The Oromo are the largest ethno-national group in Ethiopia, accounting for over 40 million people or more than one-third of the population. However, they have been politically oppressed, economically exploited and culturally marginalised under successive Ethiopian regimes. Since the 1960s, the Oromo have sought self-determination through various forms of resistance, such as armed struggle under the banner of the Oromo Liberation Front.
Music has played a key role in the Oromo resistance movement. As is the case in many other societies – especially those where open political debate is risky – music serves as an instrument of defiance, allowing artists and their fans to stand up against dominant socio-economic, cultural and political forces. From legendary musicians to amateur singers, Oromo artists have used protest songs as part of their struggle for freedom, justice and equality.
Hachalu Hundessa (also written in the Oromo language as Haacaaluu Hundeessaa) was one of those musicians. Through his poetically eloquent protest songs, the young singer-songwriter came to represent the Oromo struggle. Then, in June 2020, he was murdered. Three men were convicted for the crime a year later, but no motive was given. Many believe it was a political assassination.
Hundreds of thousands of young people across Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest regional state, took to the streets in protest, demanding justice for Hachalu. Members of Oromia’s large diaspora also staged protests in US and European cities. The Ethiopian government used the protests and ensuing violence (reports at the time suggested that more than 80 people were killed) to justify its crackdown on Oromo opposition political parties.
As a political geographer, I focus on the struggles of the dispossessed and their covert and overt forms of resistance – one of which is protest songs. After his death, I studied three of Hachalu’s works: Maalan Jira! (Do I even exist!), Jirra! (We are still there/alive!) and Jirtuu? (Are you there?). My interest goes beyond mere scholarly analysis; there is emotional attachment there, too. I was part of the Qubee Generation, the youth cohort that spearheaded the 2014-2018 Oromo protest movement to which Hachalu’s songs added inspirational impetus.
In the resulting paper, I show how Oromo protest music like Hachalu’s reveals a history and geography of violence through land dispossession and political persecution. It is also more than just a record of events in time and space: protest music forges collective identity and spurs political movements. I also strive to comprehend what a musician like Hachalu Hundessa represents – and what it means to destroy a body that embodies the power of resistance.
Three key songs
Hachalu Hundessa was born in Ambo Town, some 120 kilometres to the west of the capital city, Addis Ababa, in 1984. He was active in Oromo student movements when he was at secondary school and was imprisoned by the government when he was just 17 years old, spending five years behind bars because of his activism. While in prison he worked on his first album, Sanyii Mootii. It was released in 2009 and immediately made him popular.
Members of Minnesota’s Oromo community protesting in the wake of Hachalu Hundessa’s murder in 2020. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The first song I analysed was Maalan Jira! (Do I even exist!), the title track from his 2015 album. He tells of the occupation of Finfinne (what is today Addis Ababa) in the 1880s that dispossessed the Tulama Oromo clans, displaced them from their ancestral homes and sacred places and dismantled their social institutions.
He takes the listener or viewer through a mental map of history. The lyrics can be viewed as a struggle to dismantle institutions and discourses of settler-colonial systems long imposed by the Ethiopian state upon the Oromo. The murder of Hachalu, then, can be interpreted as an attempt at silencing counter-histories in Ethiopia.
Malaan Jira, the title track from Hachalu’s 2015 album.
The second song in my paper, Jirra! (We are still alive!), was released in October 2017, when the Oromo protest movement was at its peak. He underscores the determination of the Oromo, locating the resistance in physical places. He does this by naming places where the movement had a strong presence, articulating the convergence of different corners of Oromia towards the goal: liberation.
The third song, Jirtuu? (Are you there?) again exposes the historical events related to land dispossession and political oppression. At a live performance in December 2017, during a fundraiser in Bole for Oromos displaced by clashes with the neighbouring Somali region that year, he asked the crowd: “Where are you?”, then encouraged them: “Say we are in Bole!” The crowd cheerfully echoed his statement.
A live performance of Jirra!
