I am writing an essay on socially conscious or social protest songs by African Americans in the twentieth century and plan to discuss Prince as part of my sections on the 80s and 90s. I have a few songs in mind to choose from such as "Uptown," "Partyup," "Ronnie, Talk to Russia," "Annie Christian," "Sign o' the Times," "1999," "Free," "America," "Papa," "Race," "We March," and "Undisputed." What am I overlooking? I won't have the space to discuss every song that applies, but I do want to come up with a good list of choices soon. Any thoughts?

It was a cover, but does "When Will We B Paid?" count?

I'd say that Pop Life has got to be one of his finest socially conscious songs.

Duh, Party Up!

[Edited 5/9/14 8:48am]

I always thought America was a clever protest song, but no, he is deadly serious. It's a paean to America and anti-communism...

"Dear Mr. Man."

"colonized mind"

I think there is a slight difference between "protest" songs, per se, and songs that address socio-political issues, but with that said Prince has written and continues to write both types, with "Sexuality" and "FixUrLifeUp" both coming to mind as a former and a latter. You have a good list and others have also provided good examples. Depending on how much time you have, this topic or the topic of your essay is the essential point of The Lyrics of Prince: A Literary Look at a Creative, Musical Poet, Philosopher, and Storyteller, especially the first three chapters. Also keep in mind that while the stereotype is that African-American songwriters traditionally only address racial oppression, nothing could be further from the truth. For instance Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy Me" and "What's Going On" both address environmental and class issues as well as racial issue. Similarly, The Staple Singers protested racism, sexism, and classism but provided Christianity as their solution. Parliament/Funkadelic engaged socio-political issues from a more science-fiction/metaphysical perspective. As such, Prince's work has addressed many types of wrong/evil, often making or attempting to connect all types of wrong to one source as in "Right the Wrong," "You Will Be Moved," or "The Exodus Has Begun," and, in doing so, sometimes his solutions have been socio-political and sometimes his solutions have been spiritual. Clearly, in these three songs Prince is asserting that physical problems/evils are manifestations of metaphysical/spiritual issues, and humanity or the evil doers will be punished by the "goodness" of the universe if the evil doers don't change. Furthermore, Prince was unique from an African-American perspective in that, unlike many of those African-American protest writers before him, he shifted or moved the conversation, protest if you will, from the collective to the individual, making the liberation of the individual from the mindlessness of the masses equally as important as the liberation of a group from oppression, and this blending or shift can be most clearly seen in Dirty Mind and Controversy. So, you have an excellent opportunity, by using Prince, to show just how diverse and eclectic the voice of African-American songwriting was, with Prince being an example of the various subjects addressed and solutions offered. I hope this helps and would love to read your essay once it's completed. Take care.

nyse said:

"Dear Mr. Man."

"colonized mind"

Thanks, nyse. Those are definitely socially aware songs but I'm limited to songs released in the twentieth century. Well, I guess I can briefly mention those songs as examples of how Prince has continued to produce socially conscious material beyond the past century. Thanks!

airth said:

I'd say that Pop Life has got to be one of his finest socially conscious songs.

Thanks--one of my favorites, especially the twelve inch version. I'm not sure how I failed to include it earlier.

1725topp said:

I think there is a slight difference between "protest" songs, per se, and songs that address socio-political issues, but with that said Prince has written and continues to write both types, with "Sexuality" and "FixUrLifeUp" both coming to mind as a former and a latter. You have a good list and others have also provided good examples. Depending on how much time you have, this topic or the topic of your essay is the essential point of The Lyrics of Prince: A Literary Look at a Creative, Musical Poet, Philosopher, and Storyteller, especially the first three chapters. Also keep in mind that while the stereotype is that African-American songwriters traditionally only address racial oppression, nothing could be further from the truth. For instance Marvin Gaye's "Mercy, Mercy Me" and "What's Going On" both address environmental and class issues as well as racial issue. Similarly, The Staple Singers protested racism, sexism, and classism but provided Christianity as their solution. Parliament/Funkadelic engaged socio-political issues from a more science-fiction/metaphysical perspective. As such, Prince's work has addressed many types of wrong/evil, often making or attempting to connect all types of wrong to one source as in "Right the Wrong," "You Will Be Moved," or "The Exodus Has Begun," and, in doing so, sometimes his solutions have been socio-political and sometimes his solutions have been spiritual. Clearly, in these three songs Prince is asserting that physical problems/evils are manifestations of metaphysical/spiritual issues, and humanity or the evil doers will be punished by the "goodness" of the universe if the evil doers don't change. Furthermore, Prince was unique from an African-American perspective in that, unlike many of those African-American protest writers before him, he shifted or moved the conversation, protest if you will, from the collective to the individual, making the liberation of the individual from the mindlessness of the masses equally as important as the liberation of a group from oppression, and this blending or shift can be most clearly seen in Dirty Mind and Controversy. So, you have an excellent opportunity, by using Prince, to show just how diverse and eclectic the voice of African-American songwriting was, with Prince being an example of the various subjects addressed and solutions offered. I hope this helps and would love to read your essay once it's completed. Take care.

Thanks for the feedback! Yes, Prince definitely adds a twist to the traditional mode of protest and I plan to address your points because music from the civil rights era, which was almost always about the collective spirit/the WE ("We Shall Overcome," etc.) will lead into the music of the late 70s and 80s. I should have time to check out The Lyrics of Prince over the next few weeks. I'll try to keep you posted but feel free to chime in here again in the meantime or by email. Peace, Grog

billymeade said:

It was a cover, but does "When Will We B Paid?" count?

Yes, it counts but I will probably stick to original songs. I love his appreciation of Mavis and the other Staple Singers.