Maria Dunn has built her career around the kind of storytelling that sits at the heart of protest folk: songs about workers, marginalized communities, and the quiet resilience of ordinary people. Her latest album, Hardscrabble Hope, continues that tradition with a collection of deeply empathetic songs that blend political awareness with human-centered narratives.
Rather than delivering overt slogans, Hardscrabble Hope approaches protest through storytelling. Dunn focuses on individuals caught within larger systemsโworkers in extractive industries, people struggling with mental health, and communities facing social isolation. The albumโs title itself reflects this balance: it’s a hardscrabble path towards a better world – but we must remain hopeful.
One of the recordโs most direct social commentaries appears in โCoal Is a Thirsty Business,โ which examines the human and environmental costs of resource extraction. In 2020, the Alberta government repealed the 1976 Coal Policy that had long protected the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains from coal exploration and mining. The move sparked widespread opposition from citizens concerned about the environmental threats to the region, which supplies much of the provinceโs drinking water. With southwestern Alberta also facing severe drought in recent years, critics argue that coal mining could further strain already scarce water resourcesโsummed up by rancher Laura Laingโs warning that โcoal is a thirsty business.โ
Another track, โReach Out,โ addresses the growing crisis of mental health and suicide with deep compassion:
“Why is there money for our jails, countless legal wars But when it comes to healing minds, endless waits in corridors? When will we realize our greatest measureโs how we treat Someone asking for our help in their deepest need?” – from Reach Out
Another song that captures Dunn’s beautiful storytelling is “A Pill for a Broken Heart”, which highlights the experiences of people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton, Canada, inspired by Eric Riceโs video This is Where We Live. One participant recalls a psychiatrist explaining that many unhoused people are dealing with โbroken hearts,โ reflecting deep emotional trauma rather than something that can be fixed with medication. The text also notes that research shows people are more likely to experience homelessness if they faced childhood adversity such as neglect, abuse, domestic violence, parental addiction, or time in foster care.
โPekiwewin,โ which uses a Cree word meaning โcoming home,โ tells the story of an Indigenousโled relief camp in Edmonton that provides safety, care, and a sense of home for people experiencing homelessness.
Meanwhile, pieces like โMister Potterโ cover whistleblowing within the health care industry, and โAccordiona/Over the Hillsโ is a playful tribute to the patience and support of family, friends, and roommates who live withโand encourageโsomeone learning to play a noisy new instrument during lockdown.
Musically, Hardscrabble Hope expands Dunnโs acoustic folk foundation with brass, Celtic-influenced melodies, and warm ensemble arrangements produced by Shannon Johnson of The McDades. There’s a sense of communal spirit to the album – these songs sound like they’re meant to be sung as a group, as a community, and on the streets.
Ultimately, Hardscrabble Hope stands as a reminder that protest music does not always need to be loud. Dunnโs songs work through empathy, observation, and storytelling, illuminating the lived experiences behind political debates. By focusing on the dignity and resilience of everyday people, the album reinforces one of folk musicโs oldest traditions: giving voice to those whose stories too often go unheard.
What an awful year. A genocide continued to unfold in Gaza, over 20 million people are in desperate need of food and medical aid in the DRC, and the war in Sudan, now in its third year, is showing the rest of the world how truly horrific the human species can be – with systematic rape used as a weapon of war and over half a million people on the brink of starvation.
As the rest of the world watches these horrors unfold, the powerful don’t take even the slightest break. While breaking international rule of law, the president of the USA started the year off with a literal bang by doing what that government does best: dropping bombs and kidnapping a head of state. With no rest for the wicked, Trump then threatened to colonise Greenland. And in Iran, two weeks into 2026, thousands of people have been killed, largely by authorities, after protests erupted in the country in December.
The year is off to a rough start.
