By Patrick Flanary | December 23, 2014 8:03 PM EST

Demonstrators protest the death of Michael Brown on August 21, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Neil Young was so shaken by photos of the four unarmed students killed by military gunfire at Kent State that he wrote "Ohio" for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Youngright away. By the end of the week, it was playing on the radio. That was 1970. Now, in 2014, outrage over police brutality has become much more widespread, inspiring protests and "die-ins" nationwide for Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two unarmed black men killed in confrontations with cops. Days ago in Brooklyn, two NYPD officers were murdered while sitting in their patrol car. But this year will end without a defining protest song.

With the availability of instant platforms like YouTube, SoundCloud, Twitter and Facebook, where is the musician movement? Some have spoken up: Alicia Keysresponded to Garner's chokehold death on Staten Island with "We Gotta Pray";Tom Morello wrote "Marching on Ferguson"; J. Cole released "Be Free" for Brown; and Ben Harper has opened shows with a new song called "Call It What It Is (Murder)." Yet anthems critical of the times are largely absent, even as demonstrators condemn the system that failed to prosecute the officers involved.

"I think a lot of it is just due to fear of being blackballed and not making a living," Questlove of The Roots told Billboard, referring to the backlash the Dixie Chicksfaced in 2003, when Natalie Maines told an audience that the band was "ashamed" that President Bush was from Texas. "We were like, 'Man, if a white woman can lose her career in the United States for speaking up for what's right, then shit, we'll get the electric chair.' I think that was the bottom line. And that just really rendered America silent."

Earlier this month, when grand jurors in the Garner case declined to indict the NYPD officer, D'Angelo decided it was time to release his long-in-the-works album, Black Messiah. The songs were finished long before Brown and Garner died, but "they are applying now more than ever," Questlove said. "With this D'Angelo record," he added, "there's definitely going to be a sea change of people not being afraid anymore, and really putting their art ahead of their commerce concerns."

The folk singer Pete Seeger based his life's work on this philosophy. He thrived, even in the 1950s when radio and television blacklisted Seeger's group, The Weavers, because of Communist ties. Today his version of "We Shall Overcome" is often considered the quintessential protest song. "It's the only record of mine which ever sold very much," Seeger said in an unpublished 2012 interview. Its reach also surprised him; he recalled visiting a village outside Calcutta, India, where a local man recognized Seeger and recited the song in Bengali.

Few performers are eager to embrace the "protest music" label, none more so than Bob Dylan. "Topical songs weren't protest songs," he insisted in his 2004 book, Chronicles: Volume One. "I tried to explain later that I didn't think I was a protest singer, that there'd been a screwup." He proved as much earlier this month. Just hours after the Garner decision, Dylan played New York's Beacon Theatre while rallies erupted throughout the city and said nothing.

"I prefer to call it 'message music,' and I'm pushing that as a genre," Mutulu Olugbala, known as M1 of the hip-hop group Dead Prez, told Billboard. He added that he has written a song, "Unarmed," and is debating whether to release it. "We don't need riot songs; we need revolution songs," he said. "We become better activists when we are in the midst of these kind of tragedies. We need to learn how to do door-to-door community organizing, organize meetings and come up with solutions, even more than we need to be going to the studio."

"Unfortunately, we're in a time where the soul of what should be the song of uplifting social change is in a state of arrested development," Cody ChesnuTT told Billboard. "But I'm hopeful that in this current social climate that there is a sentiment, a lyric, a melody, an awakened and charged response on the horizon that will inspire a healthier direction."

Songwriters have long pushed political messages and human-rights causes:Woody Guthrie, Gil Scott-Heron, Joni Mitchell, Sinéad O'Connor, Steve Earle,Stevie Wonder and the list goes on. Just last December two members of the Russian band Pussy Riot were released from jail after serving almost two years for protesting Vladimir Putin's rule, with their entire struggle making headlines.

And if our streaming habits are any indication, perhaps there's even room for optimism in this modern age: Hozier's Grammy-nominated "Take Me To Church" was named Spotify's Most Viral Song of 2014, handling subject matter that denounces Russia's acts gay discrimination -- perhaps a case where sharing is caring.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6415132/questlove-fear-of-being-blackballed-prevents-artists-from-releasing-protest

It's the rule of political entertainment; you're gonna offend half the people out there, therefore offending half your potential audience.

Back in the 70s, 80's and 90's James Brown, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Tupac Public Enemy, etc all made protest/politcal songs. These were some of the big time cross over commericial black acts of their respective era. The black mainstream acts out now are "new blacks", selfish and don't want to offend their white audiences. What is sad is the fact that black people will oddly still continue to put money in these Top 40 acts pocket when they wouldn't spit on them if they were on fire. Its really no excuse. ALL the black acts pop or non pop should be making protest songs or at least using their fame to bring awareness to an obvious problem in this country. These new blacks don't care. It is a different generation now. I feel what Quest is saying but there really is no excuse...

