This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. All Rights Reserved. And we turn to heroes in times of trouble. All Rights Reserved. KENDRICK LAMAR: (Rapping) We gon' (ph) be all right. That's all that matters. Do you feel me? CHANG: In New York, the song "Dior" by the late Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke has become a rallying cry, which might seem odd because the lyrics aren't directly political. Decade-End Top Artists; ... 10 New Black Lives Matter Protest Songs That You Have to Hear. Listen now only on Spotify: Songs of empowerment and pride. Do Not Sell My Personal Information Jay Z, "spiritual" Jay Z's hypnotic, fragmented "spiritual" – his first new solo song in three years – … It also finds the singer addressing her Texan roots as well as referencing the COVID-19 pandemic , the West African Orishas Oshun and Yemaya , and Black Lives Matter activist Tamika Mallory . PUBLIC ENEMY: Fight the power. POP SMOKE: (Rapping) When it rains, it pours. "Rockstar Black Lives Matter Remix" On June 12, 2020, a remix of the song, titled "Rockstar Black Lives Matter Remix", was released. BIG FLOYD: (Rapping) It's going down. I Cry Usher. But I haven't seen enough Black Lives Matter playlists---and especially one curated by a Black woman from the South like myself. Hip-hop is the soundtrack to Black Lives Matter protests, continuing a tradition that dates back to the blues June 25, 2020 8.20am EDT Tyina Steptoe , University of Arizona KELLY: Houston-based music journalist Brandon Caldwell says he's heard Big Floyd's verse on "Sittin' On Top Of The World" at local protests. Key lyrics: "Cops wanna pull me over, embarrass me/ Abusin' power, you never knew me thought I was arrogant/ As a juvenile, police pulled they guns like they scared of me." MAC DRE: (Rapping) Man, I'm feelin' myself. He's from New York. Now, some of the songs heard at the current wave of Black Lives Matter protests are a little different. Machine Gun Kelly and the Blink-182 drummer teamed up for a cover of Rage Against the Machine's incendiary 1993 broadside against racism with a video that reflects on the L.A. protests. All rights reserved. I tried to get a peak into the process of writing it, but Winans had trouble taking any of the credit for it. Revolution Songs For The Black Lives Matter Movement. CHANG: The track now rings out at protests as a way to honor the memory of George Floyd. ALPHONSE PIERRE: "Dior" itself is basically just Pop Smoke talking about the latest clothes he got, just getting fly on the block. Since the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in late May, tens of thousands of Americans haven taken to the streets to protests against police brutality and the killing of Black and brown men and women by armed officers. He says Pop Smoke embodied a lifestyle that Black kids in the city dream of. Privacy Policy To simplify subscriber access, we have temporarily disabled the password requirement. And anytime you have a popular artist who has passed, their music goes to a different level. Key lyrics: "When I go out in my car, I don't think twice/ But if you're the wrong color skin/ You grow up looking over both your shoulders/ In the land of the free/ How many killings must one man watch in his home/ Till he sees the price on the TV?/ Eight measured minutes and 46 seconds/ Another boy in the bag/ Another stain on the flag.". Billie Jean, Billie Jean. Some of the songs being played during the Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. aren't overtly political. We gon' be all right. © 2019 Billboard Media, LLC. Terms of Use And protesters in Oakland have been marching to its funky groove. Released June 8, 2020, “Black Lives Matter” released in support of the Black Lives Matter movement that has had a re-surge in the News and Media since the death of George Floyd. BIG FLOYD: (Rapping) You know what I'm saying? ", The NBA All-Star and Dame D.O.L.L.A. B-I-G, it's F-L-O-Y-D. Watch me raise up in my droptop seat. Teejayx6 and TM88, “BLACK LIVES MATTER” Detroit rapper Teejayx6 teamed up with Lil Uzi Vert producer TM88 for a protest song simply titled “BLACK LIVES MATTER… From 1982 to 2020, here are 15 memorable records and lyrics rooted in protest. “There are songs that are written that come through you,” Winans shared. But, like Pop Smoke's "Dior" and Mac Dre's "Feelin' Myself," it's also a celebration of home, of community and of being Black in America. It is the first song he’s released while self-isolating, and his first major solo release of 2020. Google's Top Hummed Songs 2020; All Year-End Charts; Decade-End. