article: Lady Gaga issued a subtle rebuke to Donald Trump at Sunday's Super Bowl, singing the protest anthem This Land Is Your Land and quoting from the pledge of allegiance. Pop trio Muna were more explicit. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel's chat show this week, they added a new verse to their single I Know A Place. The final line? "He's not my leader even if he's my president." In the UK, Stormzy prompted an overhaul of the Brits after pointing out the ceremony's lack of diversity in his song One Take Freestyle. And now, up-and-coming soul star Jodie Abacus has released a powerful song about the refugee crisis. Called Keep Your Head Down, it tells the story of a family fleeing a war zone, only to be met with fear and suspicion in the country they had thought would provide safe harbour. Jodie performed it live for the first time on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 2 show on Wednesday night. Ahead of the session, he sat down with BBC News to talk about the story behind the song (and Elton John's helicopter). Why did you decide to write about the refugee crisis? I was in LA for a session, and I saw something about refugees on the television in my hotel. That's what triggered it. I wanted to give a perspective of what it would be like to go from one country to another. I can only imagine it's a terrifying feeling. We need to be a little bit more empathetic. How did you write the lyrics? The beat of the song triggered the emotion in me. The first lyric was the chorus: "We're moving on, but the road is long / Don't get your hopes up, you'd better keep your head down." Don't get your hopes up is the father saying "we're running out of chances", and keep your head down was like, "pray that we get out of this". I'd assumed it was about having to keep a low profile in a new country. It's both. There's a lot of double meanings. It's also about keeping your head down to escape the bullets. The thing is, you do all this to save your life - then you're not accepted by the country where you thought you'd be safe. People hate you or they think you're going to steal their jobs or take their benefits. But there's a lot of people running away just to save their own souls. Your musical references are very eclectic. I hear Stevie Wonder, ELO, Steely Dan, even Hall & Oates in there. How did you get into music? I was born in south-east London in Lewisham Hospital. My dad used to be a DJ. He'd carry around these big speakers and play reggae, soul, funk. I was just surrounded by music. What was the first time you performed in public? I gave a foyer concert at college. What I'd done was reproduce the Jacksons' Show You the Way to Go on a little computer, and I'd written my own lyrics to it. No one really knew
summary: Pop is getting a long overdue dose of politics.