My brilliant students in AFAM 190: Protest Music and the Black Radical Tradition are compiling a #ProtestPlaylist companion to #ScholarStrike . Follow this thread for their musical contributions and commentary over the next two days:
Let's start with End of Daze by: Spillage Village a "cooperative piece by several prominent Dreamville artists, themed almost as if the artists are so used to apocalyptic times..." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"...that they're used to/tired of endless oppression of American gov't, expressed through defiance against the system now and anxious ruminations about the future." -Griffin ( @wa.9ila on insta) #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Black" by: Dave a rising U.K. artist who "has been.. putting out consistently enlightening music on the black experience, with this song arguably being the most powerful of his catalogue." - @jschneid24 #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Throughout the song, Dave defines what he sees as the defining traits associated with blackness, whether those be uplifting or heart-wrenching in the sense that those traits are associated with black suffering." - @jschneid24 #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
Blue Lights by: Jorja Smith is a "song that lays out the reality of living in the world as a person who is always under surveillance specifically Black people being watched by police..." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"... to me, this song embodies the anxieties that many Black people in America and across the world feel." -anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"1000" by N.E.R.D. & Future "if more people contributed their energy, the message won’t be drowned out/unheard, 'kinetic energy a thousand times higher”-anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Casket Pretty" by: noname "highlights the omnipresent and eternal fear of unprompted and unexpected death that haunts black people, accented by a whining beat that perfectly underscores the message" - Griffin
#ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Land of the Free" by: Joey Badass "the second verse hits the hardest, a reflection on it means to be Black in Ameri(KKK)a" -anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Feel No Pain" by: Sade "the repetition of her family's woes, ongoing for years & her plea 'don't let them stay home & listen to the blues' followed by the proclamation 'one day they're gonna wake up."- anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"One Day" by: U.G.K. is a "testimony to the ephemeral and precarious nature of black life in an antiblack world...." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"... summarized by the lines 'tomorrow ain't promised to me / the only thing promised to a playa is the penitentiary." - anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
People by: Cadenza (ft. Jorja Smith, Dre Island) is "a song released in 2016 during another moment when Black Lives Matter was gaining traction. . ." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"...The song's lyrics call on the people to witness the repeating history of injustice in that (and eventually future) moments." - anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Blood" by: Kendrick Lamar "Kendrick's 2017 album opener tells a story of a man losing his life after only trying to be helpful. . . " #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"...he samples news anchors expressing distaste for his stances on police brutality in the 2015 song "Alright." -anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Meditjin" by: Baker Boy "it speaks to the power of music in a time like this" - anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Energy" by: Sampa The Great ft. Nadeem Din-Gabisi "it speaks to the power and resiliency of women" -anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Another Story" by: Burna Boy "They wanna tell you another story o.' I think we're done accepting false narratives; we're beginning to claim our own stories." - Nyeda #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Shake the Room" by: Pop Smoke ft. Quavo "To protest means to shake the room...hopefully into earthquake." - Nyeda #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"By Design" by: Kid Cudi "This song reflects the struggle and uncertainty of the current moment. . ." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"...the song title makes me think of how the system of oppression that plagues black Americans and POC every day is working." - anonymous #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Do It" by: Chloe x Halle "has been a HUGE pick me up in the midst of what has been a very stressful time. . . " #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"... I think it is just as important for us to listen to songs about Black Joy and fun as it is to listen to songs which articulate our lows and our pain!" - Xavier #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Inner City Blues" by: Marvin Gaye "Gaye decries a lack of investment in poor Black neighborhoods, economic despair, over-policing and overlooked lives in this 1971 song..." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"...He cries, 'Make me want to holler // The way they do my life.' Today we indeed are hollering." - Avery #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Find Your Way Back" by: Beyoncé "This song is just a reminder to me to center myself and to take time to reset when I feel like life feels overwhelming!" -Xavier #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Don't Don't Do It" By: NERD ft. Kendrick Lamar "to me, the use of double negative here represents a set of intentionally opaque and confusing demands..." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"...from an America that asks Black Americans to do the impossible and go through hoops every day in exchange for basic respect and humanity." - Avery #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
O Aetos by: Notis Sfakianakis "This is one of Greece's most popular songs. The title is, 'The Eagle,' and the song is about hardship, endurance, and perseverance..." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"...The opening lines read: 'Even if you scorch my wings so that I can't fly anymore, from the smoke of the fire, I'll reach the heights once more." -anonymously submitted #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Ipomoni" by: Aliki Vougouklaki and Dimitris Papamikhail "The refrain says: 'Have endurance, and the skies will become bluer/ Have endurance, a lemon tree is sprouting in the neighborhood." - anon #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by: Israel Kamakawiwoʻole "A crucial component of protest is imagination, and the courage to even imagine a better world..." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"This song makes me imagine what is possible and enforces a sense of hope with the melodic ukulele chords and Israel's calm, yet raspy and somewhat painful, voice..." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"It is no surprise that Israel Kamakawiwoʻole was such a persistent advocate for native Hawaiian sovereignty, using his music and ukulele playing as odes to his culture and people's existence." - anon #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"WONT BLEED ME: The Sequel" by: Slauson Malone "resilience against destructive conditions of racial capitalism while recognizing our collective trauma, black intertextuality" - anon #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Bout these Pipedreams" by: Liv.e "Syncopated dissonance corresponds to the inner contradictions in our own aspirations and the contradiction between our (pipe)dreams and the violent reality that surrounds us." -anon #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
“Song 33” by: Noname "In this song Noname is calling out another rapper for focusing on her when people are still being murdered and the world is more ready for actual change than it ever has been..." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"It speaks to people’s priorities, because although educational elitism is something that we should be talking about, people’s right to live without the fear of being murdered is a prerequisite to educational equality." - Lennox #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Dedication" by: Nipsey Hussle feat. Kendrick Lamar "It's similar to the issues facing the black population today. No matter how hard you try there's little opportunity and little platform to change your situation." - Owen #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"Glory" by: Common and John Legend "This song is all about standing up for your rights and fighting for justice until we reach the glory. .." #ProtestPlayist #ScholarStrike
"The lines that stick out the most to me are: 'Justice is juxtaposition in us/ Justice for all just ain't specific enough'. They resonate very much with the movement today.." #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
"We can't have justice for all until we have justice for ourselves. All Lives matter isn't specific enough- Black Lives Matter is." - Owen #ProtestPlaylist #ScholarStrike
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