Back in 1992, Ice-T’s heavy metal project Body Count released their self-titled debut album, which included one of the most controversial protest songs of all-time, “Cop Killer”. The lyrics express the frustration that many in the Black community were feeling. The original album version reference then Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates, and Rodney King who was brutalized by the […]
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The veteran Canadian hardcore band recently released their 6th full-length album One Day. As the title suggests each band member committed to a self-imposed time frame of 24 hours to write and record their contributions. Compared to their previous ambitious standards the album is more straightforward, but it still carries considerable weight. It also features a couple of poignant social […]
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January tends to be a relatively slow month in terms of new releases, but it still managed to produce plenty of socially conscious music. Here is a sampling. Songs/Videos: I Can’t Stand It! (featuring Samuel T. Herring & Jae Matthews) – Algiers This poignant tune about loss leans more towards the personal than the political, but the band often addresses […]
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On January 18, legendary singer-songwriter and founding member of the Byrds and Crosby Stills Nash and Young sadly passed away at 81. He was known for his candor and willingness to speak out on political issues. He has contributed to several timeless tunes, including a number with socially conscious themes. For example, protest songs that he composed included the Byrds’ […]
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Black Belt Eagle Scout is the alias of Katherine Paul, an indigenous multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. Her third studio album, The Land, the Water, the Sky will be released on February 10. Concerning the album, she stated in a press statement, “I created The Land, the Water, the Sky to record and reflect upon my journey back to my homelands and the challenges and the […]
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December tends to be a slower month in terms of music releases, but there were still some notable socially conscious releases to close out the year. Songs/Videos: Life On Earth (with Preservation Hall Jazz Band) – Hurray For The Riff Raff Hurray For The Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) recently released a new version of the title track off their […]
Learn more →As previously mentioned, I regularly contribute to Shadowproof and helped compile with their list of Top Ten Protest Albums of 2022. Kevin Gosztola recently posted a video concerning the list. The writeups can be found at Shadowproof.
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Along with this site, I regularly contribute to Shadowproof. Twice a month a post on this site is also featured on theirs. I have also contributed to their best albums list, including their list of Top Ten Protest Albums of 2022. I selected five and the remaining five were selected by Kevin Gosztola. Nine out of the ten albums were […]
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Another year and still plenty to be angry about. Because of this, there was no shortage of protest music and right now we will consider a sampling of the best socially conscious albums of the year. Several of these were previously featured either on the list of the 30 Best Protest Albums of the Year (So Far) or during the […]
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Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook school shooting where 26 were killed. Instead of being an isolated event, sadly there have been several school shootings since then. In connection with this singer-songwriter, educator, and community organizer Gabrielle Zwi recently released the poignant tune “Guns to a Playground Fight,” about the reality of growing up in the “school […]
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