Edgar Garcia-Rico (@dtxvenom)
Audio By Carbonatix
“No god, no king / I said love is the thing,” crooned IDLES lead singer Joe Talbot on “Grace,” the second single from the band’s 2024 opus, TANGK.
The post-punk band’s fifth studio album was perhaps their best album yet, and by far one of the best releases last year. In 2025, the hook from “Grace” seems all too ahead of its time.
On Saturday, Oct. 18, is the No Kings National Day of Action, marking the second coordinated nationwide protest after the initial No Kings Day on June 14, which turned out millions of people across the country in protest of President Donald Trump’s increasingly king-like actions. Some experts are predicting that turnout for the second No Kings will be nearly double the first, and North Texas protests might play a large part in that.
Just a month before the first No Kings protest, Dallas rapper Pierce Washington released “MAMA NEM,” a short, soulful rap that was written after Washington read the Project 2025 documents, a far-right conservative blueprint for reshaping the country’s socio-political makeup.
“That was my reaction reading those documents, realizing how possible it all was,” Washington says. “Even if it hasn’t been fully carried out, giving people comfort through it means the message still landed. That’s the point.“
Since the song was released, Trump’s administration has seemed to only further the campaign towards establishing Project 2025 on a widespread scale. An independent website tracking the implementation of Project 2025 policies asserts that the full playbook is around 48% complete already, not even a year into Trump’s second term.
“I’m not surprised by any of it,” Washington says. “I never doubted they’d follow through. Their goals have always favored the rich and control everything else, who is qualified to have freedom of speech, what women can do with their bodies and how our children are educated. When money drives everything, control follows. So no, I’m not surprised.”
While never an explicitly political artist, Washington still understands his role as an artist and tastemaker in the local scene.
“As artists, we not only have the privilege but the duty to make our voices heard,” he says. “If our message is rooted in love, we must keep speaking even in divisive times. As a Black artist, I look to the greats who made music when the world was bleeding, turning pain and empathy into art.”
Washington’s sentiment evokes iconic names like Gil Scott-Heron and Marvin Gaye, each of whom wove clear protest messaging into some of their most iconic songs. The protest song is an art, and in the wake of increasing political unrest, it’s an art that more and more artists are reaching for.
Oak Cliff-based rapper Ren the Third is one of them. He released “Para Mi Raza” on Oct. 17, a Spanish rap anthem that translates to “for my people.” With lyrics attacking Trump and ICE, his messaging and timing couldn’t be clearer, as he plans to attend the protest this weekend.
“I don’t think we should have anyone acting like a king in a country that’s supposed to be about freedom and equality,” he says. “There’s still a lot of racism and unfair treatment out there, especially toward our people, and that pushes me to stand up and speak out. At the end of the day, no one’s illegal on stolen land; this was once Mexico, so I stand with my people and represent what’s right.”
Similar to Washington, Ren the Third feels a responsibility as an artist to capture his own feelings and those of his immediate community through his work.
“I see my role as using my platform to be a voice for the streets and express what we’re all feeling about this situation,” he says. “I stand with my people, and through my art, I want to make sure their experiences and perspectives are heard.”
Alex O’aiza is a Dallas-based pop artist who attended the last No Kings in Los Angeles. He’s planning on going again this weekend, this time among his own community. When it comes to his perspective on the artist during a time of crisis, O’aiza doesn’t mince words.
“I think it’s twofold,” he says. “I think number one is trying to be a recorder of your existence during this moment in time. Not only trying to process everything that’s happening, but trying to share your perspective with the world about what’s happening. Especially as we look back to a time, what did the music sound like? What were people talking about? What were they thinking?”
He’s not playing stadiums, at least not yet, but O’aiza has already amassed millions of streams in his career, which only formally began just before COVID.
“The bigger your platform, I feel like the more responsibility you have to address certain issues,” he says. “Some artists, whether they know it or not, represent certain groups of people. There are artists who lean more towards LGBTQ+ identity. If your fan base that elevated you is from different sectors of LGBTQ+ identity and they buy your stuff, they buy your tickets and they talk about your music, I think the least you can do is address the issues that are affecting them.”
“It’s the same thing with a Latin artist,” O’aiza continues. “People who come to your shows, or people who are spending their hard-earned money, some of them have undocumented parents. Some of them may be trying to get their immigration situation settled out. Some of them are undocumented themselves. The least you can do is be involved in the communities that championed you.”
O’aiza is outspoken on social media regarding his politics. If you want to attend yourself, we have put together a list of local No Kings events being organized around North Texas.
“Music is culture,” O’aiza says. “It’s an extension of people.”
