The music of protest comes in many forms. Not long ago, Paul Grimstad wrote about Jimi Hendrix’s transformation of the national anthem, at the Woodstock music festival, into a hallucinatory antiwar song via Stratocaster, Wah-Wah pedal, and Marshall amps stacked to the sky. Hendrix had served in the 101st Airborne Division, and, in his music, Grimstad observes, “We find that an electric guitar can be made to convey the feeling that the country’s history could be melted down, remolded, and given a new shape.”
This week, we’re bringing you a selection of pieces about musicians who have used their voices and instruments for political purposes. In “A Raised Voice,” Claudia Roth Pierpont explores how the singer Nina Simone’s work reflected—and helped inspire—the civil-rights movement. In “Simon & Garfunkel,” published in 1967, James Stevenson writes about that volatile team’s role in the culture of that decade. In “Reality Hunger,” Hua Hsu looks at the film “Straight Outta Compton” and the hip-hop legacy of N.W.A. Finally, in “The Autofictions of Kendrick Lamar,” Doreen St. Félix examines the rapper’s extraordinary album “DAMN.”—a work of brilliance that won the Pulitzer Prize for music, in 2018. Taken together, these pieces highlight artists who have transcended the limitations of their genres, crafting memorable works about the story of America.
—David Remnick
His blazing rendition still echoes throughout the years, reminding us of what is worth fighting for in the American experiment.
How Nina Simone turned the movement into music.
The music duo discusses poetry, popularity, and pain.
Lamar’s delivery in a 2017 concert at the Barclays Center is a testament to the enduring power of an unvarnished rap performance.
N.W.A.’s records made Compton famous. The movie “Straight Outta Compton” revisits the group’s ascent.
