Lowkey is a rapper and activist of English and Iraqi descent who recently released Soundtrack to the Struggle 2, the long-awaited follow-up to his 2011 album Soundtrack to the Struggle.
Part of the reason for the eight-year hiatus is that Lowkey was primarily focusing on his activism.
Lowkey recently released, “Iraq2Chile (Martyrs of Hope)”, which features vocals from Mai Khalil. Both the video and song highlight the political upheaval and protests that have taken place in Iraq and Chile. It also provides historical context in how neoliberalism has led to these issues while celebrating those who sacrificed their lives for freedom.
Concerning his return to the music he made the following statement in an interview with Vice: “First, I had to ask myself: what is my greatest tool to point out responsibility for things that are happening in the world? I could always feel power operating over me, but I couldn’t always identify where that power was situated.”
“Now that I understand that more clearly — understand that neoliberalism, the dominant economic philosophy of our time, leads to decisions being made on paper which cause huge numbers of deaths, I know my best medium to communicate with people it affects most is music.”
He continued, “There is a broader disenchantment with political orthodoxy than ever before right now. A process of widening democratic participation, of redistributing political power, and economic power, is happening. And if my greatest tool to participate in that process is music, I will use it.”
Lowkey’s music was always political, but his increased awareness that the music is an important extension of his activism has given Lowkey greater motivation in creating new music. He is planning on releasing a new album Soundtrack to the Struggle 3 in 2020 (that will include “Iraq2Chile).