What is this generations Nirvana, Limp Bizkit, Tupac, or Rage against the machine?
I feel global political oppression or global wars usually produce great music but Macklemore might be the peak.
Nothing against him, some of his songs are good, but I expected real rage inducing stuff with everything going on. Or is this just the state of music as a whole?
Off topic, why would you put Limp Bizkit with the classics?
Maybe they did it all for the nookie
Come on
Most punk like Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys, Anti Flag, Black Flag, The Clash, Dropkick Murphys has been very political from the start.
I know they are older now but Dead Prez, Foo Fighters, Rise Against and System of a Down are still active. Then there is the much older Roger Waters who has been very political throughout his career. And let's not forget the legendary Los Tigres Del Norte.
But coming back to younger artists
I'm not saying there isn't political songs, I'm saying this generation doesn't have those as much.
I also love that you said younger artists then named killer mike. Makes me feel like a teen.lol
Bob Vylan and Kneecap seem to be pulling their weight.
Haha. I tend to mix time in my head sometimes. My age is showing!
Bad Religion are working on a new album too
whoa Lowkey mentioned! yeah, that's the kind of politically conscious hip-hop I meant. Immortal Technique was even moreso, but he's been inactive for a long time and the extreme homophobia makes it hard for me to listen to, which is a shame.
Yes. I would like to think he was a product of the toxic masculinity culture, especially due to his time in the prison. It is a shame that while he was being radical on one front, he managed to dehumanize people who should have been his allies.
“With the instant availability of information, and content so easily obtainable, is the culture now a product that's disposable?“
This quote goes back to 2007. 18 years later it’s not even a question anymore, music and the culture around it has become disposable.
There’s always going to be great bands and artists who have something to say! I’ve heard some of my favourite bands just in the last 10 years. But society is never going to look at music the same, it’s just something people tap on their screen and give a quick listen, or worse; just watching some idiotic lip sync to a 20 second excerpt of it on tik tok.
This is America was produced in 2018. Say the word Mustard around a lot of people and they know what you are talking about. That is my whole point. We still have massive hits but no rage against the governments or wars.
I also feel that the design of current music ecosystem is doing this as well. They can stop music being released or throw money at it.
We don't have the bands kicking, for the most, against capitalism.
I’m sad about how right you are.
And there's no real coming back from this. If it were me I'd raise taxes on art, particularly the big players, to reduce the monetary incentives and drive the big corporations out. That'd be a start, politically unpopular and visciously opposed by Disney but a start.
I think policing art is bad, but if all the art in the world was just made as a hobby project that would probably be a better world. Less art, more valued, more honest.
one of those is not like the others
OP was born in 1991 and was too young to have lived through the proper grunge revolution, but was just the right age to experience the corporate grunge poser revolution.
Bob Vylan?
His music is good but I wouldn't say the same level. Give him a few more years.
Speaking as someone who's been into Nirvana and RatM since the early '90s, there's more anger and protest in 'We Live Here' than in the entirety of Nirvana's catalogue.
Sure, Nirvana were angry, but mostly in a depressed, teenage way, lashing out at an unfair world. They were angry on a personal level, mostly. Bob Vylan are angry on a social level, in the way RatM were. They're demanding the world look at the inequality they see, rallying us to take it on board and do something about it.
If that isn't protest, then I don't know what it is you're looking for.
It's a duo. Bobby Vylan and Bobbie Vylan.
Alright but have you heard this one though?
I'm too old to say what anything this generation is, but look up "fucked up" by Macklemore. Came out at the start of the year and it's the most rage against the machine esque thing I've heard in years. Got me riled up.
Edit: I see you literally called him out in the post, so this is old news to you I'm sure. I'll leave it for others to find!
I missed this one, spot on.
Haven't heard it yet,but will definitely check it out.
Macklemore & Foxy Shazam aren't full political, but are on the blessed outskirts of mainstream media, as the good ones from every generation are (and collaborated for a song: Eric Nally (Foxy's singer) & Macklemore on Downtown (by Macklemore & Lewis)).
