Resistance Music... Music that is pushing back....
- info227018
- Sep 18
- 2 min read
Resistance music—music that’s from a place of saying ‘I’m not having it no more’—brings people with shared ideals and experiences together into a collective, or becomes a powerful voice that reaches worldwide.
Would reggae be considered resistance music?Is grime considered resistance music?Could drill be considered resistance music?
Probably, though what I definitely agree with Joel on is that this type of music always seems to be created against a backdrop of suffering. Hardships. Whether poverty, violence, or economic stagnation, the music—at least in my eyes—seems to be drawn from suffering.
I remember working with a young person who was attending a youth offending service, where I used to take him to a music studio so he could create. Honestly, these were some of my best times of engagement with him. I remember him saying bars that—even now, nearly 12 years on—still remain firmly in my mind. They go as follows:
On the way to getting birded but I couldn’t see it
Till I heard 7 years has a ring to it
I was only 14
Just a kid at 14
Only 14 yet they gave me half of 14
For those wondering: yeah, as a 14-year-old, he was given seven years. The next time I saw him, he was just under 18. I remember a conversation where he said to me, ‘I entered prison as one of the youngest and left as one of the oldest.’ Even now, honestly, I’m not sure why he was given so long. But what I do know is that he was from a background of being abandoned by his father—suffering—maybe the backdrop to his version of resistance music?
As I said, this exhibition is going to be deep; it’s going to be really music-heavy (your head’s going to be nodding like a rocker!), but it’s also topic-deep, as we break down—through community voices—the issues that affected previous generations and remain persistent even today…
Bedroom Shut, Music Up
We’ll be announcing the launch date for the exhibition soon.
David
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