Gaye to Bey: Music of the Movement from then to now, by Star McFarlane
How the sounds of BLM are reflecting the past and changing the future
Imagine the scene. It's 1970s Oakland and you're at a Black Panther Party rally. It's outdoors but it's sweaty. Flared lapels, chains, fros and smoke – music. The distinctive funk of James Brown 'There was a Time' begins to fuzz out of the speakers somewhere in front of you. The crowd presses in and shoulder to shoulder begins to move. The band are on stage now. Running, dancing, stepping and singing. The crowd is joining in and the atmosphere is electric. In between the signature James Brown scatting of the bands' frontman, you begin to hear another word being chanted by the backing singers: "Freedom. Freedom. Freedom." The music builds and builds and as it does, you begin to hear a different phrase being repeated: "We want freedom, to determine, the destiny, of our community."
The Lumpen – resident band of the Black Panther Party – took this fundamental political slogan of the times and put it in music. Through this collision of ideology and rhythm, people began to take on both the chant and motives of the party without even realising it. Black Panther activists reference scenes like those described in the opening paragraph as moments of 'alrightness', as supporters of the movement came together with dancing and singing to rally for the cause.
Daphne A. Brooks – prolific writer, author and leading professor of African American studies at Yale University – speaks of unifying moments such as this.
"People were locked into the music, feeling a metaphysical sense of strength and hope and connection to one's fellow citizen and freedom fighter. To feel alright with oneself and alright with the world. A world that has told [black people] that there's everything wrong with [them]."
Music has a rich history of playing a role in political protest in the US when it comes to the 'Black Power' movement. From the soulful sound-tracking of the 1960s civil rights movement by artists such as Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke and Nina Simone, to the wide array of artists who have contributed music in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that have been taking place around the globe in the wake of George Floyd's death, such as megastars The Killers, Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar - music has increasingly become a rallying point of expression for supporters of the movement and those wanting to show solidarity with it.
As the US draws near to the inauguration of its' next president in office, many attribute the support of the African American vote as crucial to the success of the Biden-Harris ticket. In turn, many attribute the engagement of this demographic to the sheer size of the BLM protests that took place over the summer.
Recent polls suggest that throughout these protests, anywhere between 15-26 million people attended which would make it the largest protest movement to ever take place in United States history. When posed with the question 'Why now?', LA-based folk-punk musician and lyrical activist – Sunny War – makes an insightful reference to the pandemic and how it's affected both songwriters and protesters alike.
"What really elevated the cause was Covid 19. The majority of these 2020 protest songwriters and freedom fighters would not have been if it weren't for their newfound unemployment and free time.
"What other explanation is there? Where were these numbers before?
Why weren't the previous police killings protested by BLM in the same way and seeing this kind of response? Was it because there was no global pandemic or it just wasn't as important?"
Sunny War draws attention to the fact that, due to the pandemic and lockdowns, people have had the opportunity to educate themselves in a way they haven't before on not just the lived reality of Black people in the US but the statistics that prove it. For example, according to The Guardian's 'The Counted' database - where the UK has had 53 fatal police shootings in the past 24 years, the US has in the past year had an average of 59 in 24 days – the majority killed, African American.
Given this statistical backdrop of both the political moment presented by the recent election and the mass mobilisation of protesters across the country, it is no surprise that the musical response to these events has been both emotionally and politically charged. The harsh beats and harsh lyrics of music that's been created in tandem with the rise of the BLM movement, are no doubt reflective of the dark and violent source of the music.
The killing of George Floyd (if considered as the catalyst for this new wave of musical and political protest) can be heard reflected in the nature of the music being released too. The brutality and raw vulnerability of the death was tangible to any viewer who saw the viral video and this same feeling seems to have been captured in the lyrics of songs released in the months following the event.
Many lyrics openly describe the fear of African Americans surrounding police brutality and most tracks seem to be more 'honest monologue' than 'power anthem' - the precedent of which is mostly being set by famous rappers such as Childish Gambino, J.Cole, Pop Smoke and Kendrick Lamar.
Despite being a lesser-known artist, the references in the lyrics by Sunny War also reflect these personal experiences. Standout lyrics from her single 'Orange Man' (in reference to Trump) read:
"I'd watch my back and I'd run if I were you. I'd run for my life"
Standout lyrics of tracks released by other lesser-known artists that feed into the same deeply personal narratives include:
- "I just wanna live. God protect me" by Keedron Bryant who was aged only 12 when releasing his single 'I Just Wanna Live'.
- "I can't breathe. Will anyone fight for me?" by H.E.R from her single 'I Can't Breathe' directly in response to the death of George Floyd.
- "They told me put my hands up behind my head. I think they've got the wrong one. I'm sick and tired of running" by jazz, soul and R'n'B supergroup Dinner Party from their debut single 'Freeze Tag' and self-titled EP.
The cohesion in lyrics between genre and famous versus lesser-known artists also gives some indication of the vast decentralised nature of the movement. What once was a movement characterised by repetitive chants from well-known voices (aka The Lumpen or Sam Cooke) is slowly becoming a movement of complex stories from many different voices.
Whilst the nature of the music currently being created in response to BLM is explicit in meaning and emotion, it is important to consider occasions where music has played an important role in reflecting the politics of the moment through more implicit means. Jennifer Wilson – writer for The New York Times, The New Yorker and The New Republic on cultural issues – speaks to this.
"Maybe we don't need a new era of music or a new slate of artists or a new slate of songs. Maybe it's about changing the way we think about the relationship between music and the politics of the moment."
An example she gives is of when Beyoncé sang 'At Last' by Etta James at Barack Obama's first inauguration. The choice to have the love song classic as the soundtrack for the monumental moment in US Black history, as the first African American president was sworn into office, did the opposite of dampening the moment. For many onlookers, the sight of Obama's inauguration wasn't one they believed possible in their lifetime and the euphoric, gentle atmosphere created by the song seemed to fully reflect the feeling of the moment. This disrupts the idea that music associated with the black power movement has to be music that has been created directly in response to it and, once again, opens up who can interact with the politics of the moment and how.
What becomes apparent by talking to social commentators, academics and artists alike is that music – regardless of the content or politics of the moment – makes the highly emotional and politically charged black power movement accessible to everyone. Daphne Brooks speaks about how she thinks this accessibility is used in the context of protesting.
"Popular music expression can create a disruption in assumptions about normativity. If music is providing a counter-history to what we perceive to be the norm then I think that is [the definition of] protesting."
As the US sits on the cusp of a new political era, music plays an important role beyond protest and voting demographics. It provides a voice to individuals that often go unheard and becomes a way for others to have solidarity with those voices.
When videos went viral on social media of BLM protesters filling the streets in Minneapolis and crying out the words to Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright', a parallel of the present was drawn with the past as music yet again initiated a moment of solidarity and 'alrightness'. Music again invited onlookers to understand what is at the heart of the movement and listen, really listen, and understand the truth of what it means to be Black in America today.