The Role of Pop Music in The Fight for Social Justice and Equality

A working definition for pop music is alluding to say the least. The notions behind a definition are ever so changing, that one has to backtrack to its origins and current status, inorder to define this genre of music adequately. There is a misconception of confusing pop music and popular music. The New Grove Dictionary Of Music and Musicians opines that popular music originated since “industrialization in the 1800's that is most in line with the tastes and interests of the urban middle class. This musical genre takes into consideration music from Vaudeville and Ministrel shows converted to heavy metal”. Pop music, is seemingly just the abbreviated form of the previous term , however The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock defines it as “music accessible to a general public (rather than aimes at elites or dependent on any kind of knowledge or listening skill)”. This definition therefore encompasses most if not all contemporary popular forms of music and also alludes to pop music’s evolution out of the rock and roll revolution of the mid-1950s. Hence the first definition takes on a historical view to one; define the historical definition of the term and on the other hand, differentiate that despite the confusion that most people make with pop music and popular music their origins are tens of decades apart.

A more common definition stems from the wide-reaching nature of this music type and the influence such a reach has on social and societal issues in a particular period. Pop music is in essence a melting pop of various cultural groups and is not limited by language, gender, sexuality nor religion. This can be seen from the popularity of certain Artiste, for example the likes of Beyonce, Paul McCarthney, Elton John, Shawn Mendez and Shaggy just to name a few. The intertwined nature of pop music and its assimilation of elements and ideas from other musical genres continues to be prevail even today. Rock, R&B, country, disco, punk, and hip-hop are all specific genres that have been incorporated into the pop category and even more so other international genres such as reggae and Latin music This multiculturalism and assimilative quality has given the genre its powers and hence why it is used as a popular means of international and local protest to various injustices.

Pop music has been used as protest music for the better half of a century. Having it roots from those musicians of the civil rights era in America; protest songs were used as a means to encourage social change. These were pop songs that could, as the definition suggests, reach huge collectives of people and influence social change surrounding a particular issue. This was abundantly clear in Billie Holiday’s 1939 song “Strange Fruit.” Lynskey credits Holiday as being the first to launch protest songs into the popular arena and explains that “up until this point, protest songs functioned as propaganda, but ‘Strange Fruit’ proved they could be art”. Focusing on the real-life conflict in the South and the mass lynching of hundreds of innocent African Americans, pop Artiste Billie Holiday forced listeners to face the hard reality of the injustice that black people in the South faced using potent lyrics.

“Southern trees bear a strange fruit

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.”

Protest pop music usually tends to serge during periods of crisis. It was therefore no surprise that due to the build-up of the late 1990s in international politics, spanning from trade embargos, oil crisises and the birth of modern-day terrorism, an avenue for expressing contempt was needed. Following the popularisation of protest music during the civil rights movement, we would see a resurgence of protest pop music in tandem with terrorist attacks, namely 9/11, as well as war actions taken on the part of the US. American idiot, a song sung by the band Green Day criticized not only the actions taken by the US government during this period but also how it was being sensationalised in the media.

“Don't wanna be an American idiot

Don't want a nation under the new mania

And can you hear the sound of hysteria?

The subliminal mind-fuck America”

Even in Jamaica, Pop/Reggae icon Bob Marley has used his music to influence the masses and even the divided government at the time. Facing even assassination, he stood up for what he believed in and used his music to speak out against segregation and spread social and cultural values internationally. Bob Marley’s highlighted the oppression African-descended Jamaicans felt, a sentiment comparable to reality of racial segregation experienced by African Americans both before and after segregation. “But although his music called for a revolution against the oppressors, Bob Marley’s work provides a stark contrast to the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States”.

Additionally, due to the inclusive nature of pop music and its calls on various international platforms; ideologies of LGBTQ+ tolerance, Racial equality, feminism and fights against forms of abuse have taken centre stage. Pop artistes have used their music to combat degradation of vulnerable groups and people. This can be seen in Beyoncé’s homage to the Black Panther’s movement in response to violence African Americans in the USA face. Additionally, the social outcry is seen with Lady Gaga and Hozier in response to the Queer community or even Belgian pop Artiste, Angele joining the European version of the #MeToo movement, speaking out against sexual assault that women face on a daily. This mandate that pop music has taken up has made internal social cries, reach the far corners of the world to anyone who would watch or listen.

As aforementioned, Lady Gaga’s song calling for the acceptance of people of the LGBTQ+ community, “Born this Way” came at a time when trans women and other Queer people were being violently targeted and suicide was on the rise in these communities. This call to love each other despite sexual preferences resonated internationally with not only the LGBTQ+ but heterosexuals who were striving for equality. Gaga was not the first to use pop music as a means to address a social problem. Prior to “Born this Way”, Katy Perry had released her breakout song “I Kissed a Girl”. While this did not call explicitly for acceptance the idea that two women being together was ok and that not conventionally following the norms as these mega artistes did, professing their love for the same sex started to be ok.

Feminism and issues surrounding women were also addressed through pop icons like Beyoncé, Shawn Mendez and Angèle. Three different pop artistes from three different countries who are all able to see the issues that women face whether that includes rape, anxiety, abuse or infidelity. The music then became a platform to connect with women who experience similar issues in their individual lives. Shawn Medes in his song “Treat You Better” tackles the issues surrounding domestic violence and calls women to reach out for help once they are experiencing this, because everyone needs help to move forward. Angèle, in her song “Balance ton quoi” went head on with issues surrounding sexual assault that women all around the world were facing. Not long after, hashtags connected to women posting pictures of their abusers started to flood twitter in an effort to keep these abusers accountable for their wrongs. Another highlight of the role of pop music and how it seemingly corrects social issues when correctly used.

In relation to the Black Lives Matter Movement that started in the United States to voice opposition to the senseless killing of dozens of innocent African American with little or no repercussion by members of the police force. Various artistes used their influence as pop artistes and through their music to rally support for the cause. No one has superseded the “Queen B”.  Beyoncé’s “Formation,” which she surprise-debuted by uploading the video to her YouTube page the day before she was set to perform at the 2016 Super Bowl. The traction from the release of the song was so much so, that major music platforms crashed that very evening with everyone trying to purchase the song. Many felt that the song vilified the police force while others celebrated the move by the Mega star as the first of her kind to stand up in modern pop music and call for the black community to protect their own. The video depicted images of issues overwhelming affecting the black community - Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, cops in riot gear, Black Lives Matter - and set the stage for her performance paying homage to the Black Panther party. Within hours, the hashtag #Formation was trending, giving people a space to talk about the video, the artist who made it, and the issues it presented.

Conclusively, it is evident that pop music has a drastic impact on the social climate and in most cases the political climate in various countries. Whether it be in the states and the issues surrounding racism, sexism, abuse or just plain violence against subgroups, it has been able to start the necessary conversations that would allow for a solution to be developed for these problems. With the age of the internet at its apex, it is possible to reach 100s of millions of people in the blink of an eye and convey your following to mobilize in support of or in opposition to various issues. This is seen with Angele and her European version of the #MeToo movement or even the #BlackLivesMatter movement spread through the music of Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar. Having talks surrounding LGBTQ+ acceptance by Lady Gaga, Troye Sevan, Sam Smith and many others. Pop is the vehicle, media is the stage, and no one really knows what the outcome will be as a result of a song, they can simply just hope for the best.