This is for political prisoners, feeling trapped and sad, not for the rapper pulling up in a flashy Jag. It’s for the person in the same street, wrapped in rags, It is for the dad, carrying his son in plastic bags, for the resistance, wrapping cash in their elastic bands.”
So begins “Soundtrack to the Struggle 3,” the new album from Lowkey. It is the hip-hop legend’s first offering in five years and is already blowing away the critics – and making his enemies very nervous. The album will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms starting October 28. It will be available in hard copy at his upcoming shows in London, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Today, MintPress sat down with the rapper (and host of “The Watchdog” podcast on MintPress News) to discuss the album, being independent, attempts to silence him, and why art should be political.
One of the voices of the Palestine liberation movement, Lowkey is widely considered one of the most talented and respected rappers in the world, widely acclaimed for his flow and lyricism. But his popularity and influence have also made him powerful foes along the way. The staunchly pro-Israel Jewish Chronicle newspaper once lamented that his very existence is a “nightmare” for the State of Israel.
The pro-Israel lobby has been relentless in their attempts to shut him down, pressuring universities into canceling his speaking appointments. The powers that be have also taken a dim view of him; BBC executives even blocked his appearance on a top radio station. In the wake of the October 7 assault, YouTube Music deleted his song “Terrorist?” after almost 14 years and 5.5 million views. And last year, a shadowy, Israel-linked pressure group tried to pressure music streaming giant Spotify to remove his content from its platform. That attempt elicited a massive worldwide backlash, with artists and entertainers coming to the rapper’s defense.
“Pro-Israel groups had me no-platformed at different shows; I’ve been canceled in at least four countries so far, thanks to their maneuvers,” Lowkey told MintPress.
They have recorded meetings I have been at, taken pictures of me in public, and I am sure there is a lot more we do not know about…I’m sure this album will make them very angry and unhappy… They certainly won’t want people to listen to this album.”
Lowkey began his music career in the mid-2000s as a member of the group Poisonous Poets. Although he is now a solo artist, he has collaborated with many of the most well-known names in the music industry, including Arctic Monkeys, Wretch 32, Immortal Technique and Akala. He is a patron of Stop The War Coalition, the Racial Justice Network, and The Peace and Justice Project.
“Soundtrack to the Struggle 3” is a deeply political album, weaving together activism and music to provide a snapshot in time. In the already-released single, “Genocide Joe,” the rapper takes aim at President Biden, asking him:
Genocide Joe, your terrorize souls,
When your eyes close at night, how do you sleep?
The track describes Biden as “America’s woke president speaking like he’s on sedatives.” It references the killing of Palestinian child, Hind Rajab, and the self-immolation of former American serviceman Aaron Bushnell in a protest against the U.S.-Israeli attack on Gaza, which Lowkey says is “not a strip,” but “the world’s biggest crime scene.”
Palestine is and always has been a key issue for Lowkey. “Soundtrack to the Struggle 3” features the track “Palestine Will Be Free,” whose chorus includes the lines, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a phrase that has been banned and censured across much of the West. “My fingers pointed at this government; you all killed them. Tell me you wouldn’t take up arms if it were your children,” Lowkey says.
Major media labels, themselves part of gigantic, multinational corporations, have never liked Lowkey precisely because of what they perceive as his radicalism. As he told MintPress:
I was never really embraced by any major label, despite selling hundreds of thousands of records, getting millions of views online, and selling thousands of tickets. I was never approached by a major label. And actually, major labels are signing artists that have done far less, and have demonstrated far less marketability. And I am of the view that it is simply down to the subject matter.”
Nevertheless, his music is as popular as ever and has even found a new life as an anthem of the global Palestine liberation movement. Today, there is barely a march, meeting, or demonstration not accompanied by his work. Lowkey acknowledged this, saying, “Many of those songs become more relevant than ever before. ‘Long Live Palestine’ has been heard more in the past year than any other time.”
Gaza is far from the only subject on the rapper’s mind, however. In “Free Assange,” he takes on the case of the (now recently released) WikiLeaks co-founder, confined in London for over a decade. “Hang him in his cell, they tied the rope; it’s not a war against a person; it’s [against] your right to know,” he says, concluding that, “Every time you see the face of Assange on the news, remember it is not him. The real target is you.”
Last year, Lowkey sat down for a face-to-face interview with Assange’s wife, Stella, recorded for MintPress’ “The Watchdog,” describing the Australian publisher as “the political prisoner of our time.”
