The return of protest music in 2024: five of the best songs so far
There’s a lot to be angry about. For decades, the state of the world has been getting worse and worse every year. But then there’s the feeling that the second we ticked into 2024, that process hit hyperspeed as society snowballed into worsening violence, injustice, and austerity. Naturally, artists have raised their voices in protest through music.
Protest music has a rich and fascinating history. From the birth of protests and the earliest-ever instances of activism, making noise has been part of it. Sure, shouting and screaming can work, but quickly, movements began adopting chants, which morphed into songs. Then, musicians began putting their pen to political issues. Unable or unwilling to ignore the state of the world they existed in, the various injustices of the moment so often find their way into lyrics.
In the 1950s and ‘60s, folk and rock music became keenly political as artistry merged with activism. From then on, counterculture has always been synonymous with commentary, as musicians of all sizes, scales, and genres have used their work to send a message.
In 2024, it feels like the world needs that more than ever. With the cost of living crisis still raging, vital services being cut by governments, ongoing injustice relating to race, gender, sexuality and beyond, and then active conflict and genocides going on around the world, it’s impossible to turn a blind eye and go on business as usual. For so many artists, the idea of removing politics from their music would feel ignorant or indulgent. Instead, they use their platform to protest at every gig simply by performing.
Channelling the rage into something productive, sending a message to the man or simply providing a moment of relatable catharsis for crowds to scream along to, these five tracks are powerful.
The five best protest songs of 2024 so far:
5. Bob Vylan – ‘Hunger Games’
Bob Vylan’s music has always been political. Their 2022 record, Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life, was a high-octane wake-up call that tackled topics like austerity head-on. Their recent effort, Humble As The Sun, furthered the conversation in their signature stylings of punk rock meeting grime.
‘Hunger Games’ is an outraged scream from a country becoming increasingly crippled by cuts as the rich get richer and the poor get hungry. “When was it great? (Never) / Someone lied again / Seems like price of life’s on the rise again,” they sing, daring the politicians who blindly praise the UK’s ‘greatness’ to say it again as the cost of living crisis pushes more people over the poverty line.
4. Lambrini Girls – ‘God’s Country’
Lambrini Girls are quickly establishing themselves as the political voice of the current generation. They’re never shy about it, regularly turning up to events with messages on their clothing or pulling out of lineups sponsored by evil corporations.
On ‘God’s Country’, they chant, “Great Britain? Are you sure?” taking shots at everything from the lack of democracy within our system of leaders to the scandal of Prince Andrew to tax evasion. “Music and any other form of media are extremely important tools when it comes to raising awareness,” they told Far Out, making their dedication to sending a message known.
3. Chloe Slater – ‘Nothing Shines On This Island’
For casual commentary sung over catchy beats, Chloe Slater’s protest music is infiltrating the indie world. First came ’24 Hours’, her takedown of out-of-touch influencers claiming “we all have the same 24 hours in a day” without acknowledging their privilege. Then, on ‘Nothing Shines On This Island’, she rolls her eyes at the rich boys in pubs and the various abuses and injustices that surround them.
“Welfares all there when you’re minted,” she sings, calling out people with “passed down property” who don’t see how much easier life is for them. Placing a vital and relatable message inside an indie tune is proof that protest music doesn’t always have to be boisterous or shouty. Sometimes, a singalong is just as effective.
2. Macklemore – ‘Hind’s Hall’
In an incredible act of solidarity, Macklemore has used his huge platform to show outright his support for Palestine and demand action from the powers at be to actively work to free the country and stop the conflict. The title refers to Hamilton Hall, a building at Columbia University which is occupied by students last week protesting for Palestine. They renamed it Hind’s Hall in reference to Hind Rajab, a five-year-old child killed in Gaza. Across eight verses, Macklemore refuses to look away from the topic, even calling out his fellow musicians as he says, “the music industry’s quiet, complicit in their platform of silence.”
“I stand here today and every day forward for the rest of my life in solidarity with the people of Palestine, with an open heart, in the belief that our collective liberation is at stake – that we all deserve freedom in this life of ours,” he declared at a concert before diving into a stirring performance of the new song.
1. Paris Paloma – ‘Labour (The Cacophony)’
A cacophony is defined as a harsh or jarring sound. In the context of Paris Paloma’s reignited version of her 2023 track ‘Labour’, she’s transformed her rousing chorus into a protest march, sounding exactly like a storm of women chanting together.
“All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid / Nymph, then a virgin, nurse, then a servant,” they begin as a gathering of hundreds of voices, uniting women in our collective anger towards enduring gender injustice. Throughout the song, Paloma delves into the unequal labour performed by men and women and the fact that, overwhelmingly, the burden of emotional labour still lands on the shoulders of women. As she travels through a series of injustices, double standards and expectations, ‘Labour (The Cacophony)’ feels like a vessel for collective anger or a united scream of frustrated rage.
