[box_dark]It’s been almost 45 years since Martin Luther King Jr. last shared his message of equality and peace with the world. No one person has been able to fill his mighty shoes, but countless musicians have tried to further his message. In honor of King’s birthday, here are some inspirational, progressive and well-meaning tunes.
“Diamonds from Sierra Leone” – Kanye West
West drops his usual chants about strippers and gold digging women and channels King’s social conscience to tackle the issue of conflict diamonds. The ice that many rappers wear around their necks is tainted with blood.
“Get Up, Stand Up” – The Wailers
King once declared doubts about Jesus’ resurrection in Sunday school. From there, he said, “doubts began to spring forth unrelentingly.” Bob Marley reminds listeners that they should worry about life, and not what comes after, on this seminal complaint against spiritual slavery.
“World Wide Suicide” – Pearl Jam
If King had lived to the Bush era, he would have undoubtedly been an outspoken critic of war in Iraq. Eddie Vedder and crew get political in this 2006 comeback song.
“Up Up & Away” – Kid Cudi
King wanted to create a better society, and worked toward that goal despite criticism and investigations from the U.S. government. Cudi follows a similar theme about self-improvement and not giving a darn about what others think about that.
“Boom!” – System of a Down
To imagine Martin Luther King Jr. listening to System of a Down is to imagine the absurd. A activist for African-American civil rights from Atlanta, Ga. and a couple of Armenian dudes who grew up in Los Angeles should have nothing in common, but System of a Down is probably the most popular political band of the aughts, and this song rallies against militarism like no other.
“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” – Bob Dylan
Dylan dispenses with all metaphors and takes on a real-life case of civil rights-era racism. Hattie Carroll was a black woman living in the segregated South when a drunken white man killed her with a cane. When he was sentenced to only six months in jail (ironically, on the same day King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech), Dylan read about the case and wrote a song about it.
“Made in America” – Jay-Z and Kanye West, featuring Frank Ocean
“Sweet King Martin, sweet Queen Coretta, sweet Brother Malcolm, sweet Queen Betty, sweet Mother Mary, sweet Father Joseph, sweet Jesus.”[/box_dark]
