Here is this month’s sampling of notable socially conscious music.
Songs/Videos:
Lula Wiles – Television
This is the first single off the Americana trio’s upcoming album Shame and Sedition, which will drop on May 21. The song was previously featured as a Daily Dose of Protest.
Allison Russell – Nightflyer
The Canadian singer-songwriter of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago just released the first single off her debut solo album Outside Child, due out May 21. The empowering tune was inspired by motherhood and The Thunder: Perfect Mind, an exhortatory poem discovered among the Gnostic manuscripts in the Nag Hammadi library in the 1940s. “I’ve been meditating on the nature of resilience, endurance, and grace more deeply since becoming a mother. I was trying to bridge the divide and embrace shame and my inner divinity equally with this piece,” Russell explains about the track.
Psalm One – Anxious, Nervous and Imperfect (feat. Afrokeys)
The latest single by the Chicago rapper is a candid acknowledgment of anxiety, which is compounded by the pandemic and the current political climate.
Bobby Sessions – Cog In The Machine
The latest single by the Dallas rappers deals with his decision to quit his job 9-5 job in 2014 to pursue music. The lyrics are relatable to anyone who feels like a cog in an exploitative capitalistic system.
Evan Greer – The Tyranny of Either/Or
March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility. Appropriately the singer-songwriter and activist just released a video for the second single off his upcoming album Spotify is Surveillance, which will be released on April 9, The video is made from archival footage from pivotal moments in the history of trans resistance. The anthemic tune was previously featured as a Daily Dose of Protest.
Angelique Kidjo & Yemi Alade – Dignity
This collaboration between the influential Beninese singer and Nigerian Afropop artist addresses police brutality and the importance of treating others with dignity. It is a global anthem that addresses issues that transcend boundaries.
Francis Arevalo – Free Skin (featuring Kimmortal & Sol Diana)
This latest track by the Filipino-Canadian hip-hop artist is a collaboration with fellow Filipino-Canadians Kimmortal and Sol Diana. The tune is well summed up on the song’s Bandcamp page: “Free Skin is about the importance of kinship relations in the pursuit of liberation. It’s about the imaging a better future both for and with the communities one is accountable to. Free Skin gives feelings of hopefulness, inspiration, encouragement, and empowerment. It is like an uplifting letter of love to Filipinos and people of colour. Free Skin is the sound of remembering the poetry in our skin and reading it aloud for ourselves and community to hear, whether in the present, past or future.”
Pussy Riot – Sexist (featuring HOFMANNITA)
Over the past few months, the Russian musical activism collective has been profilic, releasing a couple of videos a month. This video and tune tackle sexual harassment. The following statement is from the video’s YouTube page: instead of women and queer people being objectified and serving as furniture, we use sexist pigs as furniture. The project is lead by female and queer people, and we hope you’ll enjoy our gift to you… We hope that SEXIST will bring closer the world without harassment and discrimination based on gender and/or sexuality. The video does not encourage to oppress anyone, but rather satirically highlights the arbitrary and absurd nature of any oppression. From Russia, with love.”
Pussy Riot – Panic Attack
This song and video was influenced by Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova experiences of serving 2 years in a Russian labor camp. The trauma from that ordeal still affects her.
Rise Against – Nowhere Generation
This fist-pumping tune is the title track of the veteran political punk band upcoming album, which will drop June 4.
Chronixx – Safe N Sound
This galvanizing dance hall banger by the Jamaican Reggae artists shows that issues like government corruption and police brutality are universal concerns that need to be stood up against.
Peggy Seeger – How I Long For Peace
This is the latest tune by the veteran singer-songwriter and activist, who is no stranger to political music. It will appear on the 85 years-old 24th solo album First Farewell, which will be released on April 9.
The Dowling Poole – Slow Genocide (featuring Tony Wright)
The latest tune by the UK power pop band well sums up the government’s incompetence in connection with the pandemic.
Joe Strummer – I Fought The Law (Live)
This live reworking of The Crickets’ “I Fought The Law” (which was popularized by The Bobby Fuller Four and notably covered by The Clash) is of a new Joe Strummer compilation album Assembly, featuring some of his notable non-Clash musical output.
Albums:
Witch Camp (Ghana) – I’ve Forgotten Now Who I Used to Be
This compelling album features field recordings made at Ghana’s infamous witch camps, settlements where women accused of witchcraft can find refuge. The women persecuted as witches are often plagued by mental and physical health issues. This important project amplifies the voices of the oppressed and shines a light on an important issue.
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson – Theory Of Ice
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a Canadian Indigenous writer, scholar, and musician. This stunning album addresses different aspects of Indigenous culture and Canada’s dismal history of dealing with Natives. It also features a powerful reworking of Willie Dunn’s “I Pity The Country.”
Willie Dunn – Creation Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology
Speaking of Dunn, this is a recently released compilation featuring the poignant music of the Indigenous Canadian singer-songwriter. Sadly all four of his albums released during the 70s and 80s have long been out of print. This anthology gives long-overdue recognition to an important but overlooked artist.
Sunday, Someday – Various
This compilation album was released to help fund a fellow artist’s top surgery and aftercare. Many of the songs address systemic oppression and promote a sense of community.
LOUISAHHH – The Practice of Freedom
The debut album by the New York-born, Paris-based techno artist is a rousing collection of anti-establishment tunes which promote sexual empowerment.
Miko Marks & The Resurrectors – Our Country
This is Marks’ first album in 14 years. She took a hiatus, disillusioned over a scene that was inhospitable to black women. Our Country is a powerful title because it can refer to either the genre of music or the country of America. In both scenarios, Marks is making a powerful statement of belonging.
MDC and Noogy – Bye Bye Donny
This EP is a split between hardcore veterans MDC (Millions of Dead Cops) and Texas ska-punks Noogy. The songs are a hard-hitting indictment of Trump, governmental corruption, and police brutality.
Loretta Lynn – Still Women Enough
Not explicitly political, but the latest album by the country legend does touch upon themes of women empowerment. It includes a powerful spoken word recitation of her signature “Coal Miner Daughter,” which touches upon social and economic issues.
David Rovics – Rebel Songs
David Rovics continues to be a prolific singer-songwriter. His music continues to be an extension of his activism and his latest album is as hard-hitting as ever. Many of the songs have been previously released, but these poignant tunes benefit from full-band arrangements.
Consolidated – We’re Already There
The first album in over two decades by the industrial hip-hop group features the confrontational and explicitly political tunes that they are known for.
tune-yards – sketchy
The fifth album by the indie-pop band has the blend of musical quirks and social commentary that they are known for. It touches upon issues such as gender dysphoria, abortion rights, climate change ad gentrification.
Sole – MBFX
For over two decades the underground rapper has been releasing unapologetically political music. His latest follows suit, effectively spreading an anti-racist, anti-misogynist, and anti-capitalistic message.
Nitin Sawhney – Immigrants
The latest album by the British Indian musician is a scathing critique of right-wing xenophobia. Sawhney made the following statement concerning the album: “As an artist, I have always avoided politics as much as possible. In music, didactic messages very rarely wield the same power as emotional expression. However, I do have one strong belief – that every new-born child is of equal value regardless of who they are or where they come from. It is only through the turbulent worlds of politics, creed, economics, race, nationality, and social disparity that people continue to be devalued and dehumanized. ‘Immigrants’ is an album of unique collaborations, with an aim to redefine our perception of identity and the universal language of music.”
Vatican Shadow – SR-71 Blackbird Survivors
A gripping anti-war techno album.
Below is the ongoing playlist of 2021 protest songs, featuring music featured on this site.