This was not just a singalong. Bole is a district of Addis Ababa, home to wealthy people who settled on land expropriated from Oromo farmers. The performance was a declaration of the Oromos’ right to self-determination and a call that they should one day control the Imperial Palace – the offices and residence of the Ethiopian prime minister.
The lyrics include:
Kaafadhu farda keetiin loli, Arat Kiiloof situu aane (Fight with your horse, you deserve Arat Kilo – the national palace); Kaafadhu Eeboo keetiin loli, Arat Kiiloof situu aane (Fight with your spear, you deserve Arat Kilo)
Why this matters
My analysis reveals the power of Hachalu’s protest songs in unsettling dominant narratives and institutions, and in serving as a strong instrument of the Oromos’ political and social movements.
His music intertwines time, space and identity. It renders the reconstruction of the past and imaginations of the future amid contemporary uncertainties. In doing so, music serves as an archival library of the past, a platform of the present, and a mirror of the future.
There is cultural resistance in the anti-war music of some Russian musicians
Screenshot from YouTube video by Monetochka. It consists of videos sent by her listeners from Ukraine and Russia. Fair use.
This article was written by Alyona Fedotova and originally published by Global Voices on their website on December 23 2023. It’s republished here under the media partnership between Global Voices and Shouts.
Music is a powerful tool of resistance, and has been used this way for centuries. In the late years of USSR music played a big role in supporting dissent and new ideas. More recently, in Russia, which wages a full-scale war on Ukraine since February 24 2022, some musicians sided with the Russian pro-war authoritarian government, but some others became vocal in their anti-war statements.
Unfortunately, thoughtful anti-war songs in Russian get less attention than the warmongering tunes of a leather-clad Kremlin singer Shaman (Yaroslav Dronov). In 2022, he released a song titled “I’m Russian” (in Russian: “Я русский”, romanized as “Ya russkiy”). This track quickly rose to fame, becoming a significant part of popular culture in Russia. It garnered over 42 million views. However, the song also was ridiculed on various Russian social media platforms. Further on, Shaman became a welcomed singer at various pro-government and pro-war rallies. Some people compare him with models from Nazi propaganda posters. The fact of his un-ironic popularity is discussed on YouTube and in online media which publishes columns on contemporary Russian culture in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
It almost seems like there is no music culture in Russia beyond his output but there exists, in fact, also cultural resistance. If Russian antiwar music of the 2020s were a subgenre, there would be several headliners.
Popular musicians with anti-war stance
First, there’s a supergroup made of frequent collaborators, a rapper Noize MC and a high-pitch singer Liza Monetochka, joined by her partner Vitya Isayev. In a series of charity concerts “Voices of Peace” they perform their new war resistance songs, but their most popular one, a banger “People with Guns” was penned a few years before February 2022.
Its sarcastic lyrics go like this:
“All “bad” guys with guns will be killed “Good” ones will make holes in their bodies And if suddenly “baddies” are to triumph It would mean the other ones were “baddies””
Many music videos by these artists are important for their visual component. “No One Got Hurt” by Voices of Peace wouldn’t work the same without the accompanying animated videos that are connected to two important periods of Russian history: depressive Soviet animation from the 1980s and minimalistic black and white Mr. Freeman, an animated protagonist from early 2010s Russia, a period defined by anti-Putin protests.
“I’ll Survive,” another song by the young singer Monetochka, has been released as a music video on YouTube. It was made from short video clips filmed by her Instagram and TikTok followers, including civilians that survived the siege in the east of Ukraine.
“Burn, Burn,” another popular song of hers, is now accompanied by an animated music video directed by Lado Kvataniya to reflect the horrors of the invasion.
Another superstar of Russian rebellious music is a rapper Oxxxymiron with his angry song “Oyda,” calling for the decolonization of Russian heritage. Miron Fyodorov (Oxxxymiron’s real name) is famous for his word puzzles and literary references.
His lyrics for the track include “Our flag/Has white snow and blue river (and nothing else),” and the video an image of a white-blue-white flag of Russia, a novel symbol chosen by some anti-war groups to deny the necessity of any bloodshed. Russian authorities label both the song and the flag extremist and forbidden.
