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Essay / Can popular music be protest music?
Pop music is one of the most influential platforms in the world and is part of daily life in the majority of the Western world. Although pop music has such an influential presence in today's world, the majority of songs released are primarily about "love", while other topics are barely discussed. This shows that pop music is supposed to be catchy and inspiring music. Artists such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Childish Gambino have recently used their platform to speak their minds, share their political views, and empower and inspire their audiences. Garofalo believes that there are two categories of artists who choose to engage in the political world. One being called political activism and the other being political argument. The first describes the case of musicians who have acquired a public presence which they use to support causes or candidates. The second captures the case of those who use their music to express their political views, with many artists showing both (p. 50). An example of the latter would be Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, who was very politically active during the Iraq War, but as he explained to the Guardian in 2003, that his "songs have nothing to do with war, they're all about the sad insecurities of a bald rock star. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayLady Gaga and Macklemore have both used their platform and music to express their support and tribute to the LGBTQ+ community. Macklemore with his 2012 single, Same Love, and Lady Gaga with her 2011 single, Born This Way, which has often been called an international gay anthem. Beyoncé is seen as an empowering presence, celebrating in every way possible the independent woman she extols in her music. Beyoncé used her massive platform to fight racism, stereotypes, police brutality and infidelity in her album "Lemonade." Because these songs are catchy and uplifting, Beyonce is able to discuss serious issues in a more light-hearted and simplified way. She even expanded on that and created a visual aspect to accompany the music to visually show these political issues, which was more impactful because it added another dimension and allowed her to get her messages across in a very direct and in front. Other popular music artists have followed suit and used visuals with their music to help make their voices heard. Kendrick Lamar expresses his aversion to photoshopped images in his single, HUMBLE, when he raps: "I'm so sick of Photoshop / Show me something natural like the afro on Richard Pryor / Show me something as natural as an ass with stretch marks. Where Childish Gambino addresses gun violence in his song This Is America and uses strong imagery to reinforce the issue. These two songs have been listened to more than 500 million times on YouTube. Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino are all strong supporters of social justice movements such as #BlackLivesMatter. By continuing to create these music videos, Beyoncé, Lamar, and Gambino not only pledged allegiance to this movement, but also encouraged their fans to do so as well. Pop music listeners weren't used to hearing political messages in songs, so they did. I don't want to hear them, but politics has since become a more popular topic among young people. Lindmark writes that being "woke" has now become fashionable among young people and that the 21st century has witnessed.