<![CDATA[Abstract. This study aims to critically investigate and describe the dimensions of social criticism contained in the album Gelap Gempita by Sukatani Band using Teun A. van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework. The research employed a qualitative descriptive-analytical design. Primary data were extracted from the linguistic and discursive units across eight songs in the album, while secondary data were drawn from scientific journals, academic books, and relevant cultural commentaries. Data were gathered through documentary and read-note techniques, examined via qualitative content analysis encompassing textual, social cognitive, and sociopolitical dimensions, and verified through theoretical triangulation. The findings demonstrate that the discourse across the album is structurally cohesive and ideologically directed. At the macrostructural level, the songs consistently articulate themes of institutional corruption, systemic injustice, agrarian dispossession, existential crises, and pseudo-solidarity. Superstructurally, the songs employ a circular, non-resolutive scheme that underlines persistent socio-political stagnation. Microstructurally, the critical stance is amplified by syntactic parallelism, stark lexical contrasts, repetitive refrains, and organic metaphors. Contextually, the album reflects contemporary Indonesian socioeconomic fractures, particularly transactional bureaucracy and land conversion. At the social cognition level, the discourse mobilizes mental models that cultivate critical awareness and moral reflection among listeners. In conclusion, Gelap Gempita serves as an effective counter-hegemonic medium that bridges popular music culture and critical civic literacy.Keywords: Social criticism, Gelap Gempita, Sukatani, critical discourse, Teun A. van Dijk.]]>
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