Actually, “oy, da” is a neutral interjection that can mean both “oh, yeah” and “if you must;” One could even call it somewhat an analogue for Old English “Hwæt” in the beginning of “Beowulf.” A fortnight after the premiere of “Oyda,” a part of Russian society was shocked by the verbally similar on-stage exclamation “Goyda!” from a Kremlin supporter, actor Ivan Okhlobystin. According to a historic anecdote, the latter word was used by oprichniks, the repressive soldiers of Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, right before they massacred people in the name of the tsar. “Okhlobystin” is referenced in a music video in another protest song “Anthem of the Doomed or Goyda, Orcs!” by Maxim Pokrovsky.
“We are farting gases and drilling oil. The Third Reich is no match to us, we are the Third Rome! The boss [Putin] will decide for you and me Which one is flying back home as a Cargo 200 [killed in action]”
Pokrovsky is the front man of the famous rock band “Nogu Svelo,” and one of the most outspoken critics of Putin’s regime among Russian artists. Since 2022 he has released many tracks like “Ukraina,” “Generation Z,” and “We Don’t Need War,” that have become quite popular among Russian-speaking people all over the world.
Vladi, Zemfira and Yuri Shevchuk also recorded anti-war tracks
Another popular musician, rapper Vladi, released a full album of anti-war songs called “February Goes On and On,” meaning that the month of February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is never ending for those who grieve this war. One of the songs, the track “How the F*** Is It Possible?,” perfectly records the first shock of the aggression from a point of view of an anti-war Russian.
Another important song is “Meat” by rockstar Zemfira, an uncomfortable, sorrowful tune, her singing ranging from the whisper “What did we come here for?,” that expresses the muteness of Russians, to the cutting scream “It’s midnight in Mariupol,” the prominent city’s destruction being just one of the horrors that shocked the songwriter.
Young producer and score composer Dmitry Emelyanov has worked with many popular Russian artists, including Zemfira, but hit the spotlight in 2023 with the album “Wolves at a Shooting Ground,” that he co-wrote with Yuri Shevchuk, the front man of the famous rock band DDT, founded in 1980. In 2010 Putin embarrassed himself by pretending not to know who Shevchuk is — the artist’s tongue-in-cheek answer “I’m Yura, a musician” quickly became a meme and the name of a documentary about him. His latest album includes brilliant tracks like “Motherland, Return Home,” and the hopeful “The Funeral of the War” that may appeal to a more conservative audience due to its deceptively old-fashioned sound.
Dude, sing a bright song,
Sing about love – and let it be We will unite with the whole world To plan a funeral for the war
Music puts emphasis on the tragedy of mothers losing their children in this war
Manizha Sangin, a civil rights activist, the last Russian artist to perform in Eurovision, and Lado Kvataniya’s spouse, released “Soldier,” a dance-centered performance in English, that puts an emphasis on the tragedy of the mothers losing their children during their military service.
The same idea is behind the music video of “Happy New Year, My Son” by Maxim Pokrovsky — mentioned earlier — and his band Nogy Svelo starring Chulpan Khamatova and Arthur Smolyaninov, two famous Russian actors in exile.
Little Big, a popular band that was supposed to go on Eurovision in 2020 released a video, “Generation Cancellation,” that angered some viewers for not putting blame on any side of the conflict.
Some musicians do not directly condemn the war but use other means of expressing the stance
At the same time many Russian artists release compositions that have multiple readings. Some fans might perceive them as anti-war, but many would call this opinion either a stretch or wishful thinking. It is in tune with many people willingly replacing censored words like “war” and “blast” with substitutes offered by state media. Softer lyrics allow the promotion of a song despite Russian censorship. Popular in the early 2000s rock singer Diana Arbenina’s tracks “A Night without a War Declaration” and “Don’t Be Silent” still exist only as records from her live shows posted by fans online.
