Music of Resistance — 30 Songs that Fight the Power

A non-definitive playlist of songs speaking truth to power

“Fight the Power” by Public Enemy was released as a single track for Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing, and has since become an iconic protest anthem in American culture. Radio Raheem (pictured), a character in the film who was killed by police would carry around a radio that played the song. Source: LA Times

Although Donald Trump has left office, it is imperative that we the people unite to fight the legacy of Trumpism that lives on — an amalgam of Nazi-like fascism, white supremacy, violent extremism, and all of the worst ‘isms’ imaginable. History has warned us that our minimization and mockery of far-right movements foment the worst impulses of humanity that can inevitably lead to pogroms, concentration camps, and yes, even genocide. But we are not merely in a battle against Trumpism. In reality, we are in a lifelong war against the age-old systems that enable Trumpism in the first place.

I have found that more often than not, one of the best ways to understand this ugly, complicated world we live in is not through institutional education, but through art — through music.

In that spirit, let’s explore some tracks that fight the powers that be.

1. “20 10 20”— Burna Boy (2020)