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CHUCK D On Africa Being The FUTURE of Hip-Hop, LL COOL J's Icon Status & History of FIGHT THE POWER
Jan 26, 2023
Living Legend Chuck D of Public Enemy stopped by Sway In The Morning and we got to hear first-hand some of the most iconic stories of his rise in the music business. He told the story of how the song "Fight The Power" came to be and illuminated its ties to Elvis. He also spoke on the greatness of LL Cool J and reiterated why he was so important to the culture.
chuck also talked much about the next generation and gave some hints as to where he thinks the next generation of hip-Hop's growth is. Check out the full interview below.
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CHUCK D On Africa Being The FUTURE of Hip-Hop, LL COOL J's Icon Status & History of FIGHT THE POWER
https://youtu.be/IGKMYBb1En0
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0:00
when he made the album it takes a nation
0:02
of millions to hold us back it was
0:05
cemented then on the second album that
0:07
we have witnessed one of the greatest
0:09
groups in music of all time and I'm
0:13
talking about Public Enemy and we got
0:15
the lead vocalist the leader of the
0:17
movement himself the one and only Chuck
0:20
D is here
0:25
damn that was like when Shaq used to
0:28
come out with that it used to go that
0:30
dun dun dun dun dun dun dun
0:32
off the NFL thing well I mean I'm
0:35
honored
0:37
um like I said you know listen I I come
0:39
I individual accolades is really
0:41
difficult for me to understand absorb
0:43
because I come from a collective yeah I
0:46
come from a group and um individually
0:48
okay I got art books coming out because
0:50
I think the you know the art expression
0:52
is an individual thing
0:54
but a collective to me is what a
0:57
movement is individually the only
0:59
movement movement you can have is a
1:01
bowel movement
1:03
really seriously and a lot of people
1:06
keep that ish in them so right A lot of
1:10
them constipated I'm saying I tell
1:12
people I said listen I'm like a comment
1:14
man when you see me it's it's it's an
1:18
event and then I go back into orbit into
1:20
the solar system you know I I appear to
1:23
appear
1:24
and I keep a floor on the second floor
1:26
of hip-hop that you can walk up to and I
1:28
tell everybody I said listen come see me
1:31
before you go up to the penthouse 50
1:33
floors up now we're in the 50th year
1:35
hip-hop so I'm on the second floor see
1:37
me you can walk up the staircase
1:40
then you're going to go up if you miss
1:42
me you're going to be up there and
1:44
you're going to probably take the
1:46
shuttle right straight down to the
1:48
bottom again and it's hard to get up to
1:49
the second floor because the door is
1:51
locked so see me on the way up and I
1:54
could get up there anytime yeah but I
1:57
ain't staying up there I'll go right
1:58
back down there close to the ground on
2:00
the second floor where I'm cool now I'm
2:03
up at the top telling everybody we put
2:06
together this
2:08
four-part documentary which is a merger
2:10
between PBS
2:12
in the BBC called Fight the Power how
2:16
hip-hop changed the world in the most
2:18
important word in that whole sentences
2:21
world yes 50 years nothing gets 50 years
2:25
without at least having
2:27
uh an area of discussion of where it
2:30
came from in a high discussion that
2:32
everybody got a state you know sit pause
2:34
and say oh yeah this thing is a serious
2:37
thing I got to I got to be able to
2:40
absorb as opposed to saying this never
2:42
just been juvenile stuff with me
2:44
understand this I'm not an oil hip-hop
2:46
y'all I'm 12 years older than hip-hop
2:50
August 11 1973 I was on I was 13 years
2:54
old yeah you know what I'm saying I seen
2:56
it when they come along with a kid on a
2:58
tricycle my responsibility
3:00
accountability to make sure somebody
3:01
don't drive it in a ditch I'm not in the
3:04
business of making black people look bad
3:06
yeah I'm not in that business I know
3:08
that might be whatever I'm not in the
3:10
business of making Black Culture look
3:11
bad and I'm not in the business of
3:13
making hip-hop look bad and I'm not also
3:16
trying to also say change the world
3:17
because Society is what it is hip-hop
3:20
gets a lot of blame but you got to look
3:22
at Society first talking about the
3:25
things like oh it's really a sad thing
3:27
what happened to Migos and take off but
3:29
America has a gun thirst problem yes
3:32
that is never ever ever has gotten rid
3:34
of that is the person or I mean that is
3:37
a situation to confront and that's what
3:39
Public Enemy was able to do from a
3:41
collective it never was about just me I
3:44
came with a crew of Publications and a
3:47
crew with the bomb squad yes and Hank
3:50
Shockley keep Shockley Eric Vietnam
3:52
Sadler and then of course people like
3:54
Griff and Flava added into the
3:57
production area then you had Public
3:58
Enemy on the other side Terminator X
4:01