The anxious song “I’ll Have to Be Silent” from a much younger Erika Lundmoen sounds like a direct answer to that. As Apple Music describes, Lundmoen is a singer-songwriter who infuses the Russian pop scene with her unique blend of escapist melodies and heartfelt vulnerability.
And for some musicians “to be silent” was a good piece of advice: recently Arbenina’s concerts were prohibited in Russia, which also happened to most of the people mentioned in this article.
Some songs and artists have a sudden comeback in playlists of anti-war audiences. Take for instance Alla Pugacheva, a Soviet superstar who for decades was a fairy godmother of mainstream Russian pop. As soon as her husband, TV comedian Maxim Galkin, opposed the war and their family left the country, she faced a terrible fake news campaign aimed against her. “I once asked Yaroslav Dronov [Shaman] to say one important thing, now I will say it too, although no one has asked me to: ‘You will hear from me again!’ Whether you like it or not, life has shown I am still in your hearts,” the diva wrote on Instagram earlier this month.
While all living Russian musicians must pick a side, even dead artists are resurrected with some help from AI technologies to make a point. For example a popular in the 80s rock singer Viktor Tsoi, who died in 1990, is AI-resurrected in this music video. His electronic copy sings the critical anthem from 1988, “A Train on Fire,” originally written by another rock star, Boris Grebenschikov. The metaphor of the train on fire is about the country, from where there is no escape and which is in war with its people.
If one checks any comment section under the music videos in this article they will see that listeners often regret the small size of the anti-war music audience, even if the same video was streamed millions of times, making this sorrow futile.
Acclaimed producer Roman Liberov has recently united some of the artists mentioned above and many other musicians. Together they filmed the concert “We Exist,” that premiered on December 12, 2023. Through this musical project anti-war artists oppose the narrative of Russian war resistance as a marginal point of view. Perhaps their music will help to overcome the narrative of an imaginary or not pro-Putin majority in Russia.
Photo filed under a CC0 1.0 Deed Creative Commons.
Greetings comrades, and happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, today. I’m DJ General Strike, host of the weekly protest music radio show, Protest Tunes on 91.3 KBCS FM in Seattle. In celebration of MLK Day I’ve compiled an extensive list of protest songs about, inspired by, that mention, quote or sample Dr. King, and broadcasted two distinct 2 hour MLK Day shows. You can listen to my most recent MLK Day show on the KBCS archive here.
For readers outside of the US, Martin Luther King Day, celebrated annually on the third Monday of January, honors the legacy of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated for racial equality and justice through nonviolent resistance during the American civil rights movement, until he was assassinated in April 1968. Martin Luther King Day, established in 1983, commemorates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This day, observed since 1986, not only celebrates Dr. King’s contributions but also calls attention to the ongoing pursuit of justice and equality for all, urging activists to carry forward his legacy.
Musicians of all genres have been writing protest songs about and inspired by Martin Luther King since the 1950s. I’ve compiled over 150 MLK-themed protest songs, most of which you can hear in this Spotify Playlist. I’ve narrowed that down to my top 40 MLK themed protest songs, which I’ve organized by genre below.
Folk
Mike Millius & The Spiritual Warriors – The Ballad of Martin Luther King Mike Millius is a singer, songwriter and producer from Bedford, New York, best known for writing the song “Lord Only Knows” which Beck reinterpreted on his album “Odelay”.. Millius wrote The Ballad of Martin Luther King, in 1968 immediately after Dr. King’s assassination. Pete Seeger, Brother Kirk covered the song for the Sesame Street album Pete Seeger & Brother Kirk Visit Sesame Street in 1974.
Anne Feeney – Have You Been to Jail for Justice? Anne Feeney was a singer-songwriter, political activist and attorney from Pittsburgh. She began her music career in 1969 as a student activist playing a Phil Ochs song at a Vietnam War protest. Her business cards described her as “Performer, Producer, Hellraiser.” Feeney sadly passed away last year from Covid 19, at age 69. This 2001 song celebrates the history of nonviolent civil disobedience.
Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick & Jimmy Collier – You’re Just a Laughin’ Fool Singer-songwriters and civil rights activists, both Jimmy and “Kirk” worked with Dr. King in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and were on the streets with KIng organizing the Poor Peoples’ Campaign until Dr. King’s assassination. They released their civil rights album Everybody’s Got a Right To Live in 1968, which included this song, just after King was assassinated, a month before the Poor People’s March on Washington.
Pete Seeger – Take It from Dr. King Pete Seeger, a legendary American folk singer and social activist, played a pivotal role in shaping the folk music revival of the 20th century. Seeger, who helped popularize the Civil Rights movement’s protest anthem “We Shall Overcome,” first met Dr. King in 1957 at Highlander Folk School, a social justice leadership training school and cultural center located in New Market, Tennessee.
Grace Petrie – Farewell to Welfare Grace Petrie is a socialist-feminist folk singer-songwriter from Leicester, England. She was hailed in The Guardian as “a powerful new songwriting voice” in 2011. She wrote this song in 2010 about the advent of the Conservative-led coalition government following the (UK) general election. This song is about the erosion of the anti-poverty programs which Dr. King fought for.
Country
Old Crow Medicine Show – Motel In Memphis Old Crow Medicine Show, an Americana string band based in Nashville, that has been recording since 1998. Bluegrass musician Doc Watson discovered the band while its members were busking outside a pharmacy in Boone, North Carolina. They wrote this song in 2008 for the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination.
Iris Dement – How Long Iris Dement is a legendary folk, country and gospel singer-songwriter and musician from the Arkansas delta, now based in Iowa. This gospel song, off her 2023 album Working on a World, is based on an MLK quote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
Kris Kristofferson & The Borderlords – They Killed Him Kris Kristofferson is a retired country singer, songwriter, and actor, best known for writing songs for other artists. This track was originally written by Kristofferson for Johnny Cash who released it as a single in 1984, then Kristofferson recorded it himself in 1986 on his album Repossessed and Bob Dylan covered it a few months later on his album Knocked Out Loaded.
Rock
James Taylor – Shed a Little Light This six-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and guitarist, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide. This Dr. King tribute track is off Taylor’s thirteenth studio album New Moon Shine released in 1991.
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros – Johnny Appleseed The legendary frontman of pioneering punk rock band the Clash wrote this metaphorical song about the struggle for freedom in 2001 with his backing band The Mescaleros. The song tells the story of how 18th century environmentalist Johnny Appleseed and Martin Luther King Jr. both used nonviolent means to achieve social change. It had a second life as the theme song of 2007’s HBO series “John from Cincinnati.”
Stevie Nicks – Show Them The Way Legendary singer, songwriter, and producer Stevie Nicks is best known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac, and also as a solo artist. In this autobiographical 2020 single Nicks sings about her political experiences in the 1960s, including when she sang for Martin Luther King Jr.
The Entrance Band – M.L.K. The Entrance Band is a band started by Guy Blakeslee, from Baltimore, Maryland. Blakesley said about this 2008 song, “The reason I wanted to make a song about Martin Luther King is because I felt that, even in a time when we have an African-American president and that’s a revolutionary thing for this country, it’s still a president that’s sending so many people to war and is, I believe, kind of just a much more charming, much more intelligent face of the same system that still has yet to change.”
U2 – Pride (In the Name of Love) The best selling, 22 Grammy winning, Irish rock band from Dublin, released this MLK tribute track in 1984. The song was intended to be a critique of Ronald Reagan’s pride in America’s military power, but on reading the book Let The Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Stephen B. Oates’s, Bono was inspired to rewrite the lyrics to make the song about MLK.
R&B
Lenny Kravitz – Black and White America Born in New York City to TV news producer Sy Kravitz and actress Roxie Roker, Kravitz was exposed to the entertainment industry at a young age. Kravitz won the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, four years in a row from 1999 to 2002. This song is the title track of his 2011 funk album, Black and White America is about the insults endured by his interracial parents in the 1960s.
Ben Harper – Like a King Ben Harper is a three-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The lyrics of this 1994 song draw parallels between the experiences of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rodney King, African American man who was brutally beaten by LAPD officers in 1991, to highlight the lack of racial progress in American society.
Cameron Forbes – If I Was White Chicago-raised, Los Angeles-based R&B singer & hit songwriter Cameron Forbes has written songs for Tyga, Carrie Underwood, Sean Kingston & G-Eazy among others. He wrote “If I Was White” about police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement. Forbes, his co-writers and his label, donated a portion of all proceeds from “If I Was White” to Mother’s Against Police Brutality and Campaign Zero.
Calypso
The Mighty Stalin – The Immortal Message of Martin Luther King The Mighty Stalin AKA Black Stalin was a prominent Trinidadian calypso musician, known for his lyrics against European colonial oppression. He brought his unique style and social commentary to the genre, addressing issues of politics, inequality, and Caribbean culture. He wrote this MLK tribute song in 1968 not long after King’s assassination.
The Mighty Sparrow – Martin Luther King for President Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist, known as the “Calypso King of the World”. Sparrow paid tribute to MLK not once but twice, advocating for the civil rights leader’s election to higher office in this 1963 track, and then again shortly after King’s 1968 assassination in the song “Martin Luther King.”
Reggae
Max Romeo – Tribute to Martin Luther King Max Romeo is a Jamaican reggae and roots reggae artist formerly of the rock steady group The Emotions. This song was written in 1978, 5 years before MLK Day was established. While the hook “No one remembers Martin Luther King” sounds rather dated now, it was poignant at that time.
Morgan Heritage – Black Man’s Paradise Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan. This song from 2000, addresses the ongoing struggle for equality, justice, and freedom for black people, reflecting on historical figures and movements, like Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey and Nelson Mandela..
Burning Spear –I Stand Strong Burning Spear is a Grammy winning Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician, and one of the most influential and long-standing roots artists to emerge from the 1970s. This 1993 track is about standing strong against the oppressive system as his heroes Martin Luther King and Marcus Garvey demonstrated.
Gospel/Soul
Brother Will – Hairston Alabama Bus Brother Will Hairston was a gospel singer and preacher in Detroit, Michigan, called “The Hurricane of the Motor City”. In 1956, Hairston wrote and recorded “The Alabama Bus” with Washboard Willie on percussion, about the Montgomery bus boycott. Hairston’s recording, was the first song to reference by name the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Nina Simone – Why? (The King of Love Is Dead) Nina Simone, “The High Priestess of Soul” was a 4 time Grammy winning singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. She first performed this song just 3 days after King’s assassination at the Westbury Music Fair.
Rap/Hip Hop
The Last Poets – Blessed Are Those Who Struggle These forefathers of hip-hop were founded in Harlem in 1968, named after a poem by the South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile. This 1977 song honors MLK as well and other historical figures who were assassinated while fighting for black liberation.
Common & John Legend – Glory Conscious rapper, actor, and activist Common, and singer, songwriter, pianist, and actor John Legend wrote this song with Rhymefest in 2014 as the theme song from the 2014 film Selma, which portrays the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. This song was awarded an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Grammy in 2015.
The Game – Letter to the King (feat. Nas) This 2008 hip-hop duet by West Coast rapper The Game and East Coast rapper Nas was written on MLK Day as a tribute to MLK. The Game said about it “‘Take me back to ’65. Martin Luther King is getting dressed in the morning. Coretta Scott King is dusting his shoulders off. He’s about to go out. The dude waiting in the car, I’m him. I don’t know if I’m his homie; I’m just gonna drive him to where he’s going, and I’m gonna talk to him.’
Three Times Dope – Increase the Peace Three Times Dope was an American hip-hop group from Philadelphia, consisting of EST, Chuck Nice and Woody Wood. They released this conscious track about nonviolent social change, in 1989 as part of their album “Original Stylin’.” The song starts with a powerful introduction, featuring a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.
King Dream Chorus – King Holiday This song was composed by Phillip Jones, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Melle Mel and Bill Adler, and spearheaded by Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest son, Dexter Scott King. It was released in honor of the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which was first celebrated as a national holiday in the US on January 20, 1986. All proceeds from the single were donated to the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
Big Daddy Kane – Word to the Mother (Land) Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in hip-hop. This 1988 song about African American pride and history is off BDK’s debut album Long Live the Kane.
Vic Mensa – Go Tell ’em Vic Mensa, a conscious rapper and singer from Chicago, was a member of the group Kids These Days, which broke up in 2013, and a founding member of the hip-hop collective Savemoney and the rap rock group 93Punx. This track is off The Birth of a Nation: The Inspired by Album, the companion album to the 2016 movie The Birth of a Nation, about 1831 slave rebellion leader Nat Turner.
Talib Kweli – All of Us Talib Kweli is a conscious rapper from New York, best known for being half of the hip-hop duo Black Star with Mos Def. This 2017 anti-police brutality track, features Jay Electronica & Yummy Bingham. It highlights the struggles that people of color face in America and calls for unity and solidarity in the face of oppression as Dr. King did.
Run-DMC – Proud to Be Black Run-DMC, founded in 1983, in Hollis, Queens, New York, was the first hip hop group to achieve a Gold record and a platinum record, the first hip hop act to have their music videos broadcast on MTV, the first hip hop act on the cover of Rolling and the first hip hop group to be nominated for a Grammy Award. This 1986 track is a powerful affirmation of Black identity and history.
Micah Bournes – All Hands on Deck Micah Bournes is a musician and poet born and raised in Long Beach, California. His work centers on themes of culture, justice, and faith. This 2018 track is a cipher that links the civil rights movement and Black Lives Matter movement and features Izzie Ray, Jackie Miclau, Liz Vice and Lucee.
Jasiri X – Dr. King’s Nightmare Jasiri X is a Pittsburgh-based conscious rapper and net-neutrality activist. This 2010 song is written from the perspective of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in response to conservative political commentator Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial, on the 47th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, in which Beck was accused of co-opting Dr. King’s legacy to spread his racist right-wing ideology.
Run the Jewels – Thieves Run the Jewels are a Super-duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P, and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike, taking their name from a lyric in the LL Cool J song “Cheesy Rat Blues” This song about the 2014 uprising in Ferguson, Missouri was inspired by the MLK quote “riot is the language of the unheard.”
Public Enemy – By the Time I Get To Arizona Political hip-hop group founded by Chuck D and Flavor Flav in 1985. By the Time I Get to Arizona” is a song from their 1991 album Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black, written by frontman Chuck D in protest of the state of Arizona, where Governor Evan Mecham had canceled Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the people voted against its reintroduction.
Punk/Metal
Rage Against the Machine – Renegades of Funk RATM was known for melding heavy metal and rap music with punk rock and funk influences, as well as their radical leftist views. This track is a cover of a 1983 song by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, off Rage’s 2000 cover album Renegades. The song draws a connection between historical activists and revolutionaries like MLK to present-day social movements.
Good Riddance – Shadows of Defeat GR is a punk rock band from Santa Cruz, California. They released seven full-length studio albums then disbanded 2007 and reformed in 2012. This 1999 track from their album Operation Phoenix begins with a sample of Martin Luther King’s 1964 Poverty of the Soul speech.
The Vernon Walters – M.L.K. The Vernon Walters was a punk band from Hoorn, Netherlands founded in 1986. The band’s lead vocalist and guitarist Hans Engel was murdered in Spain in 2003 and in 2007, the Hoorn Culture Committee campaigned to have a Hans Engel street named after him. This song was the title track of their 1988 Martin Luther King tribute EP, MLK.
Anti-Flag – 911 for Peace Political punk band from Pittsburgh, formed by Justin Sane and Pat Thetic in 1988. The band is well known for its left-wing political activism. This post-911 anti-war song off their 2002 album Mobilize features excerpts from MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Happy MLK Day! I hope listening to these protest songs inspires you to carry on Dr. King’s legacy. Peace Out!
