Has music ever really impacted politics?
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Credit: Jean-Pierre Leloir
Watch Nina Simone define the role of an artist
Nina Simone was a fiercely cognisant figure who used her soaring artistry to help shape the times with unshakable societal sagacity. As the beat writer William S. Burroughs who helped to shape the counterculture revolution once wrote: “Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact.”
When faced with the might of power that premise might seem glossy-eyed but it is equally undeniable that outside of the bowels of power artists have had a shaping influence. Unfortunately, in some ways, a lot of art was forced to play in role in trying to shape the disparities of the times. Not only did Nina Simone reflect this in her music, but her career itself was a paradigm of this.
When she was merely a child she refused to play at the church if her parents were made to sit at the back, then she was turned away from a classic career because of the colour of her skin, so she poured all of these hardships into her exultant soul and boldly tackled societal issues. Then, when James Baldwin thought that the civil rights movement was waning, he knew he could turn to Simone for continued support.
Beyond this, Nina Simone had passion and soul in abundance—the sort that makes music seem less like a structural science where notes need to fit the arithmetic of form, and more like the ease with which a bird takes to flight. However, it is a mark of the woman that she didn’t rest on the laurels of talent and sought to offer something of staggering depth outside of her skill.
As she said of the role of an artist: “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, musicians. As far as I’m concerned, it’s their choice—but I choose to reflect the times and the situations in which I find myself. That, to me, is my duty. At this crucial time in our lives when everything is so desperate, when every day is a matter of survival, I don’t think you can help but be involved.”
Continuing: “Young people – black and white – know this, that is why they are so involved in politics. We will shape and mould this country, or it will not be moulded and shaped at all anymore. How can you be an artist and not reflect the times? That, for me, is thee definition of an artist.” Fortunately, that legacy has in certain corners, but it is also worth reiterating now more than ever.
