sound check: the other kind of diss track

a roundup of diss(ent) tracks from indie artists

We are living in the most politically fraught period of American history since the 1960s, when protests against the Vietnam War erupted across college campuses and political violence was intensifying. So why isn’t popular music reflecting this?

Where are all the diss tracks?

Not diss-as-in-disrespect-or-disparage tracks. Clipse, Pharrell and Kendrick have us covered with “Chains and Whips,” a treatise on the art form. You could say we’re in a golden age of diss tracks on the heels of the Drake-Kendrick feud.

I’m talking about dissent tracks.

Pop culture in 2025 is eerily quiet on this front. Considering the state of things, there is (to my mind) very little political discourse in the pop culture arena. There are notable exceptions, like Nicola Coughlin’s advocacy for the people of Gaza and Bruce Springsteen’s onstage middle finger to the current administration. Olivia Rodrigo passionately endorsed abortion rights onstage during her GUTS tour. Rosalía recently condemned the violence in Gaza after a viral pressure campaign on social media compelled her to speak up.

But by and large, the pattern I’m seeing is one of appeasing the kneejerk stay-in-your-lane criticisms of artists who engage in political speech. Media outlets are, instead, sublimating fringe celebs into the Hollywood elite. In the most recent issue of GQ, An article on luxury sunglasses by LA designer Jerôme Mage tosses Joe Rogan and Kid Rock into a roster of A-list celebrities wearing the luxe frames. This need to appeal to consumers across the political spectrum, including its fringes, might be why there is no song of the summer this year (except there was, and it wasn’t a song at all).

If our politics are matching the sixties in terms of upheaval and chaos, the music isn’t keeping pace. Pop music in the sixties was reactionary and rife with dissent. Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” was unabashedly antiwar. In response to unrest following curfews in LA in 1966, Buffalo Springfield recorded “For What It’s Worth,” their most enduring hit (and the most iconic use of a bass drum). Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” penned in 1964 during the Civil Rights movement, remains one of the most moving anthems of resistance ever written. (It’s been covered by artists from Aretha Franklin to Ben Sollee to the Cold War Kids.) The massive superstars of the day didn’t keep quiet. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” was a plea for love and compassion in a time of division. The Beatles were pressured to respond to the political violence of the summer of 1968 and came up with the sympathetic but ultimately pacifist “Revolution,” prompting the Rolling Stones to write “Street Fighting Man,” their version of a political call to arms that embraced more violent methods of protest.

This is just not happening in the pop music scene now. But diss tracks - the other kind of diss tracks - are out there. They’re just underground.

Anthems of dissent that explicitly address immigration, trans rights, censorship, and authoritarianism are flourishing outside the mainstream. Here are some artists flying (more or less) under the radar who are tossing out tunes that go hard and actually live up to the damn-the-man origins of rock and roll, punk, and hip-hop. Some of these artists, like Earth to Eve and Renee Christine, are posting homespun recordings on social media and going viral. Meanwhile, Snow Tha Product has been spitting rapid-fire verses about immigration and queer rights for years but never blew up, precisely (I’d wager) because she was “too queer” and “too political.”

Cain Culto, “KFC Santería” and “KFC Santería Remix” ft. Sudan Archives

If I it were up to me, Cain Culto would be a household name already. His single “KFC Santería” went viral in March, and it’s a dissertation on political resistance that blends hip-hop rhythms and cheeky rap verses with Latin folk stylings and a bluegrass fiddle. A scorching hot bar calling out “too many Ku Klux Kardashians” is the line of the year, and it’s not even close. Cain is already burning it down on “KFC,” and the remix (linked above) cranks up the political discourse to an eleven and features a sublime verse by Sudan Archives.

Earth to Eve, “THREAT LEVEL ORANGE”

Redhead curly girls are having a moment in rap, with Sophie Hunter just finishing her first tour and now Earth to Eve serving up some serious middle finger energy in “THREAT LEVEL ORANGE.” The 50501 Movement featured the track in their social media post promoting upcoming Labor Day protests. And it’s no wonder why. It’s as bold a dissent track as we’ve heard and a total banger from an artist who recorded it in her own bedroom. “Fuck a fascist puppet show,” she sing-talks, while sampling the squeaking tanks limping down DC streets during the military parade in June.

Renee Christine, “The Bomb”

You mean you didn’t have a TikTok cellist who can wail on your list of figures leading the musical resistance? Any song by Renee Christine would do here - her “Turtle Island” is a driving, pulsating anthem of the Land Back movement - but her latest is a bewitching interlacing of the personal with the political. “It’s the small men with the big heads who choke the life from the best of them, but they had to burn the rules to win the game,” she laments. In the end, though, “When they drop the bombs, I’m gonna love you all day.” We all have to find our moments of joy in the chaos.

Snow Tha Product, “No Traigo Nada” and “Alligator”

Snow is a veteran of political tracks and actual diss tracks and, for my money, the hardest-spitting rapper out there. The level of breath and vocal control required to spin just one of her verses has to be in the same league as an opera singer’s training. And she’s always repped the Latinx community. The first song of hers I heard was the exquisite “Unorthodox,” where she called out the haters for dismissing her based on her gender and ethnicity. That was 2011, and fourteen years later she’s still calling bullshit when she sees it. “No Traigo Nada” is an emotive response to the immigration raids, written from the perspective of a parent crossing the border. (Snow is the daughter of Mexican immigrants.) “Alligator” sees Snow returning to a more feral place, referencing Alligator Alcatraz while also warning that she’s capable of skinning an alligator if her family were to be threatened.

Nath, “Alligator Alcatraz”

Search “Alligator Alcatraz” on any music streaming platform, and you’ll find plenty of results. Artists are tackling issues like ICE raids, and I can’t pretend to have gone through every song, though I’ll keep an ear to the ground. (I do have a day job.) This one came to my attention because Nath is a local Richmond artist and because it’s a moving acoustic meditation on contemporary tragedy. In Nath’s hands, the heartbreak of Alligator Alcatraz becomes a reimagining of the story of the taking of Jesus - this time being snatched by ICE while praying.

In researching this list, I did notice a trend of political speech (as song) flourishing on social media. TikTok is positively awash in songs called “Alligator Alcatraz” (though some of them are by right-wing artists celebrating the establishment). The trick, I suppose, is crossing over from viral stardom to pop stardom, which is a fascinating topic worthy of another post.

What songs have come your way lately? Did they pop up in your algorithm or come across your fyp? Did you see an artist performing a diss track live? Leave a note in the comments, and feel free to add to the playlist. In the meantime, I’m packing something interesting for next week’s post…