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Instead, they're rap songs by local heroes — songs celebrating being Black. Key lyrics: "I find it crazy the police'll shoot you and know that you dead/ But still tell you to freeze/ F---ed up, I seen what I seen/ I guess that mean hold him down if he say he can't breathe/ It's too many mothers that's grieving/ They killing us for no reason/ Been going on for too long to get even/ Throw us in cages like dogs and hyenas/ I went to court and they sent me to prison/ My mama was crushed when they said I can't leave.". He's lived in Northern California all his life. ", A post shared by The Killers (@thekillers) on Jun 7, 2020 at 4:50pm PDT. Denzel Curry, Daylyt, Kamasi Washington, and G Perico, “Pig Feet” Producer and … The national uprising has also inspired a number of MCs to jump in the studio and record new songs (or refashion older ones) to react and amplify the moment, as well as shine a light on the Black Lives Matter movement. Do you hear me? Being Black, being around his friends - that's it. 1 hit "Rockstar" with references to the recent protests inspired by Floyd's killing. Photography: Adreinne Waheed Open App. Say he watch me lay low, never come in high. He says the Bay Area has a lot of artists with huge local followings who never seem to catch on in the rest of the country. Black Lives Matter. Jon Bon Jovi on "2020" album, new song about Black Lives Matter movement, and family Grammy award-winning band Bon Jovi recently released its highly anticipated new album. By Spotify. We gon' be all right. The rapper/singer just dropped "Get Up" -- which opens with a snippet from a Malcolm X speech on oppression -- with the dark video part of Pain's aim of inspiring others to take a stand an make a difference. The enigmatic Grammy-winning singer debuted the moving new song "I Can't Breathe" June 10, with a chorus inspired by Floyd's last plea as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. In 2020, we're still dealing ... the songs created by Black artists that you need to listen to right now. 'Be Free,' J Cole (2014) Can you tell me why every time I step outside. I see my n--gas down. Fight the power. California Privacy Rights We gon' be all right. by Key lyrics: "Cops wanna pull me over, embarrass me/ Abusin' power, you never knew me thought I was arrogant/ As a juvenile, police pulled they guns like they scared of me.". CHANG: The song "Feelin' Myself" by the late Mac Dre is a Bay Area classic. Accuracy and availability may vary. AdChoices They just want to be able to hang out, go to Soho, buy some clothes, play music out of the speakers of their cars, play music from the roof of the buildings. Some of the songs being played during the Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. aren't overtly political. For many, that's what this movement is about. 1 hit "Rockstar" with references to the recent protests inspired by Floyd's killing. NO MORE TEARDROPS feat. It's intercut with footage from BLM and anti-police violence protests around the nation. KELLY: Alphonse Pierre is a staff writer at Pitchfork. Three-time Grammy award-winning reggae artist Gramps Morgan recorded a version of Johnny Reid's COVID-19 charity single "People Like You" to shed light on the civil unrest and bring hope to people all over the world. PIERRE: That's what, like, every kid in New York wants. A post shared by The Killers (@thekillers). EMAIL ME. Key lyrics: "Long as my heart beatin' and I'm breathin' air I'll fight for me, you decide, anytime, anywhere/ And I will never back down from it (From it)/ That's not comin', I just attack from the front. 6/15/2020. Billboard is a subsidiary of Valence Media, LLC. PENDARVIS HARSHAW: Mac Dre has, like, a legacy that speaks to - across demographics, I think, across racial lines, across age groups. A local rap hit is taking on new meaning here. JUNE 5th / QueenZnGodZ Wale. BRANDON CALDWELL: Essentially, it just kind of bleeds into, like, a homage of where his world is. "Hella F--kin' Trauma," Juicy J We take a listen to some of the protest songs of 2020, including Black Lives Matter by Richard Alexander, Mercy by Joy Oladokun and Anderson … KELLY: Yeah. Don't catch you slippin' now. CHANG: The song "Feelin' Myself" has never charted since it came out in 2004, but Mac Dre is a Northern Californian hero. FACEBOOK The Biz premium subscriber content has moved to Billboard.com/business. ", "Killing in the Name," MGK and Travis Barker. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SITTIN' ON TOP OF THE WORLD"). And where you are, Ailsa, in California, it's no different. South Side, know what I'm saying? They want to be able to enjoy their day without worrying about the police harassing them, without worrying about what's going to happen to them the next day. On Sunday, the Grammy winner performed a moving rendition of her new single "Perfect Way To Die," … Ooh, I'm … Key lyrics: "I can't breathe/ You're taking my life from me/ I can't breathe/ Will anyone fight for me?". Numerous artists are currently delaying their album and song releases amid protests for the Black Lives Matter while some were unable to pull their drop. CHANG: George Floyd was a member of the Houston Rap crew Screwed Up Click. TWITTER Key lyrics: "Those who died are justified/ For wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites/ You justify those that died/ By wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites. Enough is enough/...Man, that s--t ain't right, I know my rights, enough is enough/ I can't sit back, let 'em take my life, enough is enough.". I'm a real G, staying high till I die. A great protest song may not help change the world in the same way the civil rights and anti-war movements did a half century ago, or the way the Black Lives Matters movement has this year. Mike Amiri, Mike Amiri. Malik Yusef, Wyatt Waddell VIC MENSA, Malik Yusef, Wyatt Waddell. In the epic black-and-white video for the "FTP" clip, YG took to the streets of Hollywood to film during a rally honoring victims of police brutality. Christian Dior, Dior. MAC DRE: (Rapping) I'm in the building and I'm feelin' myself. Every protest movement has a soundtrack, and the backbone of many of those soundtracks is hip-hop. Prince - “Baltimore” “Baltimore,” one of Prince's final singles, was inspired by Freddie Gray, a 25-year … Deborah Jay Winams cries after singing a song at a Black Lives Matter Los Angeles rally to call for justice in the fatal shooting of Kenneth Ross Jr. by Gardena police in 2018. Even rock acts have stepped up, with The Killers turning their "Land of the Free" into a George Floyd tribute by adding new lyrics to address his killing. CHILDISH GAMBINO: (Rapping) This is America. Hip-hop has been standing up for Black lives for decades: 15 songs and why they matter. It's full of regional slang. © 2021 Billboard Media, LLC. Man, I'm feelin' myself. With this in mind, YG’s FTP (standing for Fuck the Police), released last week, has become a new anthem of 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests. Terrace Martin feat. The Three Six Mafia MC channeled a lot of "Hella F--kin' Trauma" for his latest protest-fueled anthem, which he posted on SoundCloud June 7. His world is, you know, home. Key lyrics: "If you stand up for those down on their knees/ And lend a voice to those who cannot speak/ If you shine a little light and give sight/ To the ones who've lost their way/ There's a place for people like you.". But even with a catalog like his, “Black Lives Matter” is a standout. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. Big Floyd representing. ", Key lyrics: "As a rich black man living in this country, it’s hard being comfy/ When the hate your people get is coming from the ones amongst me/ Used to call us 'monkeys' and 'slaves' and we overcame/ Still our work is just beginning, protests look like parades.". Songs by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, YG, and Lil Baby stood as bright and exigent conclusions for the Black Lives Matter movement, even if they all … As protesters ... which practices Mexican Nahua dance, song and drumming, is a frequent presence at Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis and St. … Love Musiq Soulchild. Copyright © 2020 NPR. Advertising Check out ten of the most potent recent protest songs: Lil Baby takes on police brutality and the nationwide protests on his somber new track with the accompanying video featuring footage from the marches. Enough is enough/ Why they lock up all the real ones man? The Trump campaign signaled its intent to seize on the Democrats’ decision to embrace Black Lives Matter, suggesting that the movement shows contempt for the police. KELLY: The man who sparked this wave of protests was a rapper himself. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. “ ‘Black Lives Matter’ is a song that came through me. The song tackles issues such as Black history, black culture, police brutality and the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Don't catch you slippin' now. Instead, they're rap songs by local heroes — songs celebrating being Black. rapper speaks openly about Floyd and 99 other black people killed by police on the spoken-word track "Blacklist. KELLY: Pendarvis Harshaw of member station KQED. Look what I'm whippin' now. Key lyrics: "Been tired, f--k cardboard signs, we in the field/ It's the Ku Klux cops, they on a mission/ It's the Ku Klux cops, got hidden agendas/ It's the truth, I won't stop/ Open cases, police already hate me, why not/ Make your rich-a-- city look like trash (Look like trash)/ To whoever make the rules, we need answers fast. The rapper dropped a Black Lives Matter remix of his No. Begin Slideshow . Gil Kaufman Key lyrics: "When they gon' stop killin' n---as, man? EU Privacy Preferences, BILLBOARD is a registered trademark of Billboard IP Holdings, LLC. June 9, 2020. 6/15/2020 Alicia Keys used her 2020 BET Awards performance to deliver a poignant message. The rapper dropped a Black Lives Matter remix of his No. She like the way I err (ph). CHANG: To demand a normal life free from harassment with economic opportunity. I'm up in all the stores. He was known as Big Floyd. 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