I'd say based on his last 3 songs he is now fully political. I mean we'll see what he does next, but Hind's Hall 1 and 2, and Fucked Up are all super political and powerful songs.
I’m glad I’m not the only one advertising Jesse Welles on here. He’s probably my favourite musician right now and I feel like no one is talking about him. His lyrics align perfectly with the average lemming I feel like.
Also Ren is cool. I don’t like rap but I like him. He’s got great lyrics.
I love me some Ren but not the level as System of a down or crosby stills nash & young.
Thank you for introducing me to Ren. Been listening to his stuff all day, I haven't been so emotional in a while
They don't exist, at least not in Western mainstream music. Record labels have learned from those artists and will now drop anyone who doesn't toe the capitalist/imperialist line. Like the singers being cancelled for supporting BLM or Palestine.
And it's very specifically just for leftist messages. Kanye straight up calls himself a Nazi and sold shirts with swastikas on it and didn't get canceled for antisemitism, but tons of pro-Palestine artists did. If an artist straight up calls themselves a socialist like Tupac did it would be career suicide.
As someone in Gen Z, I have never heard a mainstream song released in my lifetime that actually attacks capitalism beyond useless lip service or calls for any kind of anticapitalist action by the general public. They definitely exist but only by indie artists who will either never get signed onto a label or will be forced to capitulate to the capitalist propaganda machine if they do.
Childish Gambino? Yasiin Bey? Kendrick? Killer Mike? Hip hop alone has never stopped being critical of the machine... You must be living with your head under a rock or in headphones that only play top 40 or something. There is an absolute wealth of music that takes on the various hierarchies that dominate our world...
Expand your tastes, cousin. There's a lot of anti-war and angry music getting made right now.
I'm talking more main stream. You couldn't turn on a radio without hearing those guys.
Yes, you can point to any period and say "they made statements".
Ren makes statements but has 2.4 mil followers on youtube. I'm talking a generation band /artist standing out in this period. Hearing Killing in the Name of playing daily, the music video was everywhere.
Your boy is good but you also pointed to a song from a decade ago which has 2.2 mil views.
Kendrick Lamar.
He lost a few points for the Super bowl. He could have made a statement to a president but didn't. His first couple of albums made statements about life in the hood.
I would say childish Gambino made more of a major statement with one song compared to Kendrick.
Residente as well
Kneecap have been getting massive publicity because of their pro-palestine/anti-genocide stance. I haven't listened to much to their latest stuff, but I should re-explore them.
Great music, they could turn into that band with a few massive hits.
Kneecap
With the rapid rise in accessible media tuned to everyone's personal preference there's not really a single artist that is capturing attention across the board, but that doesn't mean there's not protest bangers from several artists:
Along with Grandson, I highly highly highly recommend KFlay. I love her. They're friends and tour together
Seen Durry live, great fucking show. Grandson has some good stuff plus he made music with Tom Morello. Big plus.
I feel your statement is pretty accurate. With the wide spread access of music we are losing something. Just like shows, the common connection between each other. This is my main point.
Bob Vylan.
Love those guys
Architechts, motionless in white, rise against
Limp Bizkit does not deserve to be anywhere near this list. They are a piss stain on the seat of the limo Kurt Kobain's brother rented for Prom.
Just because the music you listed isn't new, doesn't mean it can't serve the same purpose as it did for previous generations.
Well recession pop is back, check out the new Lady Gaga or Kesha albums. So there is that sort of dissonance and syncopated funkier rhythms in pop music which can usually be connected to economic and social downturn.
I know that shit is worlds away from what you're referring to, I think you're looking for something more aggressive.
I think the 2022 Every Time I Die record Renegade goes pretty fucking hard, I listen to Planet Shit about once a month and just rage.
Planet B by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard goes pretty hard.
You can always check out whatever Napalm Death is doing, much of their stuff is political and social commentary, in fact I love ND lyrics.
No one has the " popular understanding of 'transgender' didn't really exist for gen x but whatever it's going to be, these songs are mostly about needing to transition but feeling unable to" that Kurt Cobain had, but Kurt did once say that early Nirvana was an attempt at copping Gang of Four, and Go4 is very political, critical and high energy. esp their first album "Entertainment!" and "Solid Gold". After that they become kinda disco.
Also consider diving into the incredible wealth of protest music produced before the 60s. The 60s is kind of understood as a high water mark for protest music, but IMO a lot of Dylan and stuff was promoted more because he was actually less political than like Phil Ochs. Woody Guthrie, Victor Jara, The Almanac Singers, Odetta, etc., had much sharper politics than most well known artists who came after.
Finally, last but best, not new but largely undiscovered and forgotten, the Swedish RATM: the 1998 album The Shape of Punk to Come by the Refused. By far, one of my absolute favorite left wing records
My whole thing, that a lot of people are missing,this generation doesn't have a lot of great music produced from the political time.
Maybe it is a rear mirror view type of thing. Billie Holiday did not shy away due to her believes.
If others don't know, she was harassed by the federal government. Back then, it was easy for record companies to silence you compared to today
So I'm a socialist, in that I go to meetings voluntarily and get in trouble all the time. I spend a ton of time heavily invested in this political stuff. And one thing that is like desperately missing from our movements is any kind of culture. So that's something that I'm also thinking about a lot, and I think a lot of people are. Not sure what to do really, still trying to figure that stuff out, but I'm actively trying to figure that out.
Run the Jewels def have some overtly political stuff, a few tracks with Zach de la Rocha even, although Killer Mike is a little disappointing politically, but many artists are. They have newer stuff but I just really like this song
Another group to check out is the Coup. Been making records since before the gangsta rap come up in the 90s even. Their newer stuff is pretty popular with young people too.
Both these songs are over a decade old, fuck me
Dropkick Murphys are killing it right now. Their last 3 albums are all great.
I also really dig Jeff Rosenstock.
Elder Millennial and gen x. Rage and nirvana are my jams.
I took my daughter to a concert some years ago, when she was in middle school, and before any bands went on, "Killing in the Name Of" started up. I told her "at the end of the intro when the song starts up, everyone in the audience over 30 will start bobbing their head" and sure enough, thousands of adult chaperones all at once just start grooving
Locals, Ill check them out for sure
Regarding Palestine, a number of groups have done stuff on stage or donated money and so on, but there don't seem to be a ton that have written music specifically about the war. I'm guessing this is partly due to a lot of record labels supporting Israel on top of just so much other horrible shit going on in recent years. You could probably find more stuff if you looked for music by people from the countries directly involved.
Pretty much the same situation for Ukraine I think. Bands like Jinjer are vocally pro-Ukraine.
It's much easier to find one-off songs about a specific issue than like entire albums right now AFAICT (again probably partially because of how much crap is going on). A lot of groups also seem afraid to really hammer on specific points to avoid alienating fans I think, so it's sort of just the state of music as well IMO.
I feel like, with all the music apps and direct access to music, we would see more. Less label control because patreon, facebook, instagram, youtube, etc allows money to change hands.
It feels like we are losing voices on major issues either by lack of skill or lack of interest. Not trying to be super political but Ukraine and Palestine is very unpopular , that's not including the leaders.
I think it's actually much harder for small artists to succeed now, even with the proliferation of stuff like social media sites and music apps. Most streaming services pay artists practically nothing, and from what I understand, touring is less profitable than it used to be because the artists are getting a smaller cut of the profit than they used to from merchandise.
Stuff like Bandcamp and Patreon help, but those platforms are pretty small compared to something like Spotify. It's probably easier to get your name out there because of social media/Youtube, but I don't think it usually makes up for how little money they make from listeners. This is also ignoring piracy.
Kneecap. If you're even partly plugged in you know about Kneecap.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/arts/music/kneecap-glastonbury.html
Get into the punk/folk scene.
Wingnut Dishwashers Union
Pat the Bunny
Daze N Days
The Orphans
Really anything in this genre. You'd be surprised at the observations made by people living on the streets or just generally down on their luck.
I'm talking mainstream not underground or festival groups. Nothing aginst them but 50k streams vs 130mil is a big gap.
You're missing the forest for the trees.
Mainstream appeal requires certain sacrifices, and message is one of the first things on the block. Representation on that scale requires backroom assurances that do not allow the system to be rebuked in the way you are looking to see. Sure, you can have outspoken individuals like Dave grohl or Tom Morello making their opinions known, but the Foo Fighters will still play in Israel if the paycheck is big enough. Doesn't matter how much blood is under the stage, money talks.
Fontaines D.C. comes to mind.
I'm surprised someone finally brought them up. I feel kneecap and Bob Vylan is brought up to the recent news postings.
My point is mainstream is not speaking out, not lesser know groups. Think Farm Aid, Live Aid, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stone, NAS, Boogie down productions, etc... at their peak speaking out.
Some got blacklisted, some got arrested, some had the U.S. federal government come after them, and some died (Bob Marley) bc they dared to challenge the system. I haven't seen that since the 90s. 2000-to now, feels like money stops the current generations from taking those steps.
Fuck, Taylor Swift makes sure ever word is so starile before say she would vote for a democrat. Instead of ripping apart a child molester. Killer Mike goes from destroying Reagen and Bush to Obama. One of those are not the same.
I'm a 90s kid and I never got into music like this. I always had single songs I liked, including from RatM, Nirvana etc but I never really cared about more than 1 or 2 songs of any individual artist, or albums. I just didn't like the other songs.
I assume the reason why you have these "recognizable" names was solely because music was sold in albums. People couldn't reaaaally get music conveniently any other way. And only the biggest ones could afford to produce albums in the first place. So even if you liked 1 or 2 songs only, you were "forced" to buy the whole album and since you got it already, why not listen to the rest. And since you didn't have infinite money to buy infinite albums you listened to the same ones again and again.
I never really did that. I bought an album and actually only listened to one song or I bought compilations. I never cared about a particular artist, only about songs. The current music acquisition process is perfect for me, I find plenty of amazing songs everywhere. Do I know the artist of my songs? Not really, and I don't care. When I meet someone, we listen to each other's music together. I vibe with and pick single new songs from them. We don't bond over artists, we bond over music. I think everything is perfect that way.
Edit: just one German example of a popular song that many people here know that criticizes shit here in the country: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y-B0lXnierw
That guy is a Hardcore Zionist. He released a song with his band last year called October in Europe where they had texts like:
Since 07.10. I no longer want to seek the conversation
Surprise: Even Greta hates Jews
Back then, the perpetrators were gone in no time
Today, the greatest anti-Semites are
All anti-racists, against hate and for peace
...
It was supposed to be "Never again powerlessness"
October is coming to Europe
To add to the discussion, watch out for bands getting banned all the time. The British rapper Lowkey, for example, has some hard-hitting lyrics and beautiful melodies. Very political, too!
You’re like my polar opposite. I like listening to albums because songs go together usually. I hate streaming services, but mostly Spotify because their UI is so trash it just pushes you to playlists.
It’s why I’ve just returned to Downloading music and using an iPod until I get my own streaming server set up.
I mean I hate streaming services too and download my music, never used Spotify. I use rateyourmusic and listenbrainz if I want recommendations, or threads like this or other word of mouth.
I didn't listen to these bands when I was younger. I listen to a lot of rap (southern rap). I thought Nirvana sucked when I listened to them. The older I get the more relevant the music has become. 60s and 70s music as well. The 80s has its moments but rhip-hop really shines through.
I just feel like todays music is so tame at times. Especially from the "top" performers. No one has a stance or rally cry. It is just remixes and pointless shit.
Grandson’s new album seems to be shaping up to have those tones. First released tracks hit them pretty pointedly. He’s not as refined as some of the artists you mentioned, though.
Those are the artist I am talking about. Not everyone will have a massive first album. Look at System of a down. Their second album is the start of their pure rage.
I actually just discovered that song by accident today lol. It was for a Venom movie? Weird collab but he’s always had a bit of the social commentary piece to him. This album just seems to be leaning more on the heavier sound.
Edit: OH! Hold the Line! I forgot about that one.
It's this super unknown band. Very underground. Nobody seems to know who they are. They're called Apostrophe.
Dub Fx? Check out Cracks in the Mirror. Definitely not as popular as your examples though
That is my whole point. There is a lot of amazing music but no major breakouts know globally. This post is filled with wonderful examples but 90% have to be searched to figure out who they are.
Say the Doors in the late 60s or early 70s and everyone knew who you were talking about. We don't have that as much.
Yeah, I see that. But I guess that has more to do with how music is produced and "consumed" nowadays rather than the artists themselves - a couple of decades ago it was really tough to get signed by a label, whereas now anyone can produce hits in their bedroom. This has, imo, led to a more "decentralised" music scene, and also to more focus on singles rather than albums. The fact that media outlets, including radios, are corporate-owned definitely doesn't help too.
i know y'all will probably yell at me but in terms of the spirit of kurt musically and aesthetically you could make a case for harry styles.
One Direction was Nirvana 2 (not clickbait)
Jim Morrison of his day.
Who's that lady that wrote the folk song "It's not going away"? There are like three or four folk groups and troubadours writing protest songs for tiktok. Mon Rovia with Heavy Foot, Jesse Welles with The Poor, stuff like that.
Taylor Swift sorta got under Trump's skin, but she's not particularly political.
Ypu had me up until Swift.lol I'll check the others out though. Jesse Welles has been mentioned a few times now.
Gasoline by Måneskin
Will check out the band. I feel the euro metal bands are killing it right now. Check out Zeal&Andor
Killswitch Engage's Atonement album has some excellent tracks with RATM-esque lyrics incl Crownsless King
How on god's green earth did limp bizkit make it on this list?
Denzel Curry maybe?
I'll check it out.
I'll be honest I haven't delved too deep into his music but his cover of Bulls on Parade goes hard
Jesse welles
Sorry, but his music is pretty bad. Sounds like the guy that brings guitar to a party and clears out the place.
His most popular song by the charts is "Horses" which is a change to most of his other stuff. If he continues down this path he could be a voice for a generation but we will see.
Seems to me that these days, with a lot of issues fragmented in our society, different bands tend to focus on certain issues - although there are some exceptions, yet this is also just based off what I've noticed.
Bob Vylan has been making the rounds, Kendrick Lamar has also been outspoken on some injustices over the years. Lambrini Girls focus on sexism in a rather angry manner. IDLES have some songs regarding frustration with aspects of society, however they're not as detailed in their messages yet they still provide the energy for them.
\
Kneecap have been speaking about the situation in Palestine in a rather political manner, and have great pride for Ireland - they sing mainly in an Irish language, however great energy for the message.
If you go a bit further you have Bloodywood, an Indian metal/hard rock band focusing on various issues (I think one of their songs talks about punching rapists in the face).
Just some off the top of my head. They're out there for sure.
What is my point. We have to hunt them down. There isn't many "household names" doing it. Knee cap and Vylan are more recent with their stuff due to BBC, which was great. They could be that sound.
I made a tidal playlist You might like. It has some new and old bands all in this genre.
Its designed to play in order.
Edit: its for me. I made it for me, so it might not work for your head but it puts me in a state that I need sometimes.
Thanks but seeing what people think. Most of the songs I listen to.
Ashenspire's Hostile Architechture is, in my opinion, a fantastic album. Full-on anticapitalist metal with an operatic twist.
Some of these things are not like the others :-)
Keep in mind that music lost a lot of its cultural cache since your benchmark decade of the 90's. Mass culture isn't really the same as it was then. I remember Weird Al talking about doing a lot fewer parody songs just because fewer people recognize any given song.
Yeah there's still music out there, but if you don't know it that's not really your fault.
This is my whole point. Is streaming and music apps killing the massive songs like "Luke's Wall / War Pigs" , "Ohio", or "My Generation"?
I saw a report talking about if there's a "song of the summer" this year. A lot of people said there isn't because more than ever we're siloed to our own music library/playlists.
Personally, I spend a few hours a week actually looking for new artists to listen to. There's so much music out there just waiting to be discovered.
It's just the internet making all media available, and streaming is the lowest friction way of giving people that access.