However, we can’t give up, and we can’t give in. While global media often focuses on the negative, we can’t forget that there are so many people dedicating every ounce of their being to protecting our environment, helping people in need, fighting poachers, reporting the truth under a rain of bombs – the list goes on.
Governments around the world are threatening artists with long, harsh prison sentences – yet they continue to sing; corporations are pressing criminal charges against people for rescuing animals from being murdered – yet they continue to save animals; people are being oppressed for their sexual orientation, colour of their skin, or religious beliefs – yet they continue to march in protest.
From Bulgaria to Nepal to Morocco, young people stood up to old powers and demanded immediate action – calling for better healthcare, more funding towards education, an end to corruption and impunity, and real environmental action.
We should all do what we can. Everything matters, and a thousand small actions amount to a big ball of kindness. In 2025, artists did what they do best: they analysed what was unfolding in front of their empathetic eyes, and they created music. Music that brings awareness, music that fights fascism, music that unifies.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it. Protest music never died. There is a plethora of protest musicians out there and plenty of independentmediacovering their work. And for further proof, check out our recently published list of top 40 protest songs of 2025 (a list DJ General Strike narrowed down from over 1,000 songs) and our Selected Protest Music of 2025 Playlist, which holds over 7 hours worth of revolutionary music.
We must stand in solidarity with everyone who is oppressed – whether that be our fellow humans, the animals, or Mother Earth herself. And we’ve got the music to go along with the resistance.
Below are ten examples, a few favourite albums of the friends and collaborators of Shouts.
This is music from the rooftops.
Contributing to this list were Salma Ahmed, Kevin Gosztola, Santiago Campodรณnico, Mat Ward, and Riley Rowe.
Armageddon In A Summer Dress by Sunny War
Sunny Warโs Armageddon in a Summer Dressis one of the beautiful tapestries that were woven this year. Warโs album captured many genres through its songs, and these genres were accompanied by diverse stories narrated in every song. She gives you hope and then takes it away, only to give it back again. Her songs about loneliness and poverty feel fitting for the times one finds themselves in. The same can be found in the songs that tried to fight against fascism and the corruption suffocating America.
Armageddon in a Summer Dress is the kind of album that stays with you even if months have passed since you first listened to it. You might catch yourself singing โBad times, stay awayโ without realising it. And when everything gets dark in the world around you, you start hoping that Warโs words, when she sings โBut you did it once before / I know youโll do it once more,โ will come true. Even if nothing changed, Warโs masterpiece would be the speck of hope convincing you that it is never too late.
Words by Salma Ahmed, contributing writer for Shouts โ Music from the Rooftops! Read her full review of the album here, and more of Salma’s articles can be found here.
Andrija Tokic did such a fabulous job producing, engineering, and mixing this record. It’s full-sounding, and without losing any edge, there’s an effervescence to Sunny War’s music as she provides a working-class soundtrack for late-stage capitalism. Standout track is “Walking Contradiction,” a collaboration with Crass co-founder Steve Ignorant.
The Viagra Boys’ newest album, viagr aboys, is an ironic, beautifully arranged, hilariously self-aware, crude, and profound meditation on contemporary life. Its power as a protest album lies in the band’s ability to point at the inherent absurdity and injustice of the systems that underpin everyday life, and either mock them, portray their consequences, or lament their effects.
Everything from the quick solutions often sold for coping with eating habits (with songs like Pyramid of Heath), to the unfocused and radical subgroups the precarious job market has created (Dirty Boyz), this album has something to say. Moreover, it says it concisely, backed by one of the most focused punk recordings of the decade. viagr aboys, like all great records, enters through the ears but sticks in the brain for what lies underneath the layers.
Words by Santiago Campodรณnico, contributing writer for Shouts โ Music from the Rooftops! More of Santiago’s articles can be found here.
