Publication Type
Magazine Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
7-2019
Abstract
Music is meant for the listener’s enjoyment and entertainment; however, some songs will go down in history for not just sounding good, but also delivering a powerful message. Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” was released in 1939 when lynching of African Americans still occurred, while Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” came out in 1971 in the midst of the Vietnam War. Songs like these, and others, paved the way for music to become an effective platform for social commentary. Today, the appeal of socially conscious music endures—Gaye’s work is said to have influenced thatof Aretha Franklin, who in turn inspiredMs. Lauryn Hill, who then influencedSampa the Great. The list goes on.
In that same spirit, I have compiled a playlist of contemporary songs that bear an impactful message. May their lyrics and tunes inspire changemakers of this century and beyond.
Discipline
Music
Publication
Social Space
Publisher/Conference
Lien Centre
Copyright Owner and License
Lien Centre for Social Innovation
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Citation
See, Gabrielle.
The changemaker playlist - Music Edition. (2019). Social Space. 59-63.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lien_research/170
Additional URL
https://socialspacemag.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SocialSpaceJuly2019.pdf