Professor Griff Flavor Flav The s1ws Who
4:04
We Know by names for James Bond the pop
4:07
diesel the brother Roger and brother
4:09
James they just not a okay that's them
4:11
that's what whatever whoever they are I
4:13
know these people as individuals and we
4:15
went around the World to Change the
4:17
World to tell people that yo man this
4:20
hip-hop thing is the best
4:23
method of communicating to the masses
4:26
because it comes through culture which
4:28
brings us together as human beings with
4:31
the human spirit
4:33
and knocks the differences to the side
4:35
that's the beautiful thing about culture
4:36
is diametrically opposed to government
4:38
which like to split you up categorize
4:42
you
4:43
pull the Simpson on you take your money
4:46
you know take your money make the money
4:48
and then take it back again and so
4:51
governments could do a better job so
4:54
your brother rushed the show when I came
4:55
in and y'all was playing it and people
4:57
like how you feel Chuck it's like listen
4:59
to your first child you know your bum
5:01
rush the show was so significant
5:04
that
5:05
yo MTV Raps named itself off of yo
5:09
bombers to show because your MTV Raps
5:11
was a UK show first which is Public
5:13
Enemy's base Public Enemies headquarter
5:16
base is London that's why you hear on
5:19
that album the first word you hear on it
5:22
takes a nation of millions to hold us
5:24
back is welcome London is that why yeah
5:28
okay we got the album cover right here
5:30
it was a live concert in London he
5:33
brought this and it was pandemonium
5:35
because they was waiting for the
5:36
spaceship of Public Enemy to descend and
5:39
that was what they call the British
5:41
Invasion okay and we said not only will
5:44
we actually show the United States and
5:45
yeah we had you know we had to you know
5:47
come up through the ranks and the ropes
5:49
on the LL Cool J and the Def Jam tour
5:51
and Eric B and Rakim who had a year on
5:54
us you know and then you had Houdini the
5:56
veterans veterans the Dougie fresh and
5:58
the get fresh crew
6:00
toys and now the y'all was all on that
6:02
tour 1997. but you gotta understand yeah
6:05
we you know we rookies then yeah us we
6:08
sharing the bus with the great greats
6:10
that's the Sonic big up to Daddy-o and
6:12
Delight yeah 13 people on a 12-seater
6:14
bus yep out of that bus ride you had
6:17
three albums that bounced off of that
6:19
that album right there takes a nation in
6:22
full gear by steps of Sonic and three
6:25
feet high and Rising because Prince
6:27
Paul's a DJ for sets of Sonic for
6:29
Daylight song so yeah out of that Summer
6:31
with the Def Jam tour 1987. also about
6:35
that tour because we're opening up you
6:39
know the the big stars basically got the
6:42
tickets wrapped up and they got the
6:43
radio station so people outside of
6:45
Kaiser in Oakland trying to get in and
6:48
who's outside trying to get in too short
6:50
too short
6:52
so myself and daddy yo are like yo come
6:56
on with us so myself and Daddio were
6:59
like ambassadors to the rest of the
7:01
hip-hop Nation because you know I mean
7:05
at that particular time you came out of
7:06
New York you was a rap artist he was a
7:08
star he wasn't so much inviting to all
7:11
those areas that you go into so New York
7:13
was hard on anybody outside of New York
7:16
well we from Long Island
7:18
yeah okay so we went around on our first
7:21
tour and was engaging to every city we
7:24
went to and that's how Public Enemy
7:25
slowly built the following in the United
7:27
States but immediately London was the
7:30
base and also the base of really why the
7:33
BBC took to this and also PBS is high
7:35
discussion let me out about the truck D
7:38
here I was at the tour
7:40
at the uh was it the Kaiser or the
7:43
Oakland Coliseum uh when y'all came to
7:45
Oakland Oakland Coliseum was 1988 and um
7:49
that's the night they also threw a
7:50
firecracker Will Smith and then they
7:53
bought the dude backstage and will drop
7:56
them like boom so way before the Smith
7:58
punched them out I said yo yo listen
8:01
straight up and down they they brought
8:03
the dude the will
8:04
and they said and they was like just the
8:07
dude that threw the firecrack at you
8:08
right and all I saw was like 14 heads do
8:11
this
8:12
and looked down will drop them like wow
8:16
so I seen the smack before the smack wow
8:19
the real is the real history
8:22
the two through a firecracker on the
8:25
stage and his will in the chest and
8:27
bounced off and went pow and they
8:29
brought him in the back and will drop
8:31
them in the back of the place where the
8:33
Warriors won the Championships Will
8:35
Smith boom what was the dynamic like at
8:38
that time you mentioned LL you mentioned
8:40
EPMD like who was the man at that time
8:44
who was the main yeah the so to speak
8:46
who was the biggest was LL the biggest
8:47
draw at that time you goddamn right okay
8:51
LL Cool J it's hard as hell what yeah
8:55
because you know LL came out L was the
8:57