รl by Mawiza
Since its British birth, metal music has been shaped, led, and seen as an art form of and for European and American crowds. And while artists from Brazil, Japan, or other cultural hubs have broken through the international veil, itโs often seen as a boundary-breaking statement to make metal music if youโre outside the norm of the aforementioned demographic. For example, Mawiza is a metal group based in the Mapuche Nation territory in Chile. They use their indigenous roots and musicalities to make very distinct and powerful music, chanting in their Mapuzungun dialect and riffing in earthy rhythms. With a guest feature by Gojira and praise from the likes of Slipknot to Mastodon, รl by Mawiza is a stunning example of a protest album, not only for bringing awareness and legitimacy to metal music made by indigenous people, but also for the anti-logging and decolonization messages in certain songs. If your interest is piqued by folk-groove metal like The Hu or Sepultura, enjoy this album, mastered by Alan Douches (Converge, Chelsea Wolfe).
Samora Pinderhughes is a US composer, pianist, vocalist, and multidisciplinary artist who, in collaboration with The Healing Project, a community-engaged arts initiative he leads, released a very special mixtape this year. Black Spring honours the 100 years since the birth of writer and activist James Baldwin, connecting Baldwinโs legacy to contemporary struggles. The work blends poetic piano, electronics, and neo-soul, bringing together musicians, vocalists, and poets from his New York community to create a collective artistic voice.
Words by Halldรณr Kristรญnarson, managing editor of Shouts โ Music from the Rooftops!
Social Cohesion by Mudrat
I listen to 30 protest albums a month for the monthly political albums round-up I write at greenleft.org.au. A standout for me this year was Social Cohesion, the debut album from Naarm/Melbourne-based punk-hip hop artist Mudrat, who is creating a real stir with his innovative and uncompromising music. This was solidified by seeing him electrify an audience of activists at Rising Tide, a blockade of the world’s biggest coal port in Muloobinba/Newcastle. Check out his earworm “I Hate Rich Cunts”, which has passed 1 million plays on Spotify alone.
Saba Alizadehโs Temple of Hope is the kind of album that could be enough to carry an artistโs legacy on its shoulders with no backup. The music composition by the Iranian artist takes you to a different world. One that is filled with hope, dreams, loss, and even death. With the protests recently happening in Iran, Templeof Hopefeels like it predicted it ever since it was released. The song To Become a Martyr, One Has to Be Murdered could be played while you are on the edge of your seat, watching a nation rise up. It’s not just Alizadehโs composition that makes the album one of 2025โs best, but the vocals, carefully chosen and placed in the right songs, are the missing piece of the puzzle. Maybe as the years passed, Iranians will find themselves walking into a new nation that they made become their own temple of hope.
Words by Salma Ahmed, contributing writer for Shouts โ Music from the Rooftops! Read more of Salma’s articles can be found here.
They’re Burning the Boats by Bambu
One of my favourite albums of the year is They’re Burning the Boats, by Filipino-American rapper Bambu. The veteran musician has been in the rap game for a minute – and it shows. There’s a layer of maturity and understanding in his lyrics, something that comes with experience. Bambu is a father, and his hope for a more just world for his daughter shines through on this album. He wants to leave a legacy, and he makes sure he spits the truth in every song he makes or is part of. He gets straight to the point and tears down the fascist forces that are trying to divide us all. He takes hard shots with harder rhymes and makes it look easy. With sometimes carnival-sounding beats from Fatgums and each song holding its own, this is one piece I’ve been spinning again and again this year. It makes me want to go out and fight fascists and also stay at home and hold my daughter – all at once.
Words by Halldรณr Kristรญnarson, managing editor of Shouts โ Music from the Rooftops!
The Film by SUMAC and Moor Mother
The Film is a visceral jaw-dropping concept album constructed like an original motion picture soundtrack. The pairing of a sludge metal band with a bona fide artist like Moor Mother delivers on all fronts. The compositions pound away at you. Is this what it’s like to decolonize your mind? Standout track is “Scene 1,” but it doesn’t really have songs. Each “scene,” and the few tracks in between, have to be heard together to appreciate this statement of artistic freedom.
