Prison Song: Music and Incarceration in the United States

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.

Author: David Metzer
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 04/20/2026
Pages: 234
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780472058044


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 03/01/2026 pg. 110

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