10 POWERFUL SONGS ABOUT POLICE BRUTALITY

Ideas of anti-establishment, equality and activism have always been at the forefront of heavy music. Musicians in our scene have always been extremely outspoken regarding social and political issues, as well as human rights.  

Considering the current climate, here’s a list of 10 bands and their lyrical perspectives on police brutality, particularly in relation to BIPOC:

“Easily temperamental
Dangerously equipped
Impossibly avoidable
By proving their contempt
Bastardizing the justice
And living above the law
Black and blue don’t get along
Blue just want ‘em dead and gone

Empty your clips on the victim
And then you look the other way
Your nation will crumble
And you’ll just look the other way”

Stray From The Path – “Badge & A Bullet, Pt. II”

“It may not be about race but it is about color
May have most of them fooled but not me motherfucker
How can the filth clean up the streets?
Fuck a blue uniform
It don’t mean nothing to me
Trained to never trust us
So where the fuck is the justice?
Trigger happy lunatics walking a beat
When you won’t do what they say, then they turn up the heat”

Incendiary –  “Force of Neglect”

“You’ll never forget his face, we’ll always remember his name
Swearing to serve and protect, the shield becomes a badge of shame
Your blood is running, don’t you like the taste
Dominant control, there won’t be a trace
Society accepts this force of neglect
The marginalized and weak, those without a voice to speak
You killed the very person that you swore to protect”

Body Count – “No Lives Matter”

“We say that ‘Black Lives Matter’
Well truthfully they really never have
No one ever really gave a fuck
Just read your bullshit history books
But honestly it ain’t just black
It’s yellow, it’s brown, it’s red
It’s anyone who ain’t got cash
Poor whites that they call trash

They can’t, fuck with us
Once they realise we’re all on the same side
They can’t, split us up
And let them prosper off the divide

Don’t fall for the bait and switch
Racism is real, but not it
They fuck whoever can’t fight back
But now we gotta change all that
The people have had enough
Right now, it’s them against us
This shit is ugly to the core
When it comes to the poor
No lives matter

You never see them pulling rich people out of their cars
In their neighbourhoods because they know they got lawyers
They know they’ll sue their ass
They can tell who to fuck with
Unfortunately, black or brown skin has always meant poor
They’re profiling you kid
They know you can’t fight back, but we about to”

Fever 333 –  “Burn It”

“For all the homies doin’ time, look alive
For every day your mama cried, look alive
When the five-0 arrive, look alive
Everybody look alive, look alive

Jesus Piece –  “Oppressor”

“What will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?

I refuse to bite my tongue
the revolution has begun
I refuse to die next
Lift your boot from my fucking neck.

Oppressor, your time has come.
Oppressor, you’re on the run.

Refuse to become another target, another victim
Refuse to be labeled another thug or animal.

let me live free”

Kublai Khan – “True Fear”

“Look around you
Unarmed men shot in cold blood
While a kid with a dime bag
Serves more time than a rapist
What kind of lie are we living
When so few are protecting and serving

People protesting
Against the ones protecting
It’s a fucking red flag
It’s a sign of the struggles they’ve had

Fuck those who kill

Every time I see an officer behind me
I can’t help but view them as an enemy
True fear systematically
Time’s up, you fucking cowards”

Earth Caller –  “Your Enemy”

“Not once have I felt protected
Not once have I seen justice served
I cannot recall a crime they prevented
‘Cause prevention isn’t their concern
They harbour resentment
But demanding respect doesn’t work
You have to deserve it
That gun at your side suggests
What you’re after is fear not respect
There’s a difference

So when you look at me, what do you see?
You treat me like your enemy
Am I your enemy?
I’m just a man, trying to be
And yet you want to step on me?
Am I your enemy?
When you abuse authority
I can see that you’re weak
And I don’t bend my knee
I am your enemy”

Candy-  “Human Target”

“Weapons aimed, humans maimed
Living in police state

Won’t stop until they incarcerate
Cleansing civilians, starting from scratch
Inflicting of evil, on the masses
Crucify, march in line
Won’t hesitate until they die

Agitate
Mutilate
No one left unscathed”

Year of The Knife – “Blue Lies”

“Victimized
By their lies
Where ignorance reigns
From the fucking insane
Smash fear
Into your eyes
They’re never guilty
Even when it’s televised

Blue lies just to hunt
Blue lies for what it wants
Blue lies from the back of the car
With his hand on his gun

Fuck your force
Fuck your laws
Your hands
Are the cause of it all
How do we trust
When you intimidate?
And death by an officer
Is always the fate?

Fuck your insecurity
And your fraternal order
Of nobodies
Fuck your power
Fuck your strength
Stare into the eyes
Of someone who won’t blink”