Cover photo for the 2015 song “Chains”
“Chains” (2015), By Usher ft. Nas & Bibi Bourelly was produced in response to the heightened killings of black Americans around the Nation. The pressing issue of police brutality and racial injustice is something that reached the public eye through many different platforms; including the power of song. The song written by Usher was used to shed light on oppression and systematic racism and provide a call to action.
There are many songs out there that tackle this issue and provide the same light that “Chains” does. Some examples are;
- “Be Free” (2014) J. Cole
This song by J. Cole was released in 2014 in response to the tragic killing of Micheal Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the song is meant to convey the pain and frustration that so many people felt around the nation towards racial injustice. Urging listeners to break free from the chains of oppression and and stand up and fight for their rights, “Be Free” serves as an anthem to inspire and work towards a better future.
“All we want do is take these chains offAll we want do is break the chains of painAll we want do is be freeAll we want do is be free”
2. “This Is America” Childish Gambino (2018)
This song struck the world and captured the attention of over 894M people just on Youtube. The song along with the visually distressing music video serves as a powerful commentary for the racial injustice & police brutality happening around the country. The song and music video do an amazing job of capturing how distracted American society is while black Americans face the harsh reality of injustice and everyday racism. This song also acts as a massive wake up call and makes the viewers think about their lives and how society is on a perpetual movement of tragedy and violence.
“This is America (skrrt, skrrt, woo)Don’t catch you slippin’ now (ayy)Look at how I’m livin’ nowPolice be trippin’ now (woo)Yeah, this is America (woo, ayy)Guns in my area (word, my area)I got the strap (ayy, ayy)I gotta carry ’em”
3. “Black America Again” Common & Stevie Wonder (2016)
This song by Common Ft. the great Stevie Wonder acts as a spark for reflection, change and activism. Through their words they are able to strike pain and reality in the hearts of the those listening and pay tribute to those who lost their lives due to police brutality and violence among fellow humans.
“Here we go, here, here we go againTrayvon’ll never get to be an older manBlack children, they childhood stole from themRobbed of our names and our language, stole again”
“I know that Black Lives Matter, and they matter to usThese are the things we gotta discussThe new plantation, mass incarcerationInstead of educate, they’d rather convict the kids”
October 15, 2023 at 3:34 pm
Great lineage, Shane, and I hope you are able to find a way to bring these songs into your podcast, too, at least for a few sentences. One regret about this class is that there isn’t really any Stevie Wonder, so having him brought up is really nice to see.
Bill