Don’t Stop the music – the sounds of social justice movements
The remake of Fleetwood Mac's classic song Don’t Stop is a call to keep fighting against the polluting companies causing climate change. Why? Because music has fuelled movements for decades. Here are the soundtracks to the world’s biggest fights for justice.
Produced by Grammy-winner Fraser T Smith, the reinvention of the classic Don’t Stop by Fleetwood Mac features music from youth jazz ensemble Tomorrow’s Warriors, vocals from the House Gospel Choir and gut-punching lyrics from lauded grime artist Avelino.
Watch the full film accompanying the song, directed by Samona Olanipekun, exec-produced by Steve McQueen and starring Will Poulter:
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Together we can stand up to the fossil fuel industry.
Music has been inspiring people to keep fighting for their rights for decades. And those fights themselves have inspired some of the world’s best and most enduring music.
Here’s a musicological journey through the world’s biggest movements for justice.
The enduring songs of the civil rights movement
Music had a central role in the US civil rights movement of the 1960s.
“An artist’s duty is to reflect the times… I choose to reflect the times and the situations in which I find myself. That to me is my duty. And at this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when everyday is a matter of survival, I don’t think you can help but be involved. Young people, black and white, know this – that’s why they’re so involved in politics”
Standout tracks from the era include the quietly rousing 1965 Impressions song “People Get Ready” – which MLK named the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement.
“Calling out around the world / Are you ready for a brand new beat? / Summer’s here and the time is right / For dancing in the street”
Martha and the Vandellas, ‘Dancing in the Street’
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Other notable songs include Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”, the folk music of Odetta (“The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement”) and “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday, later covered by Nina Simone.
Nina Simone talks here about the duty of artists to “reflect the times”, as she did:
Music can be moving, and in the case of much music with strong themes of racist brutality, deeply affecting. But some civil rights movement songs were also uplifting. “Dancing in The Street” gave energy to the movement. Released in 1964, the year of Freedom Summer (a drive to increase Black voter registration in Mississippi), it became a call to action:
Anti-war movement music
From the early ‘70s, many of the same civil rights protest-era musicians were giving voice to the anti-Vietnam War movement.
Bob Dylan is probably the most iconic of the anti-war musicians. But Marvin Gaye catapulted his label Motown Records into political music-making with “What’s Going On”.
“Picket lines and protest signs / Don't punish me with brutality ”
Black Lives Matter – music against police racism and violence
In recent years, Kendrick Lamar’s Alright became the go-to chant at Black Lives Matter protests across the US. The empowering chorus united voices against police racism and violent oppression.
Afrobeats brought electoral issues to the dancefloor in Nigeria ahead of their 2022 elections, following in the political footsteps of artists like Fela Kuti.
Electricity by Pheelz and Davido, highlights Nigeria’s lack of electricity – setting the agenda for politicians to solve the problem and change lives.
Sounds of revolution and political protest
Music can also be a literal call to revolution.
A song started Portugal’s bloodless Carnation Revolution of 1974. The radio played “Grândola, Vila Morena” by Zeca Afonso – an influential political folk musician and singer who was banned from the radio at the time. People heard the song and emerged from their homes to put carnations in the barrels of the soldiers’ guns.
“My people are still suffering. Hundreds of thousands have been killed. All we want is to live without fear, and for West Papua to become a free and independent country. Please hear my people cry for help.”
Benny Wenda, 'Papua Mederka (Free West Papua)'
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In pre-independence Zimbabwe, Thomas Mafumo (“The Lion of Zimbabwe”) created a whole new genre called Chimurenga (“liberation” in Shona). His songs called for the violent overthrow of the colonial government, with lyrics like “Mothers, send your sons to war.” In the Mugabe era, most of his songs continued to be political, dealing with poverty and other social issues.
And in 2020, top musicians from all over the world created Papua Merdeka (“Free West Papua”). The song features spoken word from the ousted leader Benny Wenda and singing by Maria Wenda, his wife. They live in exile in the UK, fighting for their island’s independence from Indonesia.
Artists including Coldcut, Tony Allen and Dele Sosimi told the story of West Papua to music lovers everywhere – many of whom might not have heard of it otherwise.
Indigenous rap, metal and folk
There are around 7000 distinct languages in the world. Indigenous languages make up around 4000 of the total. As many as a fifth of all languages, many Indigenous, are vulnerable or endangered. But Indigenous Peoples continue to voice their struggles through music sung in their mother tongues.
Moko Koza from Nagaland in India, sings in three languages – English and two local dialects, Nagamese and Tenyidie. He performs in front of the government and military that his songs criticise. “It makes me feel very tense,” he says. “But I know that I have to do it, they need to hear these messages.”
From Brazil, Kaê Guajajara’s Essa Rua É Minha (This Street Is Mine) fuses Rio-style funk and Indigenous flute, with electrifying results.
Australia’s First Nations have also used music to demand their rights:
And First Nations from Canada to New Zealand are using hip-hop to call out their struggles.
Culture and language are clearly no barrier to sharing great music. Brazilian Indigenous DJ Eric “Marky” Terena played at Glastonbury 2022, as he often does at international climate meetings and protests – in full regalia.
Gojira wrote Amazonia to fundraise for the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB).
It follows Coldcut and Hextatic’s 1998 release Timber. The haunting track features chainsaw sounds recorded by Greenpeace looped into immersive electronica.
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