HONR 154: From The Clash to Kendrick: The Art of Protest Music

The English punk band The Clash put it this way: Let fury have the hour/Anger can be power/If you know that you can use it. In this seminar we will explore music that attempts to put anger to use, first looking at specific touchstone political crises for punk artists who felt compelled to create in the face of injustice, rage, and oppression. We will then trace the rise of hip-hop as informed by a strong tradition of protest culminating in hip-hop music of the Trump era. Ultimately, we will ask: what makes good political music? can political art be good art? what happens when revolutionary culture is co-opted, packaged, and sold? We will create and DJ a radio show, to be broadcast on WALF utilizing the new Media Lab, exploring the music of protest from the 1970s to today. Punk and post-punk artists may include: The Clash, Gang of Four, Minor Threat, Patti Smith, and Bikini Kill. Hip-hop artists and albums we will listen to are: Public Enemy, NWA's Straight Outta Compton, Killer Mike, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu's New Amerykah albums, Noname's Room 33, and Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. Additions as suggested by the class are more than welcome!