![]() ![]() Gaye's lyrics emphasize the universality of protest against discrimination and the inequity Black people face: "Picket lines and picket signs, don't punish me with brutality … Oh, what's going on?" "The Charade" - D'Angelo and the VanguardĪfter a 14 year hiatus, singer-songwriter D'Angelo returned with the album Black Messiah. "What's Going On" acknowledges and critiques America's failure to support its people. The song outlines multiple experiences, including a soldier's return from Vietnam. Released at the tail end of the civil rights movement and at the height of the Vietnam War, "What's Going On" illustrates a chaotic United States. The song's lyrics speak to Kuti's feelings about the Nigerian military, characterizing their behaviors as mindless and destructive: "Fall in (zombie), fall out, fall down (zombie), get ready." "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye The song sparked outrage, and, in 1977, soldiers were sent to burn down Kuti's commune, Kalakuta Republic. ![]() His song "Zombie," written during the Nigerian Civil War, was a commentary on the Nigerian state's militaristic rule. Kuti used his songs as vehicles for political expression and as platforms for the advocacy of Nigerian people. Aside from being a musical pioneer, he was a Pan-Africanist and political activist. The lyrics describe a lynching in brutal and vivid detail: "Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze, strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees." "Zombie" - Fela Kutiįela Kuti was a Nigerian musician, well-known as the father of Afrobeat. The government attempted to silence Holiday and the Black protest anthem that is "Strange Fruit." The song was banned from the radio and Holiday became a target of the FBI. Holiday and her performance of "Strange Fruit" were highly controversial. After reading the poem, Holiday decided to perform it - despite the extreme backlash she feared she would (and did) receive. Initially written as a poem by Jewish teacher Abel Meeropol, "Strange Fruit" reflects Meeropol'sdisgust with the lynching of Black people in the Southern United States. Pointing out the measures taken to oppress a community, Marley declares: "You can fool some people sometimes, but you can't fool all the people all the time." "Strange Fruit" - Billie Holiday Referencing odes to Marley's Rastafarian faith and to government corruption, "Get Up, Stand Up" uses its lyrics to incite revolution. Marley returned home to write a song about speaking in protest. He saw the country's inhabitants in extreme poverty brought on by the Duvalier dynasty, which was characterized by inequity. The anecdotal history of "Get Up, Stand Up," released by singer-songwriter Bob Marley and his band in 1973, is the story of Marley's trip to Haiti. "Get Up, Stand Up" - Bob Marley and the Wailers The Public Ivies, Little Ivies, and Other Ivy League Equivalents.Student Resources show submenu for Student Resources ![]()
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