TikTok and the New Wave of Musical Activists

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If you happen to find yourself in an overwhelming spiral triggered by the atrocities and injustices you’ve seen on the news lately, you might be clouded with thoughts of despair and an overall feeling of powerlessness. But instead of scrolling on social media in search of that one hilarious trend that eases your existential dread—what if there was something more you could do?

I’m not saying you need to single-handedly fix the nation's incredibly complex systemic issues—but what I am proposing is that you turn those feeling of hopelessness (and maybe even horror) into art. Not only does it help ease the pain of your current circumstances, but it also creates community, healing around that shared pain, and even real change.

One type of art that has created tangible change throughout the years is music. It shapes public opinion, strengthens group identity, and sustains social movements over time. It creates belonging. It organizes emotion. It keeps people going long enough for structural change to happen. Lets take a look at how music has changed history.

What The Past Has Taught Us

“Strange Fruit,” a haunting song sung by Billie Holiday in 1939, confronted the horrors of lynching in the American South. Radio stations refused to play the song over concerns about its possible propagandizing properties. Holiday was also forced to record the song with Commodore Records, an independent company, after Columbia Records grew fearful of the possible backlash.

Still, Northern listeners were inspired to confront racism in a way headlines and mainstream record companies hadn’t, shifting the consciousness of the American people. This helped lay the groundwork for the tumultuous Civil Right Era just two decades later.

In 1964, contemporaneous with the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, Bob Dylan and Nina Simone released the songs “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and “Mississippi Goddam.” At the time, Dylan claimed that his music was not created with the intent to protest, but his audience heard the messages he sang loud and clear. Simone, on the other hand, was deliberate in her protest, giving specific details of two major events that had taken place during that time—the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church and the murder of Medgar Evers.

Both songs became nationally recognized, and their audiences continued to grow, sustaining morale and strengthening turnout. Freedom songs like these helped unify marchers and were spread through televised broadcasts, expanding their reach.

After the Kent State shootings in 1970, Marvin Gaye released “What’s Going On,” facing similar fears from Motown Records as Holiday had about 30 years prior. The CEO at the time, Berry Gordy, told Gaye that it was too political. But Gaye refused to record any other music until “What’s Going On” was released.

Anti-war music moved from the fringe into the mainstream, and public support for the Vietnam War declined sharply in the early 1970s. While songs alone didn’t end U.S. involvement, sustained cultural opposition increased electoral pressure. Congress restricted funding. Troop withdrawals accelerated.

Protest in the Mainstream

By the late 20th century, protest music expanded its focus. Groups like Public Enemy and N.W.A confronted police brutality and systemic racism, while Riot grrrl bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile protested the patriarchy, sexism and rape culture. With songs like “Rebel Girl,“women of the ‘90s felt heard and empowered, paving the way for future generations.

Once-taboo topics, these real-life issues were now on the front pages of magazines and featured in films, on the news, and in the homes of families around the world. With the introduction of the internet, accessing these songs became easier and easier, and they eventually landed right in the palm of our hands.

In 2018, Childish Gambino went viral for his satirical look at the devestating state of the USA in “This Is America,” accompanied by disturbing visuals filled with powerful symbolism. Within a week of its release, the music video alone got over 100 million views on YouTube—but the tension and ill effects of racism were just about to boil over.

After the horrific murder of George Floyd in 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement took the spotlight. Kendrick Lamar’s song “Alright,” which was released in 2015, became an anthem and rallying cry for protesters. Even during a global pandemic, the chorus could be heard chanted in the streets.

In the years that followed, multiple states enacted reforms, including chokehold bans and expanded body camera requirements.

Today’s New Wave of Protest Music

There are globally recognized names like Hayley Williams, who returned to the stage with her hit song “True Believer,” taking aim at Christian nationalism and systemic racism, but search for names like Jesse Wells or Mon Rovîa, and you’ll find an entirely new breed of musicians gaining momentum across the country.

Instead of waiting for approval from record companies, television shows, or radio stations to publicly broadcast their music, these troubadours are calling the shots by posting on TikTok, giving their fans raw, immediate, and amplified messages curated by the almighty algorithm.

When the genocide in Gaza reached its height, Liberian-born Afro-Appalachian artist Mon Rovîa went viral on TikTok for his song “Heavy Foot.” The track doesn’t hide behind metaphor. It speaks directly to the powers at play—calling out violence abroad while refusing to ignore suffering at home. In the same breath, Mon Rovîa addressed issues like gun control and the fear many parents today face as they send their children to school.

Jesse Welles, who went viral for his Bob Dylan-style folk music, was given the opportunity to perform his song “Join Ice” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert after building a large TikTok following in 2024. One of his latest EPs entitled “No Kings” was inspired by the largest mass protest in American history. Welles releases new music almost synchronously with each new major news headline that hits our feeds.

In January of this year, corook, a non-binary singer/songwriter, released their latest single “Scooby”—an introspective look at the current state of politics and all of the ways in which we, as individuals (whether Democrat or Republican) contribute to the wealth and systemic problems created by billionaires in office. One lyric in particular sums up the overall feeling of the song:

“Both of us are getting played like we’re the song of the summer.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself, corook.

What This Means For You as a Creator

Well, here we are in 2026—still fighting, still protesting, still in need of voices willing to speak out. Yet real progress has been made, sustained in part by artists who risked their careers to keep movements alive.

Music won’t replace legislation. It won’t substitute for organizing. But it prepares the ground. It shapes the moral climate, turns private frustration into shared conviction, and reminds people they are not alone—often the very thing that sustains change.

So write that song. Post that chorus. Create!

History is clear: when enough people sing the same truth, it stops sounding like noise and starts looking an awful lot like change.

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