By: Ravi Rao
Throughout the 21st century, there have been many songs made that have a political message. Music videos have been made to show the political message that the artist(s) are trying to reach to society. Many songs with a political message correlate with the music video and it is very rare to find a song that does not have a political message but the music video does.
In the 2000s, there were many political songs made. In 2000, George W. Bush was elected President of the United States. In 2001, on September 11th, the United States faced the largest terrorist attack ever. After this attack, the United States declared war on Afghanistan because of the terrorist attack on the United States. In 2003, The Black Eyed Peas created a song called Where Is The Love?, which is about police brutality, racism, and terrorism. In the song, they say,
This is the question mark that is showed multiple times throughout the music video by The Black Eyed Peas.
“Overseas, yeah, we tryin’ to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin’
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and the Crips, and the KKK”
In the music video, it continuously shows a question mark in red with a white border and black background. This image is shown all throughout the music video because it is supposed to ask the question “What is the meaning of society?” This image is one that is meant to pop out to the viewer because it is supposed to make the viewer think about what the song is trying to say. This image is also trying to pose the question “Where Is The Love” in society anymore?
In 2008, the first black President of the United States was elected. President Barack Obama was elected for two terms as President. But even with his election as President, music was still political. Race and race relations was still very prevalent in music because race relations and racism was more noticeable during his presidency.
In 2015, Kendrick Lamar wrote Alright. He wrote this song to raise awareness to police brutality and racism in America. In the beginning of the video, it shows a black male being arrested and when he tries to run, the police officer pulls his gun out and shoots the man. Also, Lamar is describing what is happening in the city and he talks about discrimination in that monologue. After the monologue, he is seen in a car that is being carried by police officers. This became very controversial when Geraldo Rivera said, “This is why I say hip-hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years.” Kendrick Lamar’s song and music video and his performance at the 2015 BET Awards showed that police brutality and racism still exists in the world today and that race relations have not improved to the extent it should have improved.
After Rivera says this, in Kendrick Lamar’s most recent album “DAMN.” in 2017, he puts this audio clip of Rivera saying this in his song DNA. This quote by Rivera, that was mentioned previously, is used when Lamar switches the beat around because he reinforces his message that police brutality and racism is still prevalent in America today.
In 2016, President Trump was elected as President of the United States and this made music and music videos in the past two years become very political. Even though there is no music video for some of his songs in his album, Eminem released an album (Revival) that was very political (for example, the song Like Home). Other artists have made songs or have called out President Trump and a lot of his policies out because he does not stand for the people and does not support social issues like women’s rights. He also has made racism more noticeable because he has said many racist comments during his campaign and presidency.
Lastly, a song and music video that is very political is I’m Not Racist by Joyner Lucas. In this video and song Joyner Lucas has two points of view, one from someone who supports President Trump and is a white supremacist and the other being from a black male. He uses this to show that people can come together and sit and talk about the differences without fighting or hatred but with reason. At the end of the first verse Joyner raps, “But there’s two side to every story, I wish I knew yours.” This shows openness and wanting to understand everyone’s story. At the end of the video, the white male who is wearing the “Make America Great Again” hat and the black male hug. This shows that way that we all should be talking about our points of views on politics and social issues. To just sit and listen to one another instead of arguing. This past week, I’m Not Racist was nominated for the Best Music Video Award for the Grammys. This song was made to show this willingness to understand each other, despite the differences a person may have.
One music video that is political but the song is not political is One Day by Logic featuring Ryan Tedder. The song was meant to be one of reflection. That he has achieved everything he ever wanted. But in the music video, it shows the issues of border control, separation of families, white supremacists, and racism. In the beginning, this video shows an undocumented family being separated from one another and how eventually the boy becomes a successful surgeon. On the other side, it shows a boy who is being raised to dislike people of color, racist, and a white supremacist. The video comes together at the end after the other boy (now grown up, who is a white supremacist) gets shot and has to go to the hospital and the surgeon sees the tattoos on him and still says, “Everything is going to be alright.” This video is very inspiring because even though the song was not meant to be political, the message is “Maybe one day, we will all get along with one another.”
Another song that could be considered political but it is not very clear, is What About Us? by P!nk. In this song, it is not very clear that when it was written it was meant to be political, but the music video is very political. In the beginning, there is multiple of recordings and people protesting. It shows how minorities in the United States are being mistreated. In the music video it shows the police brutality, and shows that minorities are misrepresented in the United States. This is another song that could mean many things, but the music video does have a political message.
These songs all have a meaning, political or not, and the music videos are also very powerful in the message it is trying to send to the audience. In Where Is The Love?, it shows how people should question the decisions of our government and leaders openly. More recently, there are more songs that are political or have a political message because of the circumstances in society today. The media plays a big role, but also people are more aware of social issues that are happening in society. Racism, gun control, environmental issues, immigration/border control, mental health issues, and LGBTQ+ and women equality are all prevalent issues in society that are not being addressed by the government which allow songs (not all songs) to have a political message or if not, the music video to have a political message.
https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-dna-lyrics
https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-alright-lyrics
https://genius.com/Joyner-lucas-im-not-racist-lyrics
https://genius.com/Logic-one-day-lyrics
https://genius.com/The-black-eyed-peas-where-is-the-love-lyrics
https://genius.com/P-nk-what-about-us-lyrics