first dude that really seriously said
9:00
y'all could be a crew and a collective
9:02
in a group I'm a one-man yeah
9:05
destruction Force you know what I'm
9:07
saying Run DMC is the only thing that
9:10
they would say you know what man we
9:11
doing our thing but every time we look
9:13
at this dude from Hollis yo man this
9:16
this cat is a [ __ ] problem man it's a
9:19
problem hello listen people talk that's
9:21
what they want listen
9:23
it's great for y'all to make your lists
9:25
and top ten of all the bottom line is
9:28
proving this thing in Arena when you got
9:30
an hour I've been looking at cats as
9:32
like okay you got guy okay first of all
9:34
I'll be like first of all he he gonna
9:37
run out of breath okay number two after
9:40
the second day of tour you're gonna lose
9:41
his voice and get it back three days
9:43
later but that's okay you know we're
9:44
gonna work them through we're gonna have
9:45
you know you don't become great
9:48
overnight by yourself the first day
9:50
you've got to come like in anything
9:52
unboxing go in and say yeah my first
9:54
fight I'm gonna go in there and not
9:56
eating yeah you'll get your head handed
9:58
to you gotta be humble and you got to
10:00
learn my mentors with ecstasy May rest
10:02
from Houdini and Dougie fresh they still
10:07
look like he 30. yo man and seriously I
10:10
had to follow instructions from them
10:11
every night because every night you out
10:15
there if you don't come out with you
10:16
know you're going
10:18
to a crowd that really don't know you
10:20
and you could get tossed and lost off
10:22
tour if you ain't happening then the
10:24
only reason they need the first three
10:26
acts yeah Irreplaceable they're gonna
10:28
replace them with anybody so
10:30
yeah LL Cool J meaning that he could do
10:33
a straight hour
10:34
and he he ain't taking notes his slow
10:38
jam is giving him some breath yeah and
10:40
every single song Go Bow Bow Bow Bow Bow
10:43
one man he's the first dude that came
10:46
along
10:47
and said one I'm a soloist and everybody
10:50
else was a collective in a group yeah
10:51
that's why I thought the Rock and Roll
10:53
Hall of Fame was derogatory no shade on
10:56
on Biggie or Park the first Solo in the
10:59
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should have
11:01
been LL Cool Jacob and LL Cool Jack I
11:03
say Hey listen I'm a sports fan yeah
11:05
I don't like when a person coming and
11:07
you know you it ain't based on opinion
11:10
it's based on fact people like Steph
11:13
Curry one of the greatest all-time yes
11:15
he factually will bust your ass yes
11:22
I mean and I gotta throw this out to my
11:25
my old town brother why everybody
11:27
treating like the Warriors ain't the
11:29
current champion bro I don't understand
11:32
I thought it was sorcery really well
11:35
they won last year I said the [ __ ] out
11:37
of here this is sorcery yeah I mean and
11:39
they're tripping like it's nothing you
11:42
know it's just like talk I'm a Nick fan
11:45
I was 12 when my team won it last I'm 62
11:48
today
11:56
it's around here right I mean you know
11:58
that's how much I love my team right
11:59
yeah hey yo y'all won last year and it's
12:02
just like no everybody treating it like
12:03
it's not that you know yeah you saw us
12:06
winning and then they start talking
12:07
about yeah but who's going look who's
12:08
who looks like it's gonna do it next
12:11
year once they get wimpy
12:14
Chuck you know what it is New York can't
12:16
do two things at once so the last time
12:19
you won a championship is the year
12:20
hip-hop was born so
12:24
that's the beauty of this documentary
12:26
because we explained we explained truly
12:29
out of when everything was left they
12:31
left this city for dead yeah matter of
12:33
fact the the president was that that was
12:35
sketchy because is he going to get
12:38
impeached you know he just straight out
12:39
quick yeah Nixon quit says like I'm on
12:42
the [ __ ] out of here right so the whole
12:44
country is like like what so when it
12:46
came down to the to New York City they
12:49
were like listen the whole country is on
12:50
skates y'all not getting nothing New
12:53
York City dropped dead it's on the
12:54
headline on Daily News which meant you
12:57
know
12:58
sociologically
13:00
the school systems cut back on
13:03
everything yeah not only Sports programs
13:05
but they cut back on Arts music music
13:08
and you know and people always you know
13:11
launch them all big up the Lord Jamario
13:14
Brand Nubian he said man everybody was
13:16
always musically inclined as far as a
13:18
black family concerned all across the
13:20
USA
13:22
so out of that people had records and
13:25
they made music out of what it's
13:28
turntables a mixer and I'm telling you
13:31
y'all always hear like New Yorkers that
13:33
my mother and father born in Harlem
13:34
Hospital like people come to me with New
13:36
York although I'm from Long Island I
13:38
said my mother and father born born a
13:40
Harlem Hospital
13:42