In the same vein of anti-war films like โAll Quiet on the Western Frontโ or โWarfare,โ 1914 shines a light on the pain and loss of war to demonstrate an anti-war message through blackened death metal. On the surface, their new album – Viribus Unitis – may appear to glorify the violent battles of WWI, however, the sheer terror and death tolls that are lyrically showcased become a clear warning against continued wars in modern day, and therefore, the perfect protest album, especially considering the bandโs Ukrainian origin. Mastered by Tony Lindgren (Enslaved, Leprous), be sure to give this album a listen if youโre into Rotting Christ, Kanonenfieber, or even Type O Negative.
Grit and soul is what you get on Kirby’s new album, Miss Black. After years of working deep inside the music industry, living in New York, the Memphis-born, Mississippi-raised artist went back to her homeland to create her newest work. She describes it as a record โabout growing up in Mississippi and understanding how the fight of your ancestors, the love of your family, the blood on the land and the joy of the Sunday choir shaped how you see the world.โ And it simply sounds amazing.
Words by Halldรณr Kristรญnarson, managing editor of Shouts โ Music from the Rooftops!
Happy New Year comrades. This is DJ General Strike, host of the weekly protest music radio show, Protest Tunes on 91.3 KBCS FM in Seattle, WA. I broadcast 2 hours of radical protest music of all genres and eras every Wednesday at 9 PM. 2025 was a great year for protest music, as there was certainly a lot to protest this year in the US, given the rise of MAGA-fascism under Trump’s second term. The massive No Kings Protests in June and October inspired many great protest songs, as did the ICE-Out movement against Trump’s immigration crackdown, the cover-up and eventual limited release of the Epstein files, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by Trumpโs tariffs and DOGE cuts, and the attacks on the transgender and LGBT community.
Over the last year, Iโve compiled a playlist of over 1,100 of these protest songs, which you can listen to in its entirety here, and Iโve made 4 shows on my top protest songs of each season, or what I call โMolotov Hot Tracks.โ Iโve painstakingly narrowed that high volume of songs down to my top 40 protest songs of 2025. I aired most of these songs on my show on New Yearโs Eve, which you can listen to an archive of here.
The songs are organized by genre below for ease of listening (and alphabetically within genre), and you can also listen to all 40 on this Spotify Playlist. Without further ado, hereโs my top 40 Protest Songs of 2025.
Folk
1. Hundred Year Hunger by Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg is an English protest singer-songwriter, author, and activist. The song about the Gaza genocide and the historical events that led to it was inspired by the book Hundred Year Hunger by E. Mark Windle. The song is also a benefit for the Amos Trustโs Gaza Appeal. This single was released on September 8th to coincide with the humanitarian aid Global Sumud Flotilla for Gaza.
2. Little Flame by Carsie Blanton
Carsie Blanton is a singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New Orleans, US. About this song, just released December 5th, she said, “I’ve been learning a bunch of protest songs, and I had that itchy-brain feeling that I might be searching for a song that didn’t exist yet. I wanted to tie together the loose ends of history into one long tapestry of solidarity; a kind of unified theory of liberation movements.”
3. Everyone’s in the Street by Dispatch ft. Ani DiFranco
Dispatch is an indie/roots band from Boston, US, and this track features Grammy-winning feminist folk-rock singer-songwriter, author, and activist Ani DiFranco. This song connects modern protest movements to the legacy of social change activism. Dispatch said, “This song pays homage to some of the great activists of our time, John Lewis, Delores Huerta, Alice Stokes Paul, and Lois Curtis. It highlights the importance of gathering in community to pursue justice and wage peace.”
4. No Kings by Jesse Welles ft. Joan Baez
Jesse Welles is a protest singer-songwriter and guitarist from Arkansas, US. He released a solo version of this song the day before the October No Kings protests, and in early November, he performed it live with legendary 84-year-old folk singer and activist, Joan Baez, at his San Francisco Fillmore concert. A couple of weeks later, they recorded the duet in-studio and just released it on December 12th.
