Overview

From Johnny Cash to Jay-Z, musicians have long used their voices to challenge the injustices of the prison system. Prison Song: Music and Incarceration in the United States reveals how musicians have confronted the prison system by telling the life stories of imprisoned individuals, creating empathetic bonds between listeners and those individuals, and critiquing the racial and social inequalities that incarceration preys upon. Prison Song takes a broad, interdisciplinary approach to explore how artists across genres—hip hop, country, blues, folk, rock, jazz, and classical—have protested the prison system. David Metzer examines the works of incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and nonincarcerated musicians from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including prison records, government reports, legislation, court decisions, and scholarship from carceral studies, each chapter reveals how musicians responded to developments in the prison system at particular historical moments and how their works have shaped public understanding of the prison system in the United States.

Full Product Details

9780472058044

Table of Contents

Reviews

“His book makes the case that studying the music made by and about incarcerated people can bring about change by promoting empathy and understanding. Each chapter in Metzer's challenging, reflective, substantive, multilayered book is strong enough to stand on its own.” * Frederick Augustyn, Library Journal *

Author Information

David Metzer is Professor of Musicology at the University of British Columbia.

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