[Edited 12/25/14 6:27am]

i would have thought that dylan songs like 'oxford town' and 'the lonesome death of hattie carroll'

have to be classed as protest songs even though he says he wasnt a protest singer.

I don't want to hear a blessed word out of Questlove, aka, Granny Jenkins', mouth. I swear to God, when he dies, the last word he says will be "D'Angelo."

[Edited 12/25/14 14:42pm]

scriptgirl said:

I don't want to hear a blessed word out of Questlove, aka, Granny Jenkins', mouth. I swear to God, when he dies, the last word he says will be "D'Angelo."

[Edited 12/25/14 14:42pm]

I don't care for Quest as well.

[Edited 12/25/14 16:54pm]

There have always been socially conscious musicians and there've always been cowards, and there's always people who just care about themselves and aren't tied into whats going on in the world. Not really sure what the point of this article is.

questlove gets on my damn nerves first he think he is a prince historian now he is a race historian go sit it down wanch

lezama said:

MotownSubdivision said:

lezama said:

There have always been socially conscious musicians and there've always been cowards, and there's always people who just care about themselves and aren't tied into whats going on in the world. Not really sure what the point of this article is.

I didn't read the article but based on the comments here and what is seen and heard daily, the problem is we no longer have any mainstream pop stars that display social consciousness in their music, at least not on a relevant level. Not a single A list celebrity has spoken up about any of the issues that have been taking place this year. Basically, every mainstream artist we have now are cowards. Not willing to speak up on certain issues unless it benefits them and makes them look good. I'm not saying that every artist has to speak up or that all of those that don't are selfish people but a lot of them are and really come off as such.

Oh gotcha..

lezama said:

A lot of audience for the Dixie Chicks and country radio is different. For the most part, country isn't really known for protest records, at least not the popular country that gets radio play. Maybe outlaw country like Charlie Daniels Band and Willie Nelson. Some of the country audience tends to be into more patriotic songs like Lee Greenwood's God Bless The USA. They're more likely to display flags, USA and/or "stars & bars". Look at the difference in the types of acts at Live Aid & Farm Aid.

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Marvin Gaye's & Stevie Wonder's records came out around the Woodstock hippie era, so that's who some of the audience were for that. Even then, most of the songs on the Top 40 had no social message. Some of the heartland was less receptive to "long haired hippes" and protests. During that time there were underground country acts like Johnny Rebel & Colonel Sharecropper, who had the opposite message.

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If people really wanted to hear a message, they could buy folk music. Folk generally wasn't really hit record material, nor sold in huge numbers, so they don't really have to worry as much about losing their audience over their messages. Their audience was already into their songs. It like "speeches only reach those who already know about it".

This are the April 17, 1971 Billboard charts for the Hot 100 & Soul singles. Not many of the hits could be considered message songs.

popgodazipa said:

lezama said:

Oh gotcha..

Puffy did speak out on Twitter...don't know what list he's on.

Yea a few have like J Cole and David Banner. However, I think its downright sad that none of the A list black entertainers like Beyonce, Jay Z, Chris Brown, Trey Songz etc have not uttered one word on any of these shootings involving unarmed black males. These are people who claim to be feminist and people who want to be taken seriously in political affairs but have not uttered one word on any of these events. That's very telling. People need to stop putting money in these folks pockets who don't care if their child gets shot.

mjscarousal said:

In an age were so many "artists" are pimping everything from liquors to bed iinens, can we really expect them to stick their necks out? Jeopardized their brand...? I think not, welcome to I got mine now you go get yours generation. Hell, look at this generation of young adults, look at the last 40 plus years of African-American music. Some folks expect some soul searching consciousness? Laughable.

Black people have done a whole lot of denyng and lying about our history... our violent relationship with whites: Start there, and maybe just maybe our children would have a different mindset about what they need and should be doing from birth to death. 'If you don't know where you've been, you can't know where you are going.' Civil Rights mantra...

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[Edited 12/29/14 9:03am]

TD3 said:

In an age were so many "artists" are pimping everything from liquors to bed iinens

That's not really anything new. Didn't Bill Cosby do commercials for Jello? Marvin Gaye did commercials for Coke in the 1960s. There were also all of those Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull ads from the 1970s & early 1980s with R&B acts in them.

All I gotta say is if that Rufus Thomas add was done in this day ... watch the fuck out everybody!!

I could see every black person catching feeling over that one. SHIT!!

I see where that episode of the Wayans Bros got that from, when the Bull bust through the door.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

All I gotta say is if that Rufus Thomas add was done in this day ... watch the fuck out everybody!!

I could see every black person catching feeling over that one. SHIT!!

I see where that episode of the Wayans Bros got that from, when the Bull bust through the door.