5. Amerikkka’s Veins by Jordan Smart
Jordan Smart is a singer-songwriter currently based in Ludlow, US. This song is the opening track on his album Confessions of a CEO. Jordan recorded the tracks between one and three takes at Small Blue Studio in Lexington, Kentucky, with J. Tom Hnatow. This is a powerful anthem against police brutality, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
6. Heavy Foot by Mon Rovia
Mon Rovia is a child refugee of the Liberian Civil War, who was adopted at age 7 and brought to Tennessee, US, and created a sound that he dubbed โAfro-Appalachian.โ About this song, he said, โHeavy Footโ lays bare the scars of a broken system, all under the weight of a heavy-footed government. Yet, through this gravity, it sings of unbreakable unityโreminding us that in the face of oppression, our love and solidarity can defy the forces that try to hold us down.โ
7. Fire In America by Sasha Allen
This viral protest song by transgender singer-songwriter and former The Voice finalist Sasha Allen uses far-right activist Charlie Kirkโs assassination in September as a lens to examine the perpetual cycle of violence in America. The song sparked controversy after MSNBC’s Joy Reid praised its lyrics, leading to widespread conservative backlash online.
8. If the People Unite by Seth Staton Watkins
Seth Staton Watkins is a folk singer from St. Louis, US. Though from the States, he primarily sings and is best known for his renditions of traditional/rebel Irish tunes and sea shanties. He records and produces all of his music in his home studio. He describes this anti-Trump rallying cry as “a song to succor a weary soul through the bitter cold of winter”.
Rock
9. A World of Love and Care by Ezra Furman
Ezra Furman is a Jewish transwoman and Boston, US-based singer-songwriter and author, who previously released three albums as Ezra Furman and the Harpoons. This utopian song about building a better world is off her new album Goodbye Small Head, released in May.
10. The List by Moon Walker
Brooklyn, US-based indie-rock artist Harry Springer composes, produces, and performs all of Moon Walker’s music in his bedroom. He started Moon Walker at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to pass the time and make some extra money selling songs to music libraries. Since then, Moon Walker has had viral success on TikTok and has now amassed over 100 million streams and sold out shows across America. He released this single about Trumpโs Epstein Files cover-up in October.
11. Big Crime by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts
Young is a Legendary singer, songwriter, and musician formerly of bands Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. This song, released September 8th, lambasts Donald Trump, features his backing band, The Chrome Hearts, and was recorded during a sound check at a concert on Chicagoโs Northerly Island.
R&B/Pop
12. Build A Ballroom by A Gift from Todd & Ken Sandberg
A Gift From Todd is a Baltimore, US-based artist and content creator. This viral a capella protest song against Trumpโs demolition of the east wing of the White House to build a $300 million ballroom funded by private donors was first shared on TikTok in October. It gained significant traction on social media, leading to various duets and collaborations, notably this version with actor, singer, and podcaster Ken Sandberg, which they released together in November.
13. Sleeves Up by Crys Matthews
Crys Matthews is a former drum major and classically-trained clarinetist turned folk singer. Matthews says she is using her voice to answer Dr. Martin Luther King’s call to be “a drum major for justice.” She was born and raised in a small town in North Carolina by an A.M.E. preacher. She released this post-Trump-election call to action on inauguration day.
14. Pretrial (Let Her Go Home) by Fiona Apple
The three-time Grammy-winning genre-bending singer-songwriter and pianist released this rallying cry for pretrial reform in May, her first original song in five years. โPretrial (Let Her Go Home)โ is a protest anthem shaped by Fiona Appleโs activism, including years of court watching, community organizing, and listening to the women impacted by pretrial incarceration in Prince Georgeโs County, Maryland, as a volunteer with the organization CourtWatch PG.