1938-39 you come with your numbers and
13:45
and matter of fact you know they lived
13:48
151st Street between Broadway and
13:50
Amsterdam hey that's how they how they
13:51
met each other right so I know more
13:53
about New York than anybody because I
13:55
you know I studied geography and people
13:57
yeah so but once upon people don't admit
14:00
that New York is a country as hell yeah
14:02
because everybody came from down south
14:04
before the Caribbean or so whatever so
14:07
don't act like you always been hip so I
14:09
would come up and say well they got two
14:11
turntables maybe if that one break down
14:14
maybe that's when you know okay that's a
14:17
spare turn to I didn't understand two
14:19
turntables and then in high school they
14:21
was making mixes and stuff like that
14:23
what's the mixer I guess make a cake or
14:25
something like that yes yes remember
14:27
that yeah this was all
14:32
because they doing crazy and that's what
14:34
engaged me in the hip-hop I'm like I I
14:37
couldn't understand the technical thing
14:39
how they could make a record go on and
14:41
on and on to the breaker dawn like I
14:44
used to like this record called Galaxy
14:47
by War and it started on the radio
14:49
because he had the best radio DJs in New
14:51
York you know people like Gary bird who
14:54
somehow they they failed to mention that
14:56
he did a song a rap song in 1982 called
15:00
the crown which Stevie Wonder produced
15:03
Gary Berg Gary bird y'all can look it up
15:05
and Google it it's about 13 minutes long
15:07
minutes long and he broke down us as a
15:10
peak people in Iran so anyway Gary Barry
15:14
was one of the leading DJs in New York
15:16
at a station at the end of the dial
15:18
super 16 you know AM radio that's where
15:21
they allowed us blacks they allow us on
15:22
FM until like mid 70s and you hit Gary
15:25
Burr with the great voice this is the
15:27
GBE Gary bird 1600 on your wwrl dial
15:31
this is LTD come
15:44
this is the moon rock of Frankie Crocker
15:48
you know what I'm saying you'd be like
15:49
whoa they could sell you anything uh-huh
15:52
and the minute in the middle of the 80s
15:54
kiss came along and tell you some
15:56
[ __ ] like more music let's talk what
15:59
the [ __ ] yeah and you only hear DJ talk
16:01
about sandwiches and the weather and
16:03
[ __ ] uh-huh I want to hear you talk
16:04
about the groups and the music and all
16:06
that but that's when the business
16:07
started to take a business but but New
16:10
York
16:11
help birth this thing of hip-hop because
16:14
of the DJs and that's where the MC and
16:17
like Melly Mel speaking for himself in
16:20
the documentary yourself speaking we had
16:23
Scholars from inside the music
16:25
controlling the narrative you know what
16:28
I'm saying and that's very important now
16:30
I think the art could be the art no
16:31
matter what my man's Scarface pick up
16:33
the Scarface Brad Jordan he said you
16:36
know what Chuck man the social media
16:37
thing man it's cool man but you know
16:40
what it's like everybody can't be at the
16:42
sandbox at the same time you got a
16:44
stripper could be where the strip pole
16:45
could be champagne could be you know you
16:48
can't have champagne in the sandbox yeah
16:50
it ain't nothing you know in social
16:52
media you don't know who's five years
16:55
old communicating with you yeah it's
16:58
like yeah you 30 years on the Avatar but
17:00
you 15 years old or better yet you 55
17:04
years old but you 30 years old and
17:06
you're advertising all your update wait
17:08
a minute what happened to the goddamn
17:10
categories yeah it's like so first of
17:12
all back in the day when myself and Hank
17:15
Shockley would promote a gig you know we
17:16
got flies and whatnot and we go into
17:18
this
17:19
this little place of bar Flyers right
17:21
okay
17:24
pieces of paper
17:26
let me reel this back literally you know
17:29
let me stop going back to Noah in this
17:31
damn Arc
17:34
all right so we we had little Flyers say
17:37
you know we posted it on polls and you
17:39
know you want to leave it up in in the
17:41
stores and businesses and let's see if
17:43
we could leave a few and steer in and
17:46
steer in was like this little bar
17:49
cold about like 60 people got a jukebox
17:52
in it same clientele goes in there and
17:56
we go in there and you know woman behind
17:59
the bar see about 55 60 years old
18:02
whatnot and say excuse me ma'am could we
18:04
like hang
18:05
put out flyers in here and first thing
18:08
we're gonna be late looking at it right
18:10
oh this is a DJ and they got Arthur
18:13
price out on the on the jukebox right
18:15
and they drinking like I mean they
18:17
drinking like hardcore 1955 you know um
18:21
Brooke Benton type whiskey right
18:24
you know cigarette over the thing
18:26
dangling out of the woman's mouth it
18:29
never seems to drop you know what I'm
18:31
saying
18:32
yeah baby put it a little bit over there
18:35
but we don't want none of that headache
18:37
people up in here you know what I'm
