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Songs to fight corruption to: CPI 2020 playlist

We put together a playlist of one song that we enjoyed from all 180 countries ranked on the 2020 Corruption perceptions Index.

Posted on: 18 March 2021

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Transparency Int'l

Nothing unites people like good music and a common cause.

Every year, we release the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts. While this is an important global tool that creates a space to discuss corruption and find solutions to it, and index does not offer us insights into the human or environmental costs of corruption.

Music and other cultural products on the other hand, reflect people’s attitudes towards and experiences of corruption and other social issues. Music can drive a cause and give voice to frustrations and aspirations of people.

Earlier this year, when Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono posted a free-style song that criticises state corruption on Twitter, it proved that movements have much to gain from the power of music. The track, called “Dem Loot”, went instantly viral in Zimbabwe and beyond, with others posting their own renditions of the anti-corruption tune.

From Malawi to South Korea, our own anti-corruption music competition, Fair Play, has also given musicians who campaign for social justice and anti-corruption in their country an opportunity to have their voices heard and connect with a global audience.

This year, we set ourselves the task of finding music from every country ranked on the 2020 CPI – and we found some great ones! So, we put together a playlist of one song that we enjoyed from (almost) each country, in the order of the 2020 CPI ranking. The only rule we followed was that the song had to be released in 2020. The playlist that we ended up with is vibrant, diverse and genre-bending. You will hear songs from artists you know and love, and others from artists you ought to know and love – such as the indigenous artist from Brazil singing about how indigenous communities of the Amazon protect forests on the song Guerreiro da Floresta (Forest Warrior). Some Fair Play music winners are also on the playlist.

Here’s five songs as a feeler of what to expect:

#1 Denmark

2020 CPI score: 88/100

Listen: Til Banken by Natasja, Tessa & Karen Mukupa

Although Natasja – the Danish rapper and singer shining on this track – died tragically back in 2007, this new posthumous single released in 2020 shows off her immense talent and flow. Natasja, Tessa and Karen Mukupa sing about standing united and cleaning up the male-dominated music industry on this groovy, reggae-fusion song.

2020 CPI score: 47/100

Listen: Іншымі (Different) by NAVIBAND

NaviBand represented Belarus at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest and became the first ever artists to sing in Belarusian at the platform. Their song Different became one of the symbols of protest by the people of Belarus against the regime of Lukashenko in 2020. With the song’s lyrics going, “Smoke in our eyes, we don’t see any dreams / We will wake up different somewhere in the deep,” it’s not hard to see why the people of Belarus found comfort in the song.

#78 China

2020 CPI score: 42/100

Listen: Xiao Juan by Tan Weiwei

On Xiao Juan, Tan Weiwei calls out domestic and misogynistic violence faced by women in China. Xiao Juan – the Chinese equivalent of Jane Doe - is the name given to female victims of violent crimes in China. The song cries out: "Our names are not Xiao Juan… Know my name, and remember it.” Tan’s heart-wrenching song is even more impressive and memorable given that violence against women remains a taboo topic in the country.

2020 CPI score: 38/100

Listen: Yo Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Corazón by Susana Baca

This song has Susana Baca performing a beautiful Acapella cover of the song Yo Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Corazón (I come to offer my heart), originally by Argentine musician Fito Páez. Baca is an essential voice in the revival of Afro-Peruvian music. She also served as the Minister of Culture of Peru in 2011.

#174 Sudan / #25 US

2020 CPI score: 16/100 (Sudan) / 67/100 (US)

Listen: umbrellar by Dua Saleh

Dua Saleh’s genre-defying umbrellar is what we hope music sounds like in the future. The queer Sudanese-American artist, musician and actor who burst onto the music scene in 2018 shines on this dreamy song.

Listen to the full playlist with over a 100 songs here: Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 Playlist

Is your country missing a song? Which song from your country would you have included? Let us know on Twitter at @anticorruption with #CPI2020!

See the full list of the songs we selected from each country here:

  1. Denmark. Natasja, Tessa & Karen Mukupa - Til Banken
  2. New Zealand. Randa - Heatwave
  3. Finland. Jesse Markin - Treat
  4. Singapore. Jasmine Sokko - Mess
  5. Sweden. Robyn - Impact
  6. Switzerland. Loredana - Checka
  7. Norway. Lil Halima - Glue
  8. Netherlands. Bilal Wahib - Tigers
  9. Germany. Wolken - Oehl
  10. Luxembourg. Sun Glitters & Drop the Gun - It's Alright
  11. Australia. Troye Sivan - Easy
  12. Canada. PartyNextDoor - Loyal (feat. Drake)
  13. Hong Kong. Room307 - 背山望海
  14. United Kingdom. Dua Lipa - Physical
  15. Austria. Dacid Go8lin - Flieg
  16. Belgium. Blanche - Fences
  17. Estonia. Maria Minerva - Apology
  18. Iceland. Daði Freyr - Think About Things
  19. Japan. Lucky Kilimanjaro - 夜とシンセサイザー
  20. Ireland. Denise Chaila - Anseo
  21. United Arab Emirates. Hussain Aljassmi - Bel Bont El3areedh
  22. Uruguay. Niña Lobo - Fin de Año
  23. France. Christine and the Queens - People I've Been Sad
  24. Bhutan. / No song
  25. Chile. Mon Laferte & Vivir Quintana - Canción Sin Miedo
  26. United States of America. Anderson .Paak - Lockdown
  27. Seychelles. Elijah ft. Linzy Bacbotte - Ou Menm Sa Enn
  28. Taiwan. Elephant Gym - 敬啟者 (Dear Humans)
  29. Barbados. Krisirie - Return to love
  30. Bahamas. Perro Grande ft Various Artists - One World
  31. Qatar. Fahad Al Kubaisi - Joraat Hob
  32. Spain. Chica Sobresalto - Fusión del Nucleo
  33. Korea, South. Monsta X - Love Killa
  34. Portugal. Filipe Sambado - Jóia da rotina
  35. Botswana. Mpho Sebina - Moya
  36. Brunei Darussalam. / No song
  37. Israel. Eden Alene - Feker Libi
  38. Lithuania. The Roop - On Fire
  39. Slovenia. Senidah – Viva Mahalla
  40. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. / No song
  41. Cabo Verde. Soraia Ramos ft Calema - O Nosso Amor
  42. Costa Rica. Debi Nova - 3:33
  43. Cyprus. Konstantinos Christoforou - Diskola Ta Pragmata
  44. Latvia. Triānas Parks - Vientuļa Sala
  45. Georgia. MokuMoku - Lyre
  46. Poland. Bovska - Leżałam
  47. Saint Lucia. / No song
  48. Dominica. / No song
  49. Czechia. Calin - Růže
  50. Oman. Salah Al Zadjali - Leish Ahebak
  51. Rwanda. Bushali ft Ariel Wayz - Umwali
  52. Grenada. / No song
  53. Italy. Madame - sentimi
  54. Malta. Destiny Chukunyere - All of my love
  55. Mauritius. Yvette Dantier - La Clef Mo Leker
  56. Saudi Arabia. Waed - Afkr Sah
  57. Malaysia. Alextbh - Moments
  58. Namibia. Sunny Boy - Young wild and free
  59. Greece. Saske ft Beyond - NANA
  60. Armenia. Ladaniva - Kef Chilini
  61. Jordan. مطروح - Autostrad
  62. Slovakia. Fallgrapp - Keď Padal Sneh
  63. Belarus. NAVIBAND - Iншымi (Different)
  64. Croatia. / No song
  65. Cuba. Orishas, Breatriz Luengo, Ara Malikian - Ámame Como Soy
  66. Sao Tome and Principe. Calema - Te Amo
  67. Montenegro
  68. Senegal. Wally B. Seck - Let them Grow Up
  69. Bulgaria. / No song
  70. Hungary. Carson Coma - Truman show
  71. Jamaica. Lila Iké - Where I'm Coming From
  72. Romania. Cosima - Ploaia
  73. South Africa. Master KG - Jerusalema (feat. Nomcebo Zikode)
  74. Tunisia. Kaso - Mchew
  75. Ghana. Kidi - Say Cheese
  76. Maldives. / No song
  77. Vanuatu. / No song
  78. Argentina. Nathy Peluso - Buenos Aires
  79. Bahrain. Ahmad Al Harmi - Khasarat Waqtna
  80. China. Tan Weiwei - 小娟 ( 化名 )
  81. Kuwait. Nawal - Kan Ya Makan
  82. Solomon Islands. / No song
  83. Benin. Diyo (feat. Omawumi) - Sessimè
  84. Guyana. / No song
  85. Lesotho. Sents'o - Kea Morata
  86. Burkina Faso. Fadeen ft Wendy - J'ai Pas Le Temps
  87. India. Prakti - Words
  88. Morocco. Manal - Niya
  89. Timor-Leste. / No song
  90. Trinidad and Tobago. Jimmy October, Kes - Magic