15. Lady Liberty by Galactic & Irma Thomas
Galactic is a funk band from New Orleans, US, formed in 1994. Irma Thomas is an 84-year-old pillar of American R&B and blues history known as the โSoul Queen of New Orleansโ. They released this single about the erosion of democracy under Trump in January, off their collaborative album Audience With The Queen, which dropped in April.
16. Reparations by Kirby
Kirby is a soul singer-songwriter from Mississippi, US. Before pursuing a solo career, she was a songwriter for stars like Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Beyoncรฉ, and Paul McCartney. This track, calling for reparations for slavery, was inspired by her grandparentsโ story and her ancestors who were slaves on the Dockery cotton plantation. Itโs off her sophomore album, Miss Black America, released in August.
Reggae/Ska
17. Last Call In America by Fishbone ft. George Clinton
Fishbone is an all black ska/funk/rock fusion band formed in 1979 by brothers John and Phillip Fisher and their friends in junior high school in Los Angeles, US. This song features the godfather of funk, George Clinton, and is off their newest album, Stockholm Syndrome, which dropped June 27. The song speaks directly to the current social, economic, and political climate in America under Trump’s second term.
18. World Citizen by Irie Souljah & Kabaka Pyramid
Irie Souljah is a Spanish Reggae artist, born and raised in Barcelona, who relocated to Jamaica in 2014. After dropping out of music school in his mid-teens, he started going to street parties with his friends, where he discovered reggae icons and started the band, Mystic Souldiers, which became one of the biggest reggae acts in Spain. The track features conscious contemporary Jamaican reggae artist Kabaka Pyramid. This single, released in July, critiques anti-immigrant policies around the world and calls for truly open borders, where every person is considered a โworld citizenโ with freedom to move and migrate as they need or desire.
19. The Way You Tune It Out by JER
JER is a YouTuber, musician, composer, and music educator who hosts the YouTube channel Skatune Network, where they post ska covers of popular songs, earning the fan nickname “The CEO of Ska”. They also play trombone for ska-punk band We Are the Union. They released this single, about normalizing and turning a blind eye to injustice, in June, off their album Death of the Heart, which came out in August.
20. Street Cry by Young Veterans, Sizzla, Luciano & Turbulence
Young Veterans Music is an independent record label operating out of Kingston, Jamaica. They brought together 3 prominent conscious Jamaican reggae artists for this song; Luciano, Jamaican second-generation roots reggae singer whose lyrics promote consciousness and eschew slackness (vulgarity); Sizzla, a contemporary reggae artist noted for his high number of releases (56 albums to date); and Turbulence, a reggae artist known for mixing roots reggae with elements of dancehall and Rastafarian spirituality. Released in August, the song calls attention to the struggles of the poor and the need for systemic change to end poverty.
Hip-Hop
21. Inamo, Customs Enforcement by Bambu
Bambu is a Filipino-American community activist and rapper from Los Angeles, US, now based in Oakland. Bambu utilizes his music as a tool for a larger goal – to reach and support youth who face issues of poverty and gang violence that he experienced, and move them to question what goes on in the world, with the eventual goal of organizing and activism. This song against Trumpโs immigration crackdown (inamo is a curse word in Tagalog) is off his newest album, They’re Burning the Boats, released in October.
22. Sick, Sad World by Bob Vylan
Bob Vylan is an English political punk-rap duo based in London, also known as The Bobs, as both of them go by the stage name Bobbie Dylan (with different spellings). Their leading the crowd in the Gaza solidarity protest chant “death, death to the IDF” during their performance at Glastonbury Festival this June resulted in their visas for an upcoming tour in the US being revoked. They released this single about the cost of living crisis on October 10th.
