicting the atrocities being perpetrated by fascist, colonialist, and capitalistic regimes. The album is chock-full of righteous rage and fist-pumping goodness.
UTOPIA NOW! – Rosie Tucker
This indie-rock gem is filled with catchy hooks and witty critiques. Tucker sheds a spotlight on the failures of capitalism. It is the perfect intersection of personal and political.
My Black Country: The Songs of Alice Randall – Various Artists
This is a compilation of tunes composed by Alice Randall, a novelist, and songwriter who was the first black woman to write a number-one tune on the US country charts (“XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” by Trisha Yearwood). Randall made the following statement concerning the project: “I had songs recorded in the 80s, in the 90s, in the 2000s, and 2010s, but I never once had the joy of hearing one of the songs that I wrote from the perspective of a Black woman recorded by a Black woman. With this project…I hope to change that.”
Hells Welles – Jesse Welles
This is the first album by the talented singer-songwriter credited as Jesse Welles (previously released as Welles, along with other pseudonyms). The album’s 21 tracks include many semi-viral tunes that Welles previously shared through social media. Welles is a gifted social commentator and satirist. Also later in the year, he released a follow-up Patchwork, which was not as political, but worth checking out.
Blues Blood – Immanuel Wilkins
The latest album by the saxophonist is a blend of the personal and political, and it explores themes of heritage, struggle, and resilience. The title track is a reference to an incident of police brutality in 1964, which led to the unjust arrest of the Harlem Six, a group of young black boys who were wrongfully accused of murder in 1964 and beaten by prison guards while awaiting trial. Unfortunately, history keeps repeating.
KACHAKACHA – XiAOWANG
The latest album by the Beijing punks takes aim at the oppressive Chinese government while also addressing other issues such as climate change. Despite the serious subject matter, it is also a kick-ass rocking album. I also get a kick at the juxtaposing of adorable clean vocals and harsh dirty vocals. It is an overload of chaotic cuteness.
Also, check out the playlist featuring a sampling of socially conscious music released in 2024.