18:38
saying headache people yeah that's
18:40
called headache people once you break
18:41
your clientele yeah you know you've
18:43
already got your clientele and then all
18:45
of a sudden we're gonna have a disco
18:46
night
18:47
14 year old 15 uh well 18 19 years old
18:52
and then what happens sometime it might
18:54
be a shootout yeah see on the old people
18:56
night back then you would have a stab
18:58
out and they all know each other and go
19:00
patch them up and be back the next
19:02
Wednesday and [ __ ]
19:06
and this is all the way across 3 000
19:08
miles of Black USA I'm saying that that
19:12
you every once in a while you gotta have
19:14
a countable High discussion about this
19:16
you know I mean I come from a family
19:18
where you know if you're in the back you
19:21
there's a separation between me and my
19:23
parents me and my uncle and I've been
19:25
told like you know he turned around and
19:27
Heather got that look like I can't take
19:29
your ass nowhere
19:32
that's that's what you say to white
19:34
folks it's like you know what I'm saying
19:35
it's like I've been seeing so much in
19:37
the hip-hop water I said they never had
19:40
that conversation or that that older
19:42
person can't take your ass nowhere yeah
19:44
you can tell
19:46
um I want to ask you a couple of
19:48
questions because uh I haven't seen the
19:50
documentary Tracy told me she she saw a
19:52
piece of it yeah you got plenty of time
19:55
did I you got listen every year after
19:57
the year 50 you got
20:00
you know what I mean hey hey how many
20:03
days come on your desk this way really
20:05
seriously I'll be on so much things I
20:09
don't catch myself until two years later
20:10
okay all right now you feel better right
20:13
a whole lot better because I was like
20:15
what happened I just wanted to because
20:17
you asked I just wanted to make we are
20:19
blessed for your participation oh man
20:21
I'm blessed at you even asked for it you
20:24
know and so I'm proud to be a part of
20:26
this fight to power hip hop change the
20:29
world uh premieres Tuesday January 31st
20:32
on PBS in your opinion give me some
20:34
examples of how hip-hop has changed and
20:38
impacted the world well LL was the first
20:40
Solas okay it changed in the 90s because
20:44
record companies felt that groups were
20:47
too much of a hassle for them
20:49
different from the Rock World The Rock
20:50
World they got to deal with all of
20:52
Draves Against the Machine yeah you
20:54
gotta deal with Zach Tom Morello Timmy
20:58
Comfort Brad Wilk in negotiations
21:02
when hip-hop exploded they said man we
21:04
can't have like x-clan and all X Clan up
21:06
in the negotiation table we got to just
21:09
deal with one of these Negroes and
21:11
that's when contracts came in and they
21:12
made it convenient to have a soloist
21:14
because they didn't want to
21:17
negotiate or Renegade with a whole room
21:21
full of people that was going to turn
21:23
that [ __ ] place out uh-huh you
21:26
look look this building ain't always has
21:27
security at the bottom where you think
21:29
this [ __ ] is for yeah now I know the
21:31
people for years and [ __ ] like that but
21:33
you know him it's like oh we had Houston
21:34
we have a problem you know I'm saying
21:36
and New York we have a problem we can't
21:38
it's one thing to do business but we
21:41
can't have everybody come up in the
21:42
executives
21:44
suits you know what I'm saying yeah yeah
21:46
so you know the biggest difference is
21:50
as it's co-opted and because you know
21:53
you could keep art to yourself yeah I
21:54
tell people all the time I think you
21:56
could keep it in the bathroom you know
21:57
what I'm saying keep it on the boat keep
21:58
in the shower or you you hit the notes
22:00
marry Mary ain't [ __ ] you know what I'm
22:02
saying you hit the notes in the shower
22:04
too fantastic everybody got art in them
22:06
the process of getting art out of your
22:09
ass into a business means that you gotta
22:11
work it out with people you got to work
22:14
with skilled people the part of art the
22:17
second half of art you gotta Co-op
22:20
something in order for it to get the
22:21
people you can keep it to yourself
22:23
matter of fact you know social media is
22:25
a fantastic thing to make you know you
22:27
Get Swole on your own head you know what
22:29
I'm saying like wow man you know all of
22:31
my followers mean I'm the star all right
22:33
everybody's a star like sign the Family
22:35
Stone but but power comes great
22:37
responsibility hip hop has changed the
22:40
world in so many different ways that
22:42
I've seen and I was 116 tours and 116
22:47
countries coincidentally right I've seen
22:50
myself and iced tea you can ask Berg
22:52
this that's my nickname for ice tea at
22:54
bird because he's my older brother one
22:56
of the few dudes I could call older
22:59
brother him and wonder Mike right okay
23:01
yo they stopped the war
23:04
in Croatia for one day
23:07
and Yugoslavia Republic you know Croatia
