Pumping some N.W.A right now seems fitting.
The brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police was undoubtedly racially-fuelled.
N.W.A and other black artists such as Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar have been seeing a massive increase in streams since the George Floyd protests.
Some songs just soar by telling it straight, and Fuck Tha Police by N.W.A is no exception. This 1988 anthem has seen a surge in resonance since the George Floyd protests. It’s amassed a stream increase of 272 per cent, according to Alpha Data. Racial discrimination from police has, unfortunately, been an ongoing global issue. There’s quite a handful of tracks from black artists addressing the topic. The likes of Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Public Enemy and more have had their socially-charged tracks return to mass popularity.
Let’s take a closer look at these other tracks. First off, there’s Kendrick, a rapper so successful every single track of his last album made the Billboard top 100. Lines like “We hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure” from his hit Alright speak volumes right now. It’s seen a 71% increase in streams. Fight the power, the 1989 standout single from Public Enemy has been dominating the speakers as well. It’s received an 89% stream increase. Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, has also resurfaced with his unforgettable tune, This Is America. Recalling back to its iconic music video, it’s easy to see why this track has gotten an 147% increase in streams.
Music has always been an effective tool for addressing social issues, and anti-racist anthems such as these are as relevant as ever. In due time, we can only hope these songs become reminders of our worlds past problems, not continuous indicators of our ongoing trajectory.
