The New Sounds Of Protest And Hope

Plus, reading recommendations from across NPR.

by Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna  TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images  Over the past few weeks, our colleagues in the newsroom have reported on the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery and the nationwide protests that have emerged in their wake. It’s become a moment of national reckoning, and for us at NPR Music, it’s renewed our focus on the role of music in such movements for justice. To make sense of the relationship between music and activism at this moment, we turned to scholar Shana Redmond, professor of musicology and African-American studies at University of California, Los Angeles and author of Everything Man: The Form and Function of Paul Robeson and Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora. Her work focuses on music, race and politics – and in particular, on the role that music plays in social movements across the African diaspora. Later in today’s newsletter, you’ll find recommended reading and listening from NPR and NPR Music that connects past and present, and speaks directly to today’s events. Newsletter continues after sponsor message Q&A With Shana Redmond NPR Music: You quite literally wrote the book on music and social movements in the African diaspora, and there’s a long legacy to be examined. How has protest music evolved in the 21st century?  Shana Redmond: The 21st century protest tradition in music is rapidly evolving as new media and political collectives develop. There are still resonances of the iconic songs of the 20th century but even in those moments they are ripe for revision. For example, the amazing movement artist Toshi Reagon (daughter of movement icon and musician Bernice Johnson Reagon) has continued to perform folk songs in protest settings while also arranging new material in that tradition and composing larger-scale work such as the opera Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower (co-written with her mother). Of course, so much of our political speech in the present is taken from hip-hop. The song that best marks 21st-century protest is Kendrick Lamar’s anthem “Alright” (2015). It was born from flames and, after being used in the rebellions sparked in large part by the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, its repeated “We gon’ be alright” is this generation’s “We shall overcome.” Have you noticed music playing a specific role in the recent protests? Are there certain songs that you think will be associated with this moment in specific cities and/or nationally? Music is rarely remarked upon in mainstream coverage of these uprisings. There’s a reason for that. The music both organizes people and provides them joy and those are not the elements that popular media is interested in. Having said that, of course music is there. I’ve seen footage of “Alright” being used by protestors, while other musicians have taken to the tables or studio in order to respond. A few days ago, Los Angeles musician and producer Terrace Martin released “Pig Feet,” featuring Denzel Curry, Daylyt, Kamasi Washington and G Perico. The video is footage of the present protests and the lyricism announces and rails against continuing racial injustice and police violence. It’s large and engulfing, reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine. It starts with gunshots and ends with silence over the final minutes as the video scrolls through a list of names of people whose lives were taken by police. “Pig Feet” may not offer the soundbites and portability needed for live protest but its documentary nature will always reflect this moment. This moment also vibrates with DJs — including the lauded D-Nice, the women who spin for Black Girls Rock and 9th Wonder — who regularly spin on IG Live. We aren’t likely to see DJs spinning in the streets (though I’d love to!) but they have a big role right now too, playing for and to people who are struggling and in struggle. There is a worldwide industry built around music that has its own legacy of exploiting artists and reinforcing systemic racism, even as it’s been the conduit for so many forms of protest. What role can the music business play in working toward social change?  I think that the best thing that the industry can do is to get out of artists’ way. There are so many restrictions — from coercive branding to the refusal to release masters — that artists can’t freely do what they are ostensibly paid to do: create. The business of music is effectively killing the creation of music as labels try to find the next person who sounds like the last big seller. Free speech can’t truly exist when tied to profit. Let the artists be who they want and need to be. Do you have any recommended listening for our readers?  The sounds of black protest can be heard all over, so my first response is to listen widely and to sounds that may not fit into common sense notions of “the political.” I’d also encourage people to listen locally. Pay attention to the media of the musicians in your area as they produce stories reflective of your location, even as they also speak to larger issues and places. An accessible source for genealogies of black resistance and encouragement (they go hand in hand) are compilations and mixtapes. It appeared before the rebellion, but I really like and recommend Erykah Badu’s “Feel Better World…Love Ms.Badu.” Recommended Reading Last week, clarinetist Anthony McGill posted a solo performance of "America the Beautiful" to Facebook, tweaked achingly to a minor key. NPR Classical writer Tom Huizenga found the performance – and the statement McGill posted with it – so deeply moving that he called McGill up for a conversation about the performance, the response it inspired and why McGill believes even small gestures of protest can have a real effect. In recent days, Tiny Desk producer Bobby Carter has been reflecting on the ways artists have used their Tiny Desk concerts to express themselves, including songs of protest, cries for help, and messages of hope and rage. On this week’s Heat Check playlist update, NPR Music’s Sidney Madden offered a set of songs from Nubya Garcia, Savannah Cristina and KeiyaA that celebrate radical black joy in a time of pain. NPR Music critic Ann Powers also compiled a playlist of songs released just this week, including tracks from Crys Matthews, Marisa Anderson and D Smoke & SIR, that speak directly to this moment.  This week, Jazz Night in America shared a video short that traces the history of the cabaret card administered by the New York Police Department, which any musician needed to work in a New York nightclub. The card was used as a tool of discrimination, and took a toll on jazz legends like Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday.  Late last week, the team at NPR’s Code Switch podcast shared an episode about how much has – but more accurately, hasn’t – changed in the national conversation about police violence against black people in the past five years. For further reading, the Code Switch team also put together a collection of some of the most illuminating stories they’ve read recently about the uprisings across the nation and what brought the country to this moment.  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