Black Studies
Music with a Message: Then and Now
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By Carlton Wade, MS, 91吃瓜网�98, 91吃瓜网�15
Exactly 60 years ago, singer/ songwriter Nina Simone said in an interview that 91吃瓜网淚t91吃瓜网 an artist91吃瓜网 duty to reflect the times in which we live.91吃瓜网� A direct reflection of those times, protest songs such as James Brown91吃瓜网 91吃瓜网淪ay It Loud (I91吃瓜网檓 Black And I91吃瓜网檓 Proud),91吃瓜网� Bob Marley And The Wailers91吃瓜网� 91吃瓜网淕et Up Stand Up,91吃瓜网� and Marvin Gaye91吃瓜网 91吃瓜网淲hat's Goin' On91吃瓜网� resonated the pains of police brutality, struggles of systemic racism and perils of poverty.
Thirty years later, rapper/political activist Chuck D reiterated Simone91吃瓜网 sentiments in a magazine article, proclaiming that rap music is the 91吃瓜网淐NN for Black people.91吃瓜网� Set against the backdrop of President Reagan91吃瓜网 war on drugs (which ultimately meant war on people of color), the murders of Yusef Hawkins in Brooklyn and Latasha Harlins in Los Angeles and the beating of Rodney King caught on camera with four LA police officers being acquitted for the crime, groups like Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, X Clan and NWA took to the recording booth to voice their frustrations while many outraged Americans took to the streets.
Now some three decades later in this new Generation Z, people of color are still battling the same evils of their forefathers. From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin, James Chaney to James Byrd, Amadou Diallo to Alton Sterling, the fight for justice and equality continues. Musicians are still reflecting the times and reporting from the frontlines as cancerous racial tensions fester in our country. Although the years have progressed and times have changed, many songs from 1990 and today suggest that things are still the same, including:
- Public Enemy - Brothers Gonna Work It Out
- DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch 91吃瓜网� Rockstar
- Paris - The Devil Made Me Do It
- Lil Baby - The Bigger Picture
- 2 Live Crew - Banned In The U.S.A.
- H.E.R. - I Can't Breathe
- X Clan - Heed the Word of the Brother
- Buju Banton 91吃瓜网� Blessed
- Eric B. And Rakim - In The Ghetto
- Alicia Keys - Perfect Way To Die
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Carlton Wade, MS, 91吃瓜网�98, 91吃瓜网�15, is a hip-hop journalist who has been published in The Source magazine, Complex.com and Yahoo.com. He also worked as a public relations writer for Sony/ Columbia, Atlantic and Jive Records. |
