Photo courtesy of Sven Mandel, via Wikimedia Commons Just in time for the US presidential election, the latest single from the upcoming album Merciless by the heavy metal project of Ice-T is a scathing indictment of the two-party system and the illusion of choice. As far as Ice-T is concerned, both sides of the political aisles (“Democrips Bloodpublicans)” are gangstas […]
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Hurray For The Riff Raff, from the artist’s Bandcamp I started this website back on December 6th, 2017. During that first month, I hastily compiled a list of the 25 best protest albums. Back then I wasn’t cataloguing what I was listening to like I am now. I decided to revisit the list and expand it to 40. You will […]
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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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Much of the music of the 90s may be associated more with personal angst that political dissension, but it was still a rich decade for socially conscious music. The decade could be considered the golden age of afro-centric hip-hop music. Movements such as riot grrrl and queercore were also important in amplifying women and LGBTQ+ voices. There was a diverse […]
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2020 has been a shitty year and we are only halfway through. In comparison, since starting this site in December 2017, I’ve never had a tougher time narrowing down a best-of list. It has been a peak year for socially conscious music. Many of the albums that have been released are the perfect snapshot of the current political climate. There […]
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It has been a crazy month. Hopefully, everyone is holding up well with the self-isolation and social distancing. Crazy times, but we always have the music to help get us through. Here is a sampling of some notable socially conscious music released during the past month. Songs/Video: Steve Earle – John Henry was a Steel Driving Man The veteran singer-songwriter […]
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Here is a recap of some notable socially conscious music released during the month of February. Songs/Videos A Tribe Called Red – Land Back (Featuring Ft. Boogey The Beat & Chippewa Travellers) The Candian Indigenous electronic group released the following tune in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en nation and in voicing their support for the pipelines protests happening throughout Canada. Body Count […]
Learn more →This is a continuation of the 2017: The Year In Protest series. Previous entries include Top 40 Protest Albums, Top 5 Protest EPs, and Top 12 Protest Music Videos. Now we’ll look at 50 tunes that helped provide the soundtrack of the 2017 protest movement. 50: What Makes Us Great – Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers (featuring Bruce Springsteen) Journeyman […]
Learn more →Hamell On Trail is the performance name of Ed Hamell, who is known for his political and satirical brand of folk-punk. On his tenth studio album, Tackle Box, Hamell is as sharp-witted as ever. One of the album’s highlight and potentially most controversial tunes is “Not Aretha’s Respect (Cops)”. The song deals with different dealings he had with cops while also […]
Learn more →In this tune, Ice-T starts off with a spoken word intro, discussing why Black Lives Matter instead of All Lives Matter. From there he goes one step further and states that in the eyes of the elite, “No Lives Matter”. Then the rest of the band kicks in, and over an aggressive beat, Ice-T takes a no hold barred approach […]
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