The chords that Pharrell laid down as the foundation for the track and Sounwave’s production is what gets people dancing at marches and rallies, but Kendrick’s lyrics ultimately made it the powerful protest song that it is. Not playing the victim, but still having that, ‘yeah, we strong.’” “I wanted to approach it as more uplifting but aggressive.
“It was a lot goin on, and still to this day, there’s a lot going on,” he explained in a 2016 interview with producer Rick Rubin. While there are similarities to previous protest anthems-the jazz instrumentals and clear social commentary-the tone of “Alright” is noticeably more uplifting, which Kendrick has explained was intentional. But “Alright” wasn’t set out to be a protest song in the same way these songs were. dropped “Fuck Tha Police,” a controversial song combatting police brutality and racial profiling. The following decade, Marvin Gaye released “What’s Goin On,” an introspective record that explores poverty and the Vietnam War. In 1964, Sam Cooke released “A Change Is Gonna Come” in response to the Civil Rights Movement.
It was later played during the Million Man March for racial equality, a Movement for Black Lives conference at Cleveland State University, Trump protest rallies, and countless Black Lives Matter events across the country.įor decades, artists have used their music to speak out against injustice. It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment the song was first used in a protest setting, but many trace it back to July 2015, as news of Sandra Bland’s death while in police custody spread, and protests ensued. Since its release in 2015 on To Pimp a Butterfly, “Alright” has been widely accepted as one of this generation’s most important protest anthems. “When the song came on, there was some dancing and singing along and generally just a happy atmosphere.” “The energy was incredible,” recalls Joshua Potash, an educator who witnessed the D.C. Sometime around 1:30pm EST, Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning single “Alright” played on the speakers, sparking a group sing-along.
And although there were instances of intense conflict with officers, there were also uplifting moments of solidarity. It was the ninth day of protests against police brutality and racism, following the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people in this country. The large yellow words painted on the ground-“Black Lives Matter” and “Defund the Police”-were mostly covered by the feet of protesters, but the echoes of the crowd’s chants carried for blocks. On June 6, hundreds of activists and protesters gathered on Black Lives Matter Plaza, a two-block section on 16th Street in Washington D.C. You could hear their chants from the White House.
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