The Revolution Will Be Heard Through the Airwaves
Vanity Fair
Whether it be times of uncertainty or triumph, music has always been there to see us through until the very end. From the 1950s to 1970s, music was the soundtrack to revolution, pride, and empowerment for many groups of people, especially Black Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Artists like James Brown, Sam Cooke, Gil Scott Heron, and Nina Simone made sure to utilize their platforms in order to speak up about racial injustices in America, risking their careers and their livelihood to spread messages of hope and change. They wanted the world to know that it was important for people to stand up for what they believed in, and fight so that everyone has equal protection under the law and equal rights, no matter what color they were.
Despite having fought for better conditions of life in the past, not much has changed since then. Now, in the 21st century, those same artists have inspired a generation of newer artists that want to put the very same messages in their music to mirror current times. With racism and police brutality being at the epicenter of current events in American society, many people have been looking towards the influence of music once again, either to reflect on what’s going on or as a means to build the motivation to keep on fighting for justice.
Here a few songs that reflect the times we live in and the struggles that minorities face today:
In his song, “PohLease,” D.C. native KAMAUU dares to ask the question of, “who polices the police?” KAMAUU hints at law enforcement and white supremacy being inextricably linked with one another, resulting in the terror that many Black people in America face daily, with no one to put a stop to it or hold anyone accountable. He even begins the song saying the lines, “As a Black person in America, when you see the police, say a little prayer to the shepherd, who let wolves guard the sheep?”
Instead of calling it a Black problem like many people do, he understands that it’s only the tip of the iceberg and acknowledges that it’s a systemic issue that deals with things in a corrupt manner. Systems and institutions like policing and the prison industrial complex are built to oppress specific groups of people and benefit others. Therefore, neither one can be expected to be fair and just and create progress.
The music video follows two friends who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and are fortunately subjugated to the worst of police violence. KAMAUU paints a picture for the audience that, while seeming horrific to imagine, is absolutely a reality for many people living in America.
2. Heatwave — Mereba (feat. 6LACK)
“Heatwave” by Mereba is the summer anthem that sheds light to how police perceive Black people, so much in fact that as soon as they see darker skin they are inclined to draw their weapons and shoot. Throughout the song she refers to the guns used by police as “heat.” By saying that there’s going to be a heatwave, Mereba implies that more and more Black bodies will be lost during the duration of the summer, similarly to what is going on now.
With so many protests going on across the country police have used this as an excuse to wage war on their citizens, utilizing deadly weapons such as rubber bullets and tear gas. Due to such excessive force, more and more people are being murdered by police while protesting for the people who have been murdered by the police.
In response to this, Mereba tells listeners to run, not only for their sake, but their mother’s as well so she doesn’t have to lose a child. Running, after all, is all one can do to protect themselves at the hands of the police. There are no alternatives. We live in a society that often encourages law enforcement to react first and ask questions later, putting many lives at risk for doing almost little to nothing to deserve a death sentence.
3. Racist Friend — Naomi Pilgrim
Many of us have friends, some of whom we often disagree with. We disagree on many things such as the movies we enjoy, the music we listen to, and even the people we think should hold office. However, one thing people of color can’t afford to disagree with their white counterparts on is racism and how it is rooted in every major system around the world, from the economy to education. Many of our white counterparts often excuse or misunderstand the problems we face, even going as far as to say they don’t exist, simply because they are not affected. In her song “Racist Friend,” Naomi Pilgrim encourages listeners to let those friends go because our relationships with them do more harm than we think.
At this point in time, society should be past acknowledging that racism exists, and instead, trying to dismantle the systems that uphold it. We shouldn’t be spending time having to argue about how we exist with people who are dedicated to misunderstanding us; we are not required to teach them about what they can teach themselves through books and documentaries. Naomi Pilgrim is telling us to cut off our racist friends because with the heavy plight we have, we deserve to have as much peace of mind as we can get.
4. LAND OF THE FREE — Joey Bada$$
“LAND OF THE FREE” by Joey Bada$$ highlights the many issues Black Americans have grown frustrated from dealing with, from our journey through slavery to our current battles with police brutality and mass incarceration. Joey Bada$$ points out that America, despite being called the “land of the free,” is not very free at all for people that look like him. To call America the land of the free is almost making a mockery of the true values of the country, which are rooted in white supremacy and oppression. In the chorus of the song, he sings about this, telling the audience, “In the land of the free, it's full of free loaders/Leave us dead in the street to be their organ donors/They disorganized my people, made us all loners/Still got the last names of our slave owners.”
During the making of this song, he felt that it was far deeper than current events that led him to send this message, it was very spiritual and he says in the song he’s channeling his ancestors, who have suffered just as much persecution as people today. Joey not only calls out the system because of its failures, but he also advocates for change and reform of the system as well. In an interview with Genius, he says that Black people shouldn’t present their problems to the United States alone, but rather, the United Nations. “We have to somehow gather ourselves, gather our leaders, our political leaders, social leaders alike and go down to the United Nations and address our problems to the world. And then put the United States of America on trial for what it’s done to our people,” he explains.
For Black people in America, carefreeness is both a mentality and a privilege that very few of us ever get to have. We must constantly watch over our shoulder, trying to maintain our innocence despite the fact that we have done nothing wrong. History has shown us that our lives can be taken away at any second for little to nothing. So we fix our posture; we sit up, shoulders never slouching, hands at both sides or on our steering wheels, and we’re polite, using complete sentences and perfect grammar, answering “yes sir,” or “no ma’am.” But sometimes, it still isn’t enough.
“Carefree” by Mick Jenkins is a testament to what many Black people go through when it comes to encounters with the police. We want to live our lives like everyone else does, but the constant burden of being attacked because of the color of our skin is always floating around somewhere in our minds. Jenkins expresses his desire to live like everyone else without the worry of consequences like other people have the ability to. He opens up the song saying, “If you living carefree then you probably don't look like us.” It’s no secret that Black people are not afforded the same experiences as other groups, because after all, our skin color is seen as criminal itself.
6. Pig Feet — Terrace Martin (feat. Denzel Curry, Daylyt, Kamasi Washington, & G Perico)
Terrace Martin’s “Pig Feet” is a nod to the recent protests and acts of outrage that have sparked across the nation in light of the violent deaths of people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, all of whom were taken away from us for no logical reason. George Floyd was accused of using a fake $20 bill, Ahmaud Arbery was jogging, and Breonna Taylor was sleeping. People have decided to take matters in their own hands and fight back because they have started to understand that they cannot rely on the legal system to serve justice and prosecute the people who take our lives. Artists like Terrace Martin are championing these uprisings and using their music to spread the message of both knowledge and awareness.
In the music video for Pig Feet, a caption flashes on the screen before the song begins, reading, “THE VIDEO TO THIS SONG IS HAPPENING RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW.” From there, pictures and videos of protests are shown, depicting the absolute chaos that has consumed the country between police officers and unarmed citizens who just want to be heard. Police would rather attack peaceful protestors who want to make a difference and throw them in jail than arrest those who decided to take precious lives that can never be brought back.
Think about that.
#BlackLivesMatter