Many of them were like that. There were versions of the ads played on the radio too

LittleBLUECorvette said:

How did the black community react to thesw, any uproar? The episode of the Wayans bro, no one would talk to Marlon once the figured out he was doin a malt liquor commercial.

That was a different time. Billy Dee Williams had ads for Colt 45 in Ebony magazine as well as TV commericals. Redd Foxx had ads for Colt 45 too. TV Shows like All In The Family, Sanford & Son, or Diff'rent Strokes most likely wouldn't get made today. Neither would many of those Blaxploitation films. Today Bugs Bunny is in kid movies like Space Jam and on Cartoon Network, but in the 1940s, he was in anti-Japanese cartoons. Most of those cartoon shorts back then from were not made for children, same for The 3 Stooges. They were shown before movies. Warner Brothers, MGM, and other studios made cartoons with racial stereotypes. People today might say Amos & Andy is racist, but at the time Black audiences listened/watched it. My mom has it on DVD today.

MickyDolenz said:

TD3 said:

In an age were so many "artists" are pimping everything from liquors to bed iinens

That's not really anything new. Didn't Bill Cosby do commercials for Jello? Marvin Gaye did commercials for Coke in the 1960s. There were also all of those Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull ads from the 1970s & early 1980s with R&B acts in them.

Yes it is Mickey. With the exception of Cosby and O.J. those endorsements were geared to a Black populus. When I was growing up, Malt Liquor was never seen on liquor store shelves outside the "hood"... I think that's still true today. You saw Gaye's pics in Ebony, Jet, and billboards in Black community. Today's artist, music is an after thought to the shit they can sale... their "brand". Marvin Gaye couldn't have lived off his Malt liquor ads, if his music didn't sale. At the same time he spoke up and out about the issues of those times. It was Barry Gordy in the corner shacking like a leaf, worried about what some white people would think. In the 80's MTV didn't and refused to air black musicians videos on their channel, if it hadn't been for BET the majority of Black artist videos would've never been viewed.

Now things are so different, clothing/ shoe lines, soft drinks, perfume, liquor, restaurants...

I suspect many artist think it would be better for their bottom line to stay neutral or keep silent. When Michael Jordan was asked to lend his voice to the political discourse once, he demurred. Mr. Jordan said, Republicans buy Nikes too. Or, when JayZ was asked to break off his relationship with Barney's, after the store was caught racial profiling Blacks he refused. Instead, Jay-Z came out with some bullshit statement about.... we needed to have dialogue. If his fans his supporters - many who happen to Black- could critically think for more than 30 seconds, they would have stopped supporting him and his wife. Then we'd see how interested Barney's would have been to continue their relationship with Jay=Z

Again, this goes back to how you rear and what you tell your children. Basically, we allow people to kick us in our asses than stand around and cry, mumble, and whine... why do they treat us like this! I fear for use...


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[Edited 12/29/14 8:25am]

scriptgirl said:

I don't want to hear a blessed word out of Questlove, aka, Granny Jenkins', mouth. I swear to God, when he dies, the last word he says will be "D'Angelo."

[Edited 12/25/14 14:42pm]

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Considering how much of a fanboy he is when it comes to D'Angelo, yes it was that funny

This is why you get non-stop party music about spending your money and being drugged up.

Anything outside of that has to definitely transcend the message, otherwise it is handled with tongs and set to the side (which is very similar to the last time SINGLES dominated the industry).

It's the same for white artists too! Do you really think Ke$ha wants to sing about bullshit non-stop?

back on topic here: Nicki Minaj on why she is silent

http://www.rollingstone.c...e-20141230

^ we never got off topic.

TD3 said:

^ we never got off topic.

Finishing my thoughts about... Ms. Minaj comments.

How does she think we got off the back of the bus or get our right to vote? Is running from what is right making anything easier or different'... I swear.

What can people but espcially Black folks do when there's a blacklash against the truth... you support our own. You buy Mr. West CD or CD's whether you like his music or not. You purchase the Dixie Chicks CD's whether you like these ladies music or not...and you stop supporting those who attempt to silence them. That's the best case scenario...

Even so, you don't stick your finger in the wind to gauge when you speak up or out based on whether you have support or not.

getxxxx said:

back on topic here: Nicki Minaj on why she is silent

http://www.rollingstone.c...e-20141230

I have to agree with Nicki. In this day of social media, anything you say can be ripped apart. Campaigns can be started to boycott artists who speak out then they are forced to go the crying, apology tour. It's easier to shut any artist down. Of course, there was Muhammad Ali who went thru hell for refusing to fight in Vietnam. How many people out there would be willing to put their career on the line for a cause?

cbarnes3121 said:

questlove gets on my damn nerves first he think he is a prince historian now he is a race historian go sit it down wanch

in his imagination, he is a very influencial person and part of Prince's history