FOLK MUSIC: AN UNEXPECTED INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL JUSTICE Erin Picken

Music and social justice have been long intertwined. Throughout history, musicians have used their platforms to advocate for social justice issues such as civil rights, environmentalism, anti-war activism and misogyny. This method of activism has the potential to reach individuals who would otherwise never be inspired to seek to become educated about political issues and promote real change by doing so. In addition, this emotionally charged and socially relevant music often inspired listeners to educate themselves and make their own music. This article will highlight musicians who wrote political music and those whom they inspired: Woody Guthrie, to Bob Dylan, to Johnny Cash.

Woody Guthrie:

Woody Guthrie was the author and original singer of the classic American folk song “This Land is Your Land,” sometimes called the unofficial American national anthem. Throughout his career, Guthrie pushed socialist and anti-fascist messages to his fellow Southern Americans and beyond. Guthrie was a founding proponent of music being used as a method of protest, often playing a guitar with the slogan “this machine kills fascists” on it. His passion for activism began when he was forced to look for work in California, leaving his family in Oklahoma, by the dust storm events of the 1930s. There, he became educated about the occurrences of lynchings in the South which he believed his father had participated in as a member of the Ku Klux Klan and frequently participated in the communist circles of Southern California. His music career was tempo- rarily halted when he released a song that praised the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland. This prevented him from airing much of his music over the radio until his 1940 release of “This Land is Your Land,” a communist anthem that was, ironically, heralded instead as an anthem that highlighted America’s provision of freedom to its people in the midst of the Second World War.

Bob Dylan:

Inspired greatly by Woody Guthrie, folk/rock musician Bob Dylan aimed to push the civil rights movement through his music by writing lyrics that addressed issues such as racial inequality and police brutality throughout the 1960s. Dylan’s folk career began in New York City’s Greenwich Village, which was then an epicenter of folk music and political consciousness which provided many performers with a setting in which they could share their music and make money. Widely considered to be his first protest song, Dylan wrote “The Ballad of Emmitt Till” in 1962. The ballad aimed to honor Till, a Black child from Mississippi who was kidnapped, tortured and lynched in 1955 after he was accused by a white woman named Carolyn Bryant of whistling at her. Bryant later admitted that she had been lying. Following the success of the ballad at a Congress of Racial Equality benefit, Dylan continued to write politically charged music: “Let Me Die in My Footsteps” (critiquing American Cold War hysteria), “Paths of Victory” (pushing for the continuation of marches for civil rights), “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” (warning of the consequences of potential nuclear war, which premiered at Carnegie Hall a month before the Cuban missile crisis), and many more.

Johnny Cash:

While Johnny Cash’s admiration of Bob Dylan’s work is often cited by referencing his cover of Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe” on his 1964 album Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian, the influence didn’t stop there. Many of Cash’s political works were shaped by the genres and political issues that Dylan most often engaged with. Cash believed in the power of music to not only influence the ignorant but to raise the hopes of those oppressed by the situations he sang about. He wrote “Singing in Vietnam Talking Blues” after having the opportunity to perform for troops deployed during the Vietnam war and famously performed twice for prisoners at California’s Folsom State Prison in 1968, playing songs including the timelessly popular “Folsom Prison Blues.”

This type of music remains useful even after its prime: the common phrase “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it” rings true, and this music can help us remember. While the specific songs mentioned in this article were all written between 1939 and 1964, many of these issues remain relevant today – from potential impending nuclear war to the existence of racial inequality both inside and outside of America’s prison system, these are issues we not only need to remember but pay attention to as they continue to happen today.

For the past 3 years, Blood Orange has consistently remained one of my most listened-to artists, and for a good reason. This unbelievably talented and multi-faceted musician crosses several musical styles such as R&B, soul, funk, post-punk, chillwave and indie rock, all laced with his dreamy and beautifully melancholic falsetto. He explores a variety of lyrical themes within his music like identity, relationships, sexuality, belonging and spirituality, and how these things shape his existence and that of his peers.

Born and raised in Ilford, East London to a Guyanese mother and Sierra Leonean Creole father, English singer, songwriter and producer Devonté Hynes (stage name Blood Orange) first came into the music scene in 2004 as a member of the indie rock band Test Icicles. After moving to the US in 2007, Hynes released two solo studio albums under the name Lightspeed Champion. This first solo venture into Hynes’s experimentation with the type of indie R&B jazzy-electronica sounds that he would later become known for, morphed into his best-known moniker, Blood Orange. Under this name, he has produced a total of five albums as well as scattered E.P.s and singles all between 2008 and 2022.

Despite the deeply personal and individualistic nature of all five albums, Blood Orange’s evolution can be mainly attributed to collaboration. Hynes is highly sought out and has featured, written, produced and played for notable artists such as FKA Twigs, Solange Knowles, Steve Lacy, Florence + the Machine, Mac Miller, and more. Hynes also has dipped into scoring films with movies like Palo Alto (2013) and Queen & Slim (2019).

Blood Orange’s debut album Coastal Groves (2011) introduces the groundwork for his music with a plucky, indie pop adjacent that screams “main character energy.” Coastal Groves is the perfect soundtrack for night drives through the city, with each song capturing the pure essence of teenage angst. From the enigmatic and fastpaced beat of “I’m Sorry We Lied” to the romantic yet vengeful “Are You Sure You’re Really Busy,” much of his music radiates a moodily nostalgic, longing feeling. The final track, one of Blood Orange’s most popular songs titled “Champagne Coast” feels atmospheric, with Hynes’s hazy vocals flowing through the song like something out of a dream. This debut album introduces the type of demonstrative and emotionally engaging sounds that define Blood Orange. My favorite song off this album would have to be “Champagne Coast” (a given) due to the versatility of sounds, and genres incorporated. I get goosebumps every time I hear the ambient keyboard swell and catchy hooks of what is in my opinion, a musical masterpiece. If you enjoy this album, I also recommend giving the album 6 Feet Beneath The Moon by King Krule a listen. Both albums implement an indie guitar style and unique singing.

Following Coastal Groves, Cupid deluxe (2013) is Blood Orange’s progression into funky new wave and contemporary R&B, still keeping that familiar indie pop feel. The effect of genre blending is dizzying and comforting all at once. Similar to the content of his debut album, these 80s-inspired odes move through themes of heartbreak and longing, especially as they attain to LGBTQ+ youth. The track “Uncle ACE” refers to the ACE subway line in New York, which runs from the top of Manhattan to the bottom of Queens, nicknamed “Uncle Ace’s house” by youth who found refuge from unaccepting home environments within the subway lines. In this impressionistic album, Hynes switches between a low and high singing voice, subtly accentuating the androgynous characters within himself. It feels mysterious, desperate, and empathetic. Hynes shines a light onto vulnerable subjects, showcasing them inhabiting their travails of prejudice with grace and poise, all while a dance-worthy disco pulse plays in the background. Songs off this album that I recommend listening to include “You’re Not Good Enough,” “It Is What It Is” and “Time Will Tell.” And if you enjoy the indie new wave style heard in this album, the album Street Desires by Gap Girls implements a similar sound and I highly recommend giving a listen.

Negro Swan, Blood Orange’s fourth studio album released in 2018 is by far Hynes’s most popular, influential and collaborative piece of work to date. Negro Swan is a restless jazzy slow jam that starts as a spoken-word poem and ends as a languid rap with sprinkles of synth and electro-R&B throughout. Made complete with contributions from the gospel singer Ian Isiah and verses from rapper A$AP Rocky. In this album, Hynes wanted to express