Back in 1992, Ice-T’s heavy metal project Body Count released their self-titled debut album, which included one of the most controversial protest songs of all-time, “Cop Killer”. The lyrics express the frustration that many in the Black community were feeling. The original album version reference then Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates, and Rodney King who was brutalized by the […]
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Pharoahe Monch has played an integral role in the development of underground hip-hop, both as a solo artist and as one-half of the early 90s socially conscious rap duo Organized Konfusion. Monch’s latest project is the rap/rock hybrid trio th1rt3en, which also features Jack White’s drummer Daru Jones and sought-after guitarist Marcus Machado. On January 22 they released their debut […]
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This episode features activist, journalist, and rapper Awkword. We discuss his new tune “Ten Demands (featuring Jesse Jett)’ and his work with the Ten Demands for Justice initiative which provides a roadmap towards abolition. We also discuss how he views music has an extension of his activism and how rap and punk music saved his life. During the episode, we play portions […]
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2020 has been a terrible year for just about everyone. Everyone has their own ways of trying to cope, but if you happen to be a musician it is only natural that writing music would be one of your outlets of coping. The combination of being isolated due to the pandemic and the current state of the world creates the […]
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Every month JusticeAid features a curated themed song list and blog post. For July, the theme is Hands Up, Don’t Shoot. The blog features insightful writeups on 10 songs dealing with the timely issue of police brutality. It also includes both a Spotify and YouTube playlist which features additional tunes.
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The Haisla Nation hip-hop duo’s latest EP Born Deadly is the followup to their acclaimed album Trapline, which was one of the best protest albums of 2019. In a press statement, Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce and Darren “Young D” Metz said, “A lot of the music we wrote for this EP was inspired by the energy we feel at our […]
Learn more →“I Might Need Security” is one of four new tunes just released by acclaimed Chicago indie rapper Chance The Rapper. Chance is no stranger to exploring socially conscious themes, but this tune may be his most political. In the song, Chance starts off by declaring “I ain’t no activist, I’m the protagonist.” Whatever title you want to give him he […]
Learn more →The UK singer Jorja Smith just released a video for her 2016 topical single “Blue Lights”. The tune will also be featured on her debut album Lost & Found which is due out June 8, 2018. The video for the poignant anti-police brutality tune contains powerful visuals that humanizes the black lives that are wrongfully perceived as a threat by the police. […]
Learn more →The Proletariat were active in the Boston hardcore scene between 1980-85. Within the punk community they built a reputation for their explosive live shows and left-wing political lyrics. After a three decade hiatus the band reformed in 2016 and on May 18, 2018 the band is releasing a new EP, The Murder of Alton Sterling. The title track deals with the […]
Learn more →“Children” is the lead single for Chastity’s full length debut album, Death Lust, which is due out on July 13, 2018. Chastity is the brainchild of Brandon Williams and he uses heavy music to tackle heavy issues. “Children” addresses an incident of police brutality that took place in Whitby, Ontario, Canada on December 28, 2016. An off duty police officer […]
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