WikiLeaks to fight for justice through music

[1]

Bob Marley fought injustice with his lyrics and music

No one disputes the fact that a good song with a message has the capability and the power to drive home a point and that it is certainly a more effective way of fighting for a cause. That’s precisely why songs with a purpose have long been used as tools to protest.

A prime example of this was Jamacian singer-songwriter and musician, Bob Marley whose music was heavily influenced by the social issues of his homeland. Member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key constituent in the development of reggae, Marley’s music gave voice to the everyday plight of the Jamaicans, bringing into sharp focus the country’s impoverished and oppressed.
But while Marley fought injustice with his lyrics and music, WikiLeaks is branching out into the entertainment industry with a CD called Beat the Blockade, which intends to raise money to keep its online transparency advocates afloat. So, the question that arises is — is it fair to use music in this way and is Wikileaks actually a rightful cause?
“All major events for social awareness are in the form of music festivals. Such is the power of music. But Wikileaks may not actually be a cause,’’ feels Subir Malik of Parikrama. “It’s a private firm that has leaked a lot of stuff — enough to shake the world and the US authorities. But looking at both sides of the story, how was this sensational information procured? The answer to that could be a bit dubious,” he adds.
So, is it right to use music to keep something like Wikileaks afloat? To Subir, the move to launch a CD is definitely unfair as it would be riding on the wave of sensationalism. “That’s exactly what happened during the Mumbai attacks when around 300 people came out with songs about the unfortunate event. While a handful were honest, about 90 per cent of them were just riding the wave or the moment. Even we created a song, but never released it as we didn’t want to capitalise on the event,” says Subir.
Interestingly, the Wikileaks CD would feature 12 songs, including Where There Are No Secrets, The Ballad of Julian Assange and B Manning. But of all the songs, The Ballad of Julian Assange interests rapper Jolly Singh the most. “We all know of songs that have been created by great heroes that have spoken of pressing issues, but a song on the ‘hero’ himself is a bit too much,” adds the 22-year-old.
The CD has led to many questions coming from the music industry. “With what purpose has Julian been doing what he has been doing? Does he want to be rich and famous? If that’s the case, this CD may be another attempt to popularise him,” says Chris Powell, founder of the band Bandish that’s been associated with various charity concerts.
And it’s not just the industry — even those who look up to Wikileaks are questioning this. “Wikileaks has been doing great service to the world by showing how the wool has been pulled over our eyes. Maybe such campaigns deserve to be kept alive and thus the CD becomes justifiable but on the other hand maybe these campaigns are self-promotional. It’s a very debatable issue,” says independent musician Kunal Ruparel.