23. rage by Dezi
DEZIโs an Los Angeles, US-based alt-pop/hip-hop artist whose music comes from embracing every aspect of her identity. โMy whole life is about riding the in-between. Iโm Cuban American, Iโm bisexual, Iโm very femme but also very masc. For a long time, I felt like I had to choose which parts of myself to show, but now Iโve stopped trying to be some sort of perfect package.โ About this song, she said, โIt’s a song for the people who feel their best isn’t enough, who were sold an unattainable dream due to the systems our government created.โ
24. THREAT LEVEL ORANGE by Earth to Eve
Earth to Eve is the solo project of Los Angeles, US-based indie-pop artist Eve Weisberger. Almost every aspect of her songs, the writing, lyrics, production, mixing, and mastering, is all done by her alone. She released this viral anti-Trump protest song this July, which was designed to be sung easily at protests.
25. No Kings In The USA by Gangstagrass ft. Allison Russell
Gangstagrass is a Bluegrass and hip-hop fusion group, best known for the theme song of the FX show Justified. Founded in 2006 by US producer Rench to “make super funky jams of hip-hop and bluegrass that bring together the best of both worlds.” They released this song featuring Canadian roots artist Allison Russell, to coincide with โNo Kingsโ protests on June 14th.
26. 3.5% by Hyphen
Hyphen is an English rapper and songwriter of Indian origin who was working in finance and feeling depressed and lacking purpose, and started making music to help him deal with depression, which gave him a new sense of purpose. This track is inspired by the 3.5% rule, developed by political scientist Erica Chenoweth, which suggests that when about 3.5% of a population actively participates in a nonviolent protest movement, it’s highly likely to succeed in achieving major political change. This song is off Hyphenโs new EP, This Might Be It, released in August.
27. EVERYTHING’S ON FIRE by Lil Darkie
Lil Darkie is an experimental rapper, producer, and visual artist known for pushing the boundaries of genre and expression from Long Beach, US. Blending elements of hip-hop, punk, metal, folk, country, and electronic music, his work is raw, aggressive, and unapologetically honest. This track, about the rising cost of living and rising fascism in the US, is off his new album USD, released July 24th.
28. fucked up by Macklemore
Four-time Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Macklemore came up with the persona “Professor Macklemore” for an art project involving a superhero while attending High School in Seattle, US. He rose to international success collaborating with producer Ryan Lewis as the duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Macklemore released this protest single against Trumpโs second term and the genocide in Gaza in February, with all proceeds going to UNRWA.
29. START A FIRE by The Neighborhood Kids
The Neighborhood Kids are a conscious hip-hop collective from San Diego, US, on a mission to spark unity and drive social change through music. DAMAG3 is a transgender alternative hip-hop artist who started out making music in their bedroom outside of New Orleans, and released their first songs in 2021. The Neighborhood Kids and DAMAG3 released this collaborative anti-capitalist call to arms in July.
30. Sirens by SkyDxaddy
SkyDxddy is a pop/hip-hop singer/songwriter who calls her genre โTraumacore.โ She says about herself โI started making music after everything I went through, so many people go through trauma, of all kinds. And weโre bred not to talk about it. Thatโs so harmful. My music allows the listener to feel it, process it, and feel power from the fact that they made it out.โ This song about militant resistance to violence against women, is off SkyDxddy’s debut album, TRAUMACORE: RAW AND UNCUT, which she released this May.
Metal/Hardcore
31. PO$T AMERICAN by Dead Pioneers
Dead Pioneers emerged as an extension of vocalist Gregg Deal’s performance art, blending music with critical cultural commentary. Rooted in themes of identity and resistance, the bandโs sound acts as a platform for addressing the complexities of Indigenous experience. They released this single against white nationalism and American patriotism in January, which is also the title track of their newest album released in April.
32. Clockworked ft. LANDMVRKS
Stray from the Path is a Political hardcore band formed in 2001 in Long Island, US. โTheir music fuses hardcore with metallic precision, hip-hop swagger, punk urgency, and political commentary.โ This song against apathy and conformity to rising fascism is the title track off their new and final album, Clockworked, released May 30th, and features French metalcore band LANDMVRKS.
