Singing For or Singing About?

The agency of musicians and artists in today's industry of charitable giving has really got me thinking about the distinctions between simply doing what you do FOR a cause and shaping what you do to be ABOUT a cause. Why does music as an art form have to be separated from provoking activism? In what ways do performances like Hope for Haiti and the Rainforest Fund's 21st Birthday Concert further the conversation on international dialogue? Not to say these Art FOR something isn't a bad thing, but its interesting for an artist to sing about certain ideas and themes as demanded by the pop culture industry by day and then perform songs to raise money/awareness for causes by night- why is the music industry often separated from social action in this way? In such socio-musical movements as the blues of the deep American south, the Tropicalia of Brazil, the Rastafari of Jamaica, and even Hip Hop of urban America, we see clear patterns in social stance supported by Music. Which musicians/artists throughout history can we learn from in order to more often sing about something rather than just sing for something for a fuller embrace of causes/activism? 

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