A Month of Protest: March

Grace Petrie, from the artist’s Bandcamp This is your monthly recap of notable socially conscious music, which includes acts of reclamation and protests against genocide and colonialism. Songs/Videos: Red Future (feat. Electric Fields) – Snotty Nose Rez Kids This is the title track of the Canadian Indigenous hip-hop duo’s upcoming album, slated for a June 2024 release. The tune is […]

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A Month of Protest: May

Fatoumata Diawara, from artist Bandcamp Another month has passed and here is your monthly recap of notable socially conscious music. Songs/Videos: America Has a Problem (featuring Kendrick Lamar) – Beyoncé This remix of the track off Beyoncé 2022 album Renaissance features poignant contributions from Kendrick Lamar.  Save the World – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit This is the latest […]

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A Month Of Protest: January

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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A Month of Protest: September

Ding dong the Queen is dead. Fuck colonialism! Also, fuck Win Bulter! This is a sampling of some of the notable socially conscious releases during the month of September. Songs/Videos: Odana – Mali Obomsawin Formerly of the folk trio Lula Wiles, this track is off her upcoming solo debut, Sweet Tooth. The album uses field recordings of relatives at Odanak […]

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30 Best Protest Albums of 2022 (So Far)

Since I started this site at the end of 2017, I seem to introduce these lists with variations of it has been a shitty year, but at least we have the music. At this point, I really don’t know what else to say. So here is a list of some of the notable socially conscious albums released so far this […]

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A Month of Protest Music (January)

We just finished the first month of 2021 and in many ways, the shittiness of 2020 has seemed to carry over. January is traditionally a slower month for new music releases, but there was still plenty of socially conscious music, and here is a small sample of it. Songs/Videos: Amanda Shires – Our Problem (featuring Angie Stone, Cyndi Lauper, K. […]

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A Month of Protest Music (October)

As we get closer to the US Presidential election there has been a spike in protest music. Much of the music released is either directly aimed at Trump or discusses the importance of voting. As with the previous months, there is also music that addresses issues of systemic racism, police brutality, and a variety of other social concerns. Also, in […]

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A Month Of Protest Music (August)

We continue to live in crazy times. The issues of police brutality and ongoing Black Lives Matter protests were magnified with Jacob Blake being shot seven times by police on August 23. Since then there has been increased violence and deaths with right-wing counter-protest groups traveling to Portland and Kenosha to stir up further divisiveness. On top of that, Corona […]

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Ongoing History of Protest Music Podcast Episode 13: Recap

This episode features soundbites of interviews from previous guests. It also features songs by these guests. Songs played on the podcast: Spirit of Hip-Hop – David Strickland (featuring Ernie Paniccioli, Artson, Northern Eagle Singers) Truth – David Strickland (featuring Maestro Fresh Wes, Que Rock, Soufy, Leonard Sumner) Suffocating Evil – Jeremiah Craig They Never See Us As Teachers – Mat […]

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Ongoing History of Protest Music Podcast: Episode 8: Filter Bubble (with Mat Ward)

This episode features special guest Mat Ward, an Australian musician and journalist. We discuss his latest album Filter Bubble, his affinity for socially conscious concept albums and his book Real Talk: Aboriginal Rappers Talk About Their Music and Country. We also discuss his monthly column for Green Left, where he uses ten albums to analyze current news events.  The opening track of the […]

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