23:10
right and you got um Slovenia and and um
23:14
Serbia Montenegro they stopped the war
23:18
between serbs and croats for one day so
23:20
myself a Public Enemy Ice-T and POC was
23:25
supposed to be on that tour but he
23:27
couldn't make it because of
23:28
circumstances that happened right it was
23:30
America's Most Wanted to they stopped
23:32
the fighting for one day mercenaries
23:35
were at the gig both sides were kind of
23:38
have to get they wasn't identifying
23:39
themselves they all the same people but
23:41
you know but they all kind of in the
23:43
same Arena
23:44
then they said yo y'all got to get the
23:46
[ __ ] up out of town because we ready to
23:49
go back to war tomorrow as soon as we
23:51
got out of the out of that whole area
23:53
right there's like oh there was a bomb
23:55
in a town called [ __ ] Ain't That
23:57
something right that's the name of the
24:00
town
24:06
you know the Baltic regions they they
24:08
like we not having a language that the
24:12
next province is having so they all got
24:14
their own thing so you can't really mix
24:16
you go slav in with German because they
24:18
like nah they got to get on that [ __ ] we
24:20
ain't getting on this [ __ ] so that's
24:22
hip-hop change in the world you go to
24:25
Brazil and you're looking at 80 000
24:27
people who basically might any stupid
24:30
United States of America rules the
24:33
reason I say that because there's an
24:35
arrogance with
24:36
United us airs number one is arrogant
24:40
when you go any anywhere else and you
24:42
say I'm American well [ __ ]
24:45
Canadians are American you don't count
24:47
them yeah Caribbeans are correct America
24:50
Caribbean Americans let's tell Americans
24:52
it was taking over this South America
24:54
which is bigger you know physically than
24:57
North America so we should call
25:00
ourselves us airs United States
25:03
besides citizens or whatever whenever
25:05
you go anywhere else so I've seen places
25:09
like you go to Brazil you look at 80
25:11
000 people who would be categorized as
25:14
black but they would split up in so many
25:16
different quadrons octarines down there
25:19
so they could still have white supremacy
25:21
over them because they split up people
25:23
into people of color into so many
25:25
different races yeah so so you could
25:27
actually roll you know so but in the
25:30
United States they had the one drop
25:31
rules like you know what you know you
25:33
got one drop of black blood then you got
25:34
the cooties you know what I'm saying so
25:37
you're looking at 80 000 people Rock to
25:40
the Beats you know what I'm saying from
25:42
a Biz Markie to a Lupe Fiasco changes
25:46
the world makes up oh what are they
25:48
spitting the future hip-hop and rap
25:50
music whether people like it or not is
25:52
Africa all 54 Nations absolutely it
25:55
ain't nothing new people like oh man
25:58
they spitting over in Africa now no
25:59
listen they ain't new you knew you know
26:02
what I'm saying you 32 years years old
26:03
you knew you this is just because you
26:05
never knew doesn't mean that it's new
26:07
you know what I'm saying so you know
26:09
that profess the future of hip-hop been
26:13
the future yeah let me tell you cats are
26:16
so sophisticated in Africa you know
26:18
number one you come into the game now
26:19
I'm asking you all this because I I've
26:21
gotten in arguments in the past the
26:23
people that you know and I got friends
26:24
who tell me about the world they ain't
26:26
been nowhere so so I you know so I gotta
26:29
lean on them I said so so give a super
26:33
rapper is somebody that got four
26:35
languages in their pocket right could
26:37
spit at you in four languages and braid
26:40
them yeah and then in South Africa still
26:42
do the click how is that not a super
26:45
rapper yeah
26:46
how is that not a super MC because he's
26:49
not for the United States of America
26:51
it's a [ __ ] arrogant so I'm gonna
26:52
tell you another thing please the
26:55
arrogance of the United States of
26:56
America is to think that we
26:58
automatically is the best it's some
26:59
[ __ ] African look at you side facing
27:02
like what the [ __ ] makes you better
27:03
cause you know you got a greater white
27:05
man over there and when we suck up after
27:08
that right so you know the arrogance is
27:13
the same arrogance y'all feel when a New
27:14
Yorker walk in the room it's the same oh
27:17
damn that's a hell of an area
27:28
we don't need a hat the NY is right here
27:31
what the [ __ ] is up y'all Country Ass
27:34
bumpkins I'm here yeah you're saying
27:36
damn
27:38
that New York [ __ ] down now me I'm on
27:41
the tours in the beginning
27:43
now when I first started out of course
27:45
you started now and I'm I got age on me
27:48
but what Public Enemy did on those tours
27:50
we we taught Brotherhood Sisterhood and
27:53
civility when you go into Columbus Ohio
27:57
turn that [ __ ] New York [ __ ] down and
28:00
fit in yeah cause you could be coming
28:02
