In his essay, Kevin Brown describes the multiple ways that artists have used hip-hop since it’s inceptions as a form of musical freedom from black creators and listeners. He describes that in its early stages it was used as a form of protest by focusing “on both its poor roots and its inevitable rich future” (Brown, 315) in order for artists to become rich. We can see this today as an extension of this where rapping about one’s wealth can be almost antagonizing the system that is failing black people as well as giving them hope of what is to come. This idea of using money as a form of protest is definitely not the same as it’s original intentions as you see songs like Flo Rida’s “Zillionaire”. This isn’t a form of protest now but more of a way to gain clout. We then see it move in the late 80s and 90s to a form of more direct protest where Young describes artists like N.W.A. In an era of much increased policing especially against black young adults they fought back with songs like Fuck Tha Police which just like previous incarnations of hip-hop fought against the systematic oppression of black Americans. He then moves on to the more modern era of hip-hop where it becomes more main stream as many artists become more successful as much of hip-hop loses its rebellious edge. However, as Daphne Brooks describes in her article many artists are bringing this edge back as they create new protest songs in the era of Black Lives Matter.
In the last decade there has been an incredible resurgence in protest music thanks to artists like Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Childish Gambino, taking the genre back to its creative roots. Black Lives Matter and this protest music go hand in hand spreading a movement of anti-racist and sexist problems that our country faces today. “The new wave of black pop protest music captures and grapples with racial catastrophe in the 21st century: the prison-industrial complex, globalised wealth inequality and the violent expenditure of women and children” (Brooks). The movement continues to tackle long lasting issues of racial inequality and now with the help of artists like Beyoncé, sexism issues are integrated into the fight because the fight against inequality is not specific to race. These artists continue to make music addressing the issues of racial inequality talking it in a new way every time. For example, you have the song “This is America” by Childish Gambino which approaches the issue of American society’s tendency to quickly move on after instances of mass violence in the country specifically against minorities while after everyone moves on nothing is done to stop this violence. One example of a song that shows an artist approaching racism in a new and creative way using hip-hop is Joyner Lucas’ “I’m Not Racist” song which in the music video portrays a debate as he raps from the points of view of a white and black man. This song shows just how harmful and racist people can be even if they don’t believe they are. Overall rap has always been used as a form of protest and continues into its healthy future.
Kevin Young, “Final Chorus: Planet Rock, The End of the Record.” The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness. (Graywolf Press, 2012)
Daphne Brooks, "How #BlackLivesMatter Started a Musical Revolution," The Guardian, March 13, 2016
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