Year In Music 2020
Why 2020’s Protest Songs Aren’t Part of a Passing Trend
The May 25 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police resulted in the eruption of worldwide protests against racial injustice, as well as an influx of new protest anthems across demographics in the weeks that followed. As superstars like Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift and Harry Styles vocalized support for the Black Lives Matter movement, artists ranging from country singer-songwriter Mickey Guyton to trap veteran Juicy J to soul-R&B star Leon Bridges rapidly released new songs commenting on systemic discrimination. Protest music soared on the charts, too: “Rockstar,” the DaBaby and Roddy Ricch smash that crowned Billboard’s 2020 Songs of the Summer chart, received an official “BLM remix” in the weeks after Floyd’s death, while “The Bigger Picture,” Lil Baby’s poig...
