Storm of protest

While Michael Jackson scrambles his celebrity pals to record a charity single for the victims of Hurricane Katrina (and restore his own battered reputation? Perish the thought), hip-hop is proving to be music's rapid response unit. In the past few days, a number of rappers have posted MP3s responding to the tragedy and its political aftermath. Veteran protesters Public Enemy have recorded Hell No We Ain't All Right!, a thrillingly angry condemnation of "this son of a Bush nation", featuring samples from New Orleans mayor Ray C Nagin's widely reported radio interview. Mos Def, the actor and MC, offers Katrina Clap, which bizarrely criticises Bono for not doing anything for Katrina's victims. The wittiest response comes from Houston's Legendary KO, whose song, George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People, pays homage to Kanye West's already famous telethon outburst by reworking West's current hit, Gold Digger: "I ain't sayin' he a gold digger but he ain't messin' with no broke niggas". Looks like the oft-obituarised tradition of the protest song just got a new lease of life.