Music is an incredible tool for progressive change. The power of music allows society to hold a mirror up to the world, to reflect on the circumstances occurring around us. The combination of the right lyrics, rhythm, and instruments can build a group identity, stir strong emotions, engage audiences, and invoke enough passion in people to take action against socio-cultural concerns. It can be argued that music challenges society like no other art-form, and to further demonstrate this concept we can look at how artists in America have used their musical platform to voice their concerns over racial issues.
Social change and music go hand in hand, however, it wasn’t until the introduction of high-fidelity audio recordings that allowed these messages to be relayed to the general public. Prior to this, you either had to live near a theatre to hear the music, or be wealthy enough to visit. The introduction of recording technology changed this, broadening people’s ability to listen significantly. New recording technology meant music was being recorded and distributed at record speeds, enabling singers to use their platforms to voice their concerns with ever-increasing audiences, enabling a remarkable emotional connection with listeners.
First, we look to 1939, America, to discuss music and social change. Until the late 30s, music hadn’t directly confronted issues of racism and segregation in the US. The majority of venues were segregated, with famous musicians such as Louis Armstrong being labeled as ‘Uncle Toms’, for performing in front of predominantly white audiences, where all the money was. The first venue to advertently integrate musicians was New York’s Cafe Society. The owner at the time, Barney Joseph explained: “I wanted a club where black and white people worked together behind the footlights and sat together out front.”
During Joseph’s ownership of New York’s Cafe Society, Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ was increasing in popularity, and spearheading the civil rights movement. Barney Joseph insisted that Billie came and sang that song in the Cafe Society, however, Billie was concerned. The song ‘Strange Fruit’, originally sung by Abel Meeropol, was a harrowing description of a postcard Meeropol had seen of black bodies hanging from a tree after a lynching. Back then, it was unheard of for a song to be so politically outward, and Holiday was increasingly aware that performing the song live could have caused an immense amount of trouble. Holiday explains after singing in the Cafe: “There wasn’t even a patter of applause when I finished. Then a lone person began to clap nervously. Then everybody was clapping.” The live performance had worked. ‘Black Fruit’ was sung when citizens marched together in support of Martin Luther King, Jr, and most recently used in the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Fast forward twenty years time, and a certain record label was really beginning to shine. A record label that still to this day is one of the most iconic to have ever been created. Motown Record Label was launched in 1959, and founded by Berry Gordy, the first African-American to run a record label. Motown came to dominate American music over the next couple of decades, and the stars that came with it took over the world. A fanciful concept that just years before would have been deemed impossible.
As Motown progressed, the artists matured with it in recognition of their public platform. Motown began to release music that went beyond pop. Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Innervisions’, The Temptations’ ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone’ were all considered statements of social awareness and black pride that mirrored the work of fellow musicians such as Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and Isaac Hayes. The work of the aforementioned artists was continued by the likes of Gil Scott-Heron and Funkadelic, and led to what we now know as hip-hop, with R&B and hip-hop artists long continuing the fight for equality.
Artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Beyonce, and Childish Gambino, among many more, have released albums in recent years attempting to combat America’s constant struggle with racial tensions. The songs aiming to end the racial conflicts come in various different forms, ranging from the distressing self-examination of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘The Blacker The Berry’ to Solange’s eloquent display of cultural respect as seen in ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’. However, perhaps the most recent powerful display of race related concerns in America was portrayed by Childish Gambino, through provocative imagery and symbolism. The 2018 video for ‘This Is America’ focused on themes of gun violence and how black culture is often appropriated by white audiences for mass entertainment.
One of the main things music does, whether by design or not, is reflect the ideas and lifestyles of creative and interesting, forward-thinking individuals. All of these musicians have been massive hits, with the respective artists producing radical and thought-provoking work that communicates with mass audiences, indicating that music has lost none of its power to foster change.