Purposefully stepping on these political red lines has made Lowkey a deeply unpopular figure among record executives and the establishment class more generally. However, he insists he is far better off as an independent artist than he would be signed to a major label. With the rise of the internet and social media, he told MintPress, it is easier than ever to be an independent artist.
You have the ability to be self-sufficient now, with music, you can independently make a living off it. But also, I wouldn’t want any interference in my subject matter or in my creativity. And when you are on a major label, they decide when your album will drop, so you can actually be left in a hinterland for several years. I know of amazing artists who have not been able to release their albums because the major label hasn’t been willing to push the button on it for years.”
Furthermore, he explained, major labels find any excuse to siphon more money away from musicians. From administration fees to entourages and video-making expenses, most of the money comes from the artist’s share of the pot. And labels insert sneaky clauses into contracts to ensure they – not the artist – reap the benefits.
“There are people I know who have sold millions of records and been ripped off by the major labels. They do it all the time. They rip off people on a daily basis,” he said.
I know so many people who have sold huge amounts of records and have never received a royalty check. These records are top five in the charts, but they have never seen a penny.”
Today, Lowkey works in independent media. “The album definitely could not have happened without MintPress,” he said.
Another key topic “Soundtrack to the Struggle 3” addresses is British politics and the pursuit of a better world. In “The Killing of Corbynism,” Lowkey describes how the various factions of the British state came together to crush the grassroots political movement around socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn. As he states,
Corbynism was more than a living organism
Centered on one man; a vehicle of a broader mission.
The main focus was how they could reform the system,
Millions of people up and down the country saw the vision,
As a chance for you to improve your conditions,
What we learned was the establishment is more malignant:
Constant attacks to drag supporters from their core positions.
A story of betrayal, backstabbing and sore decisions
Millions with dreams, the establishment killed them.
Other tracks are less overtly political, however. “Two Kites” tells the story of a tragic romance destroyed by the death of a woman.
“Friend or Foe,” meanwhile, is ostensibly about a comrade who double-crosses Lowkey. As the song develops, however, it becomes clear that his “friend” is actually a cellphone, and the whole track is a commentary about the pernicious, double-edged nature of having such a powerful surveillance device in our pockets at all times.
Lowkey describes his friend as being “born in Congo, raised in China, but he says he’s American,” a reference to the globalized nature of electronics production. “We both loved fruits, but apples were his thing,” he notes, adding, “At the beginning, he taught me how to deal with snakes. Later he helped with my career and how to build a base.” However, as time goes by, he realizes how pernicious the technology is:
He listens when I sleep, watches when I’m not watching him,
Knows how to eat up my time, I didn’t clock a thing,
Turns out befriending him was the worst thing I’ve ever done,
It seems he’s selling everything about me to everyone.
Much of the best art has an important message behind it. Yet most of what big media outlets, be it music, TV or film, have been thoroughly sanitized, Lowkey told MintPress, stating:
There has been a steady push to depoliticize art because it was seen as such a subversive medium. With music, you can reach people, you can popularize slogans, you can create mantras in people’s heads, you can distill the hopes and dreams of people in a digestible form with a memorable melody. So, it was, of course, seen as a threat.”
As such, big labels push bland, vapid music on us or even artists who extol extravagant and decadent lifestyles. Throughout the War on Terror, Lowkey says, there was virtually no English-language music engaging with the U.S.’ actions. This is in stark contrast to the protest music of the 1960s, which excoriated America’s role in Vietnam, for example. Lowkey dedicates one track to the fighters of Vietnam who resisted the American occupation. “I don’t know about you, but all my heroes fought colonizers,” goes the chorus.
What passes for political music today is uninspiring at best and cringe-inducing at its worst. From talentless pro-Trump country musicians to the stars of Hamilton rapping about voting Blue, no matter who, it can often feel like political music is inherently inferior.
“Soundtrack to the Struggle 3” is the perfect antidote to this. But even if the politics weren’t as sharp and timely as it is, the lyricism displayed would still qualify this album as a masterpiece. Lowkey has little time for Team Red or Team Blue. As he says in “Genocide Joe,” “Biden is a murderer, Trump is a murderer. Whichever way you look, the political system’s circular.”
With this album, Lowkey certainly won’t be making any friends in high places. But he doesn’t need them; he’s already got millions of fans around the world, and “Soundtrack to the Struggle 3” will only further cement his place as a legend of hip hop.
“Soundtrack to the Struggle 3” is out on October 28 and can be listened to on all major streaming platforms.
Feature image | A poster featuring Lowkey’s upcoming tour schedule.
Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams.
