For much of the 20th century, folk has been the default genre for protest music. But is that still true today? The Wall Street Journal‘s Jim Fusilli says that, when it comes to protest music, the times they have a-changed.
In an editorial, Fusilli argues that hip-hop has usurped folk music as the most popular musical platform for political protest, citing recent songs and performances by Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, John Legend, and others as examples.
“It’s hard to imagine that any traditional folk singer would have the same kind of forum enjoyed by A Tribe Called Quest, Consequence, Anderson Paak, and Busta Rhymes on this year’s Grammys broadcast,” Fusilli says, adding that 26 million people saw their televised performance of ATCQ’s “We the People.”
Fusilli compares the reach of protest hip-hop to a recent Folk Alliance International conference, where 60 musicians who “self-identified as fist-raisers” gathered to perform and network, mostly for themselves. Folk has retreated into a corner of the music industry that isn’t trying to win mass appeal as much as honor those who are already listening. But is it really a protest song if no one hears it?
—RealClearLife
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