back in a box with some arrogance
28:04
especially if after the concert you go
28:06
to the club everybody look everybody
28:09
know you ain't you ain't from here you
28:12
think that you ain't got no like this
28:14
before cameras you don't think you got a
28:16
spotlight on you got a spot you new here
28:18
meaning that we used to say listen
28:20
before you talk to the these are rules
28:22
that ourselves in iced tea used to tell
28:24
the younger heads then
28:27
before you talk to the girl in the city
28:29
talk to the dudes they might be their
28:32
sister their girl their wife her ex-wife
28:34
they you know they they ignore the or
28:37
the glow the fact that you're there
28:39
build with them before you go to the VIP
28:42
section when you build with them and you
28:45
all good then you know you can have it
28:48
any way you want to have in that town as
28:50
long as you don't get arrogant and when
28:52
that stop when hip-hop tours stopped and
28:54
there was a disconnect between acts of
28:57
like I'm gonna show up when I'ma show up
28:59
and that group gonna show up when they
29:00
gonna show up and there was no
29:02
connection
29:03
that's when the problems even started to
29:05
happen even more so because there was no
29:07
connection between the acts and
29:09
everybody was coming in and now it was
29:11
always competition yeah but when we
29:13
rolled out we used to have a meeting and
29:15
once again I got namedberg
29:17
myself my crew and Iceberg iced tea
29:21
beginning the tour we all be in a room
29:23
we said listen
29:25
we getting ready to do this tour y'all
29:27
we know this group is opening up and we
29:30
closing it down we all in this together
29:32
because we're coming to do four hours
29:34
this is a four hour show in this city
29:37
everybody do their thing Ghetto Boys do
29:39
their thing iced tea do their thing you
29:41
know kitten play yo yeah it's a mixed
29:44
bag but we all in this together the
29:47
number one responsibility we come in
29:49
this city it's like stepping in
29:51
somebody's house you take off your shoes
29:53
you give Grace honor and dignity dignity
29:56
in that City you do the performance
29:58
whatever you got to do on stage they're
30:00
gonna be crazy up to the normal and then
30:02
we get out of here safe wanting them one
30:05
people to see more because see this is
30:08
the bottom line in any performance or
30:10
any music or art anything could be a
30:13
spectacle
30:14
anything
30:15
could get you interested that gets you
30:17
in the door
30:18
spectacular keeps you there spectacular
30:21
keeps you coming back for more that's a
30:23
difference maybe between the rock
30:25
stations here you see yours y'all see
30:27
the rock heads it's like oh it's Stevie
30:29
Nicks again
30:32
and when they die the whole world shake
30:35
like Jeff Beck oh my God and people like
30:38
who I'm like yeah they know you know I'm
30:40
saying so hip-hop to me is is our
30:45
dignified artistic Grace and I honor
30:48
Heather B because of the work she does
30:50
it does never go away yes you know a bad
30:53
stain will always stay around because
30:56
you can make a mistake on on media and
30:58
TV now and it just stains you the rest
31:01
of your life right ruin your legacy well
31:03
what happens to the great [ __ ] what
31:05
happens with you every song that you did
31:07
you spent your time on that's honored as
31:10
a piece of art that's our foundation
31:14
that's how we should treat curate
31:16
caretake you know honor the works we
31:20
people say that we might have lost jazz
31:22
in the Blues and our narrative in the
31:25
curation is carried off by everybody
31:27
else except for us because we just don't
31:29
know
31:30
so we try to help with informative
31:33
situations that said listen this is
31:35
never to be forgotten I honor Melly Mel
31:37
yes you know I I honor KRS who yes who's
31:41
the chairman and Curtis blow yes of the
31:44
hip-hop Alliance which is the first
31:46
hip-hop Union and this this ain't no
31:50
this ain't no sorcery no magic trick
31:52
we're 50 years old man the art form is
31:55
50 years old this is real people [ __ ]
31:57
everybody in here right on your way to
32:00
looking at Medicaid you know what I'm
32:02
saying better yet medicine is real for
32:04
y'all and then you got to figure out
32:06
like damn I don't want to do this
32:08
medicine
32:09
I got to do this lifestyle for a long
32:11
period of time they felt that there's
32:14
one way in the hip-hop lifestyle they'll
32:16
get pushed out there and who you you
32:18
know you're not really gonna no big pun
32:21
intended you're not going to sway a 34
32:23
year old on their life yeah but you can
32:26
really be impressionable to a 14 year
32:29
old on a lifestyle so if you pushing a
32:32
drink and somebody at 14 gets into the
32:35
drink or whatever and does it for 20
32:37
more years you got 20 years on top of
32:41
the 14 at 34 years old
32:43
cat's got you know start making
32:45
decisions and the amount of people that
32:48
