A Century Of Black Music Against State Violence

Plus, what Pride month sounds like this year.

by Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna Paras Griffin/Getty Images Over the last month, musicians have added their voices to the protests across the country calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality. Songs like Lil Baby's "The Bigger Picture" and Terrace Martin's "Pig Feet" have become powerful new anthems for this moment in the Black Lives Matter movement.  These new tracks are part of a long legacy of witness and resistance in Black American music — a history that our colleagues traced in a new annotated playlist called We Insist: A Century Of Black Music Against State Violence. The playlist tells “the story of Black American music and its response to oppression, and particularly, state-sanctioned violence,” Ann Powers writes. The tracks “construct a kind of timeline of an ongoing movement within American music, stretching back more than a century. ... The songs here take on some of the ugliest stories with which America — and, since it goes international, the world — has to reckon.” Listen and learn, Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music What a week for new music: From the pop-punk riffs of D.C.’s Bad Moves and the genre-defying experimental pop of Arca to the summertime sadness of HAIM’s Women in Music Pt. III, hear selections and discussion of the best albums of the week on the All Songs Considered New Music Friday show. Dixie Chicks no more. Like Lady A, the trio has changed its name. Now simply The Chicks, the band says it wants to meet this moment. The announcement came with a political new single, “March March.” For the first time ever, two Tiny Desk Contest winners have teamed up on one song. Fantastic Negrito’s new song “I’m So Happy I Cry” featuring Tarriona “Tank” Ball rings out with the sounds of the two artists’ respective hometowns: Oakland and New Orleans. Featuring This week, The National Endowment for the Arts announced its newest class of National Heritage fellows. They range from Grammy-winning singer and songwriter William Bell to Karen Ann Hoffman, who specializes in Iroquois raised beadwork. There's a growing narrative highlighting the political power and progressiveness of the fans of Korean pop music, or K-pop. But the reality is far more complicated. June is Pride month — but this year, Pride feels a little different. We asked several music critics from the LGBTQ+ community to reflect on the relationship between celebration, protest, music and LGBTQ+ activism — from the liberatory sounds of disco to the songs that help one writer stand in his power as a Black queer man. The pop duo Chloe x Halle has come a long way since signing with Beyoncé's company five years ago. On their new album, the singers have matched her example in one important respect: They seem fully themselves. Tiny Desk Kisha Ravi/NPR When Sudan Archives came to the Tiny Desk, we knew it would be a special performance. She’s a truly singular artist, inspired by Irish and Sudanese music. But her performance is also noteworthy for another, more bittersweet reason: It was the last Tiny Desk concert we recorded before we all started working from home. While we wait to safely resume recording, the spirit of the Tiny Desk lives on with Tiny Desk (home) concerts.    Incoming Next week, we’ll be sharing our favorite albums and songs from the first half of 2020. In the meantime, catch up on All Songs Considered’s list of the best new artists of 2020 (so far). One More Thing Oh, to be a houseplant in the The Gran Teatre del Liceu… What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy