Songs For Troy Davis: Why Musicians Take On Death Row - an essay on NPR, with links to 3 YouTubes of songs.

exerpted:

"As Davis' situation became front-page news, I received notice of three very different songs about him: a hip-hop track by Jasiri X, "I Am Troy Davis," built around the slogan favored by Davis' supporters; the bluesy "Song for Troy Davis" by Nellie McKay and "State of Georgia," by the alternative rock band State Radio. These songs all advocate for Davis, but in different ways: The rap track samples the convict's own voice to encourage identification with his position. McKay's torchy ballad presents her as a lover, waiting for her man to be freed, connecting with historic voices of artists like Billie Holiday. State Radio's song offers vehement protest in the U2 tradition: It's a call to the streets."
...
"It's not often that such stylistically divergent artists are drawn to the same topic at the same moment. Each got there a different way: State Radio, whose music is rooted in leftist activism, learned about Davis through its relationship with Amnesty International and has been addressing his situation in songs since 2009. Nellie McKay was spurred to write by a sense of urgency surrounding Davis' impending execution date. Jasiri X, like State Radio, often writes on political themes: One thing that's made his track, "I Am Troy Davis (T.R.O.Y.)," a favorite on hip-hop blogs is its deft use of a sample of the inmate's own recorded voice (another is its reliance on the beat from a classic track about family and the death of a friend by Pete Rock and CL Smooth, "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)"). Many other artists, from the Indigo Girls to Harry Belafonte and Big Boi, have lent their names to Davis' cause. But it was the range of these few musical responses that caught my ear."
...
"Prison stories abound with the qualities that make up a good ballad. Focused on complex protagonists, with a vivid setting and a narrative arc that may lead to the ultimate happy or sad ending — freedom or execution — accounts of famous trials and their outcomes have inspired songwriters for centuries. Once they were just one aspect of the broadside tradition that made music of the news. But these days, we don't hear that many tales of soldiers or adventurers or even conventional murder ballads recounting the transgressions that land people in jail. It sometimes seems that prison has become the primary site of topical song. For some reason, its fascinations haven't faded."

I recommend the whole article.

~ Becky in Tucson