we lost between 40 yeah and 60 the last
32:53
seven years yeah can go off the damn
32:56
page we we talk about that so yeah you
33:00
know it doesn't happen overnight this
33:02
happens with a culmination and a build
33:04
up so we can have the other side coming
33:06
in and say okay like I'm part of hip-hop
33:08
Public Health with Dr olajide Williams
33:10
and Doug fresh and there's a reason why
33:12
duck fresh looks 27 yeah Doug fresh our
33:15
first tour everybody tried to go to
33:18
whatever Fast Food Spot Doug fresh got a
33:21
cook coming in at 21 years old cooking
33:24
big fish
33:26
now it's a joke back then right ain't a
33:30
joke now I'm
33:32
21.21. Chris was too KRS one so we
33:35
traveled with the chef he had a chef
33:36
right really I did not know that yeah
33:38
yeah yeah DMC a dude that DMC and DMC
33:42
was a dude that back in the day said man
33:44
I drank so much 40 how many Dean said yo
33:47
I'm gonna put a tank outside my kitchen
33:50
so when I turn on hot water cold water
33:52
the next one is going to be OE
33:55
I was like don't do that D don't do that
33:57
and indeed had some situations and D
34:00
turned it around like 25 years ago so
34:03
hip-hop could be a very important
34:07
learning teaching mechanism as well as
34:10
you know
34:12
teaching and having us have a good time
34:13
no matter what having a good time is you
34:17
can do whatever you want the art I feel
34:18
the art can do whatever it wants to do
34:22
the present presentation
34:25
the radio the the all that got to be a
34:29
little bit more careful more dignified
34:31
and balance on saying you know what
34:34
I don't know if I could do this right
34:35
now because that's not doing you know
34:37
Justice it ain't even doing your fan
34:38
base no justice but you know you can
34:40
keep it on your album keep it as back in
34:42
the day where you say oh yeah that's
34:43
Track eight that's right that's a crack
34:46
that's it and I believe like yo man just
34:49
like the language I I cursed a little
34:50
bit kind of the kind of like the flow
34:52
with everything but you know it's called
34:55
pool room language which means back in
34:57
the day in a pool room anything goes so
35:00
if your ass is in the pool room at 2 15
35:03
a.m then you gotta expect pool room
35:06
Behavior pool room atmosphere man
35:09
whatever goes that's what that's just to
35:10
get down you read what I'm saying that's
35:12
the dirty dirty yeah you know what I'm
35:13
saying it doesn't mean that you know we
35:16
got pool room at 10 15 a.m man it's like
35:18
that so we're talking about what how we
35:21
program this show I want to um one of
35:23
the songs you may Fight the Power
35:25
uh probably was one of the most uh
35:28
criticized uh scrutinized rather uh
35:32
songs
35:33
not that I cared because number one I
35:35
tell people today they you know
35:38
first of all like the last couple of
35:40
generations the generation is every four
35:42
years okay so maybe five years so if you
35:45
want to talk about hip-hop we've had 10
35:47
Generations in hip-hop over 50 years
35:49
okay
35:51
at 15 years old I was influenced by The
35:53
Isley Brothers fight to power okay big
35:55
hit first first record I heard that had
35:58
a curse word in it on you know Isley
36:00
Brothers I mean they're Gods you know
36:02
what I'm saying and what better yet you
36:04
know Twist and Shout Beatles covered
36:06
them you know what I'm saying they don't
36:07
get enough I mean this should be a
36:08
documentary on the Isley Brothers I keep
36:10
kicking this around I mean so anyway
36:12
yeah Fight the Power
36:14
influential 14 years later Spike Lee
36:18
does a movie
36:19
and he invites Bill Stephanie big up to
36:21
Mr Bill Stephanie who really made all
36:24
this happen you know Subway shout out to
36:25
Bill thanks again my first production
36:27
deal yeah really yeah but uh stepson
36:30
records right trouble dick Brothers
36:35
we have motion man on this label yeah
36:39
exactly they built Mr Bill Stephanie
36:41
College mate of mine just like Dre Andre
36:44
Brown Dr Dre from the East
36:46
and um Harry Allen we all sat in the
36:50
same classrooms learning from Dr Andre
36:52
strobert on Integrity of black music and
36:54
a responsibility this is 1982. wow right
36:58
so Mr Bill Stephanie also bill is also
37:01
the first black executive for Def Jam he
37:04
gets me to go over the death to him and
37:07
convinces me after I turn Rick Rubin
37:09
down for two years because we wanted to
37:11
get in the radio so you turned Rick
37:13
Rubin you told him no of course because
37:15
we wanted to get in the radio we wanted
37:17
to do syndicated radio rap radio 1984.
37:20
they looked at us like are you kidding
37:21
syndicated rap what that [ __ ] ain't
37:24
gonna be around man in four or five
37:25
years he said yes it is so me and Tech
37:28
ended up doing it
37:34
[Applause]
37:39
you know so uh yeah so 84 so Rick would
37:44
call me at 84 because I did a demo
37:46
matter of fact I passed the demo to Dre
37:49
to play on