  91. Turkey. Altın Gün - Ordunun Dereleri
  92. Colombia. Esteman & Danielan Spalla - Te Alejas Más de Mi
  93. Ecuador. Hansel Green - Milkshake
  94. Brazil. Kunumi MC - Guerreiro da Floresta (Forest Warrior)
  95. Ethiopia. Zebiba Girma - Yamal Qenew
  96. Kazakhstan. Moldanazar - Jylytty Meni (Doomx Remix)
  97. Peru. Susana Baca - Yo Vengo a Ofrecer Mi Corazón
  98. Serbia. / No song
  99. Sri Lanka. / No song
  100. Suriname. / No song
  101. Tanzania. Diamond Platnumz - Jeje
  102. Gambia. Jizzle - Work & Pray
  103. Indonesia. Kai Mata - Where Love Goes
  104. Albania. Enca, Don Xhoni - Breakdown
  105. Algeria. Souad Massi - Oumniya
  106. Côte d'Ivoire. Josey - Espoir
  107. El Salvador. / No song
  108. Kosovo. Capital T - S'Kthehna (Anso Remix)
  109. Thailand. URBOYTJ - อยู่ก่อน
  110. Vietnam. Vu Cat Tuong - Một Triệu Năm Ánh Sáng
  111. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  112. Mongolia. / No song
  113. North Macedonia. / No song
  114. Panama. Neema - La Nave
  115. Moldova. Pasha Parfeni - Liber
  116. Philippines. Zild - Dila
  117. Egypt. Cairokee - Ya Abyad Ya Eswed
  118. Eswatini. S-Tone - Come back home
  119. Nepal. / No song
  120. Sierra Leone. / No song
  121. Ukraine. / No song
  122. Zambia. Natasha Chansa & Darrel - Show me
  123. Niger. / No song
  124. Bolivia. Dany Deglein - Mañana vamo a ver
  125. Kenya. Nadia Mukami - Jipe
  126. Kyrgyzstan. Мирбек Атабеков - Санат Ыры
  127. Mexico. Niña Dioz & Hispana - Mezcal
  128. Pakistan. RFB - Sitaaray
  129. Azerbaijan. Chingiz Mustafayev - Can-Can
  130. Gabon. Pamela Badjogo - Respectez-nous
  131. Malawi. Faith Mussa - Waiting
  132. Mali. Aya Nakamura - Jolie Nana
  133. Russia. FACE - Надежда (Hope)
  134. Laos. / No song
  135. Mauritania. / No song
  136. Togo. Juliano featuring Yaovi Kheteti - Hustler
  137. Dominican Republic. Rita Indiana - Como un Dragón
  138. Guinea. Manamba Kanté - Lamine Guirassy
  139. Liberia. Trille - Zombie Dance (feat. Deng)
  140. Myanmar. / No song
  141. Paraguay. Ivan Zavala - Soltar
  142. Angola. Matias Damásio - Luz
  143. Djibouti. / No song
  144. Papua New Guinea. / No song
  145. Uganda. Vinka - Love Panic
  146. Bangladesh. Tumi, Ami O Bhor - Nemesis
  147. Central African Republic. Ozaguin - Wali
  148. Uzbekistan. Munisa Rizaeva - Bo'ldi Yurak
  149. Cameroon. TayC - Comme Toi
  150. Guatemala. Sara Curruchich - La Siguanaba
  151. Iran. Donya ft Anita - Por Hashiyeh
  152. Lebanon. Joseph Attieh - Sallou La Beirut
  153. Madagascar. Denise - Hiaraka Aminao
  154. Mozambique. Messias Maricoa - Aprumar
  155. Nigeria. Cill - Tatarata
  156. Tajikistan. / No song
  157. Honduras. Eduardo Umanzor - Vida Tranquila
  158. Zimbabwe. Anita Jaxson - Unonzani (feat. Jah Master)
  159. Nicaragua. / No song
  160. Cambodia. POLARIX - Follow ma Dance
  161. Chad. / No song
  162. Comoros. / No song
  163. Eritrea. / No song
  164. Iraq. Aseel Hameem - الظروف
  165. Afghanistan. / No song
  166. Burundi. / No song
  167. Congo. Young Ace Wayé Paracetamol
  168. Guinea Bissau. / No song
  169. Turkmenistan. / No song
  170. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Percy, Badi, Alesh - Nawe
  171. Haiti. / No song
  172. Korea, North. / No song
  173. Libya. Walid Al Talawy - Rak Fe El Galb
  174. Equatorial Guinea. Princesa Demetria - One Ya Ma
  175. Sudan. Duah Saleh - umbrellar
  176. Venezuela. Arca - Nonbinary
  177. Yemen. جميلة سعد - الغربة
  178. Syria. Bu Kolthoum - Mamnoun
  179. Somalia. Hodan Abdirahman & Cabdi Hani - Jindasho
  180. South Sudan. / No song

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