According to my Last.fm account, a music-tracking app, I have listened to music from over four thousand different albums since 2019 alone, and since the beginning of high school that year, friends have lovingly referred to me as "the music guy." Along with the countless hours I've spent listening to music, I've also spent time writing, playing, recording, and producing it. Around the same time I became an avid music fan, a friend told me, "all art is inherently political," explaining that it must be true, since all art is influenced by the political climate of its time and place. Given the timing, music was the first thing that came to mind when I thought about it. Fast forward five years: with this same idea still bouncing around in my head, and after all my time creating and listening to music, I've come to a staunch realization about the intersection of politics and music: good conservative music doesn't exist.

On the other side of the spectrum, leftist music ranges from poor to spectacular. What creates this range of quality that the other side lacks? Many things, but most importantly: intention, the very reason why no right-wing music has ever surpassed the threshold of "good." Intention is the beginning of any songwriting process. While there are many reasons to craft a politically backed song, no matter which way one may fall, the subtext determines how valid those reasons are. Ultimately, that subtext can read in two ways: in support of or against established systems. By definition, conservatism seeks to maintain the status quo, while leftism seeks to create change. Although neither is inherently good or bad, in the context of the largely American music industry, change prevails as the best stance to take. That being said, there remains a spectrum of conservative music and conservatism as a whole.

To discuss conservative music, however, one must define what makes music conservative. Though all art is influenced by the political climate surrounding it, that doesn't mean the climate it's born from is the climate it lives in. For example, Jason Aldean, a conservative country artist, released his song, "Try That In A Small Town," in May of 2023, notably amidst Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Many Americans during this time took Ukraine's side and encouraged President Biden to support the country's struggle further, generally considered a leftist position. Despite this, Aldean decided to focus on what he found important to speak on: the "woke" left. While many Americans focused on a progressive agenda, conservatives—like Aldean—doubled down on their own.

While Aldean's song is a rather extreme example of how disconnected conservative music can be, it's also a perfect example of how musically terrible it can be. That being said, the iceberg goes deeper than over-produced, closed-minded country music. As previously stated, there is a spectrum of conservative music and conservatism itself. On the lesser end, some have been indoctrinated—traditionally through religion—to believe there is a moral reason to lean toward the right. This would account for the genre of conservative Christian rock. While the instrumentation in that genre is generally inoffensive, the lyrics are where it falls short. On the far end lie those like Aldean, and the king of conservative music himself: Tom McDonald. Between those two ends lies a bland array of music pushing pro-establishment ideology rooted in ignorance, but what McDonald writes can hardly be excused as "ignorance."

Tom McDonald is a self-proclaimed independent rapper and producer who preaches traditional conservative values. What makes him different, however, is his use of counter-culture. As a white man in a largely Black field, McDonald uses his whiteness to stand out by appropriating stereotypical Black hip-hop culture. Over his tenure, he has tattooed his face and braided his hair —prominent looks in the Black community, even outside of rap and hip-hop. Though he is not the first white man to do so, his reasoning is not based on respect, but rather a profound hatred of the Black community. However, his looks scratch the surface of what makes him the worst music artist the right—and the entire world—has to offer. Most of his lyrics are based on one specific community: the transgender community. The majority of his lyrics, along with many of the ideas of his collaborators (such as Dax and Ben Shapiro), attack not just transgender people but, more specifically, transgender women.

Though the "lyricism" on McDonald's songs is the most offensive part, there's much more to dive into within his music, along with all conservative musicians. Intention is where a song starts, but artistry is where a song ends. According to accomplished pop artist and known leftist, Charli XCX, artistry is the most important element of music. Artistry, of course, is a massive category; however, it encompasses much of what makes conservative music bad. Conservative musicians all share a lack of artistry, which, for artists like Tom McDonald, shows up in production, instrumentation, emotion, and—more specifically in rap and hip-hop—flow and technical ability. Listening to a Tom McDonald song, you may not be surprised to learn he produces his own beats and is the primary visionary behind his projects. His songs are soulless, insipid, and amateur at best. Many other conservative artists can—at the very least—flaunt that their songs are well-produced, though they are almost all overproduced. What makes him the worst of the worst is that he can't even say the same for his music.

Though McDonald may have the title of worst conservative artist, who champions the name of "the best?" Many conservatives would agree that the greatest to do it is none other than Kanye West himself. What this argument lacks, however, is nuance. West, in recent times, has gotten himself in trouble for his comments about Jewish people, while simultaneously growing his fanbase with conservative Christians; however, he wasn't always this way. During George Bush's presidency, West stated on national television that the Republican president did not "care about Black people," a large difference from his more recent admiration of Adolf Hitler. What makes him a complex figure is his past and how his discography reflects that.

For decades, he released albums that shook and shaped hip-hop culture entirely. However, the producer and rapper who created those albums was a different Kanye West from the one spewing hatred more recently. So while he may have had an amazing run of albums spanning from 2004 to 2018, after that, there's a clear decline: from brilliance to mediocrity and—finally—into the depths of soulless conservative music. In 2019, he dropped his album "Jesus Is King," his first solely religious album. Though this album isn't horrible, it signaled his shift from works of art like "Ye" and "Kids See Ghosts" the year before to messy, rushed production mixed with questionable messages. 2020 saw the release of "Donda," as well as West's gambit for the presidency that blurred the lines between church and state. His next official release saw the height of his hateful speech, "Vultures 1," which included a plethora of anti-Semitic lyrics and jabs at those offended by his statements. So, while one could consider him a conservative artist currently, his music hasn't been consistently good in the last decade.

Some claim that all art has merit. I, however, disagree. Not all art is created for a good reason or out of passion for the craft. Many artists create to make a quick buck, but even the monetarily inclined can stumble onto gold every once in a while. Those who do not make their "art" for hateful or ignorant reasons. Though all art is inherently political, politics doesn't influence all art equally. For example, a Lana Del Rey song is usually not as politically charged as a Rage Against the Machine song. Does that make her music bad? No, because not all art needs a political message to be good. It just so happens, though, that some of the best music of all time is protest music: from Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar. Ultimately, what I've learned from all my time enjoying music is that good conservative music doesn't exist because nothing good is ever born from hate.