33. Scene 1 by SUMAC & Moor Mother
Pacific Northwest trio Sumac is a post-metal supergroup formed in 2014. It features the Vancouver, Canada-based Nick Yacyshyn, Seattle, US-based Brian Cook, and Vashon Island, US-based Aaron Turner. Moor Mother is a Jazz poet, rapper, musician, and activist from Philadelphia, US, of the bands Irreversible Entanglements and 700 Bliss. This song against European colonialism and anti-black racism is off their collaborative concept album The Film, released in April.
34. HOSTAGE (they will not erase us) by TX2
TX2, AKA Timothy Evan Thomas, is a queer musician who blends hip hop, metal, and punk rock from Fort Collins, US. TX2’s first went viral on TikTok Tok and he now has 1.3 million followers and 45 million likes on the platform. TX2 also started the “X Movement”, which is all about bringing awareness to mental health issues, and has been donating proceeds from this song to The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for the LGBTQ+ community. About this track, which is a rallying cry for equality, visibility, and justice, for the queer and trans community, which he released in April, TX2 said, “This is our anthem. They will not erase us.โ
Punk
35. Down to Riot by Cheap Perfume
Cheap perfume is an unapologetically political feminist punk band out of Denver, US, formed in 2015. About this single, released July 18th, off their album Don’t Care. Didn’t Ask (released this October). Guitarist-vocalist Jane No said, โThis working-class anthem was inspired by hearing so many people after the pandemic complaining that โNo one wants to work anymore.โ
36. Protect Trans Kids by Evan Greer & Ryan Cassata
This song is a collaboration of two trans activist-musicians: Ryan Cassata, a trans masc singer-songwriter, actor, YouTuber, speaker, and activist based in New York, US; and Evan Greer, a trans fem digital rights activist, writer, and musician from Boston, US. They released this punk anthem this Trans Day of Visibility (March 31st). About the track, Greer said, “The goal of this song is to remind people that itโs actually pretty f–ing simple: Let [trans] kids be kids. Stop bullying them. Just leave them alone.โ
37. BRAINROT by Grandson
Grandson is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, rapper, and activist based in Los Angeles, US, who began releasing music in 2015. BRAINROT was his first new release in two years since the Venom film theme song, and the lead single off his album INERTIA, which dropped in September. About the song, Grandson said, โโBRAINROTโ is about the distraction of the internet, the way our attention span is weaponized and attacked by technology companies to prevent any real momentum building on the pressing issues of our generation.โ
38. Bad Apple by Lambrini Girls
Lambrini Girls are an English punk rock duo formed in Brighton by Phoebe Lunny and Selin Macieira-Boลgelmez, who are both LGBT and neurodivergent. They took their name from Lambrini, a brand of sweet sparkling pear cider, associated with low-class women. This anti-police brutality track is off their album Who Let the Dogs Out, released in January.
39. Not In Your Mouth, None Of Your Business by Peaches
Peaches is a queer feminist Canadian electroclash musician, performance artist, director, and producer known for her sexually transgressive persona. She began her musical career in the 1990s as part of the folk trio, Mermaid Cafe, and is now 59 years old. She released this single in October, the lead single off her first album in over a decade, No Lube So Rude, due in 2026. This song is a rousing battle cry for bodily autonomy and a protest against the Trump administrationโs attacks on trans and queer peopleโs freedom.
Jazz
40. A Plea by Flea
This Eight-minute jazz single was released on December 2nd by the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, and second-best bassist of all time (according to Rolling Stone). He was first called “Flea” as a teenager for his seeming inability to sit still, and the nickname stuck. This track is the first preview of his forthcoming solo jazz album. Flea describes the songโs lyrics as โyearning for a place beyond, a place of love, to help us all to live harmoniously and productively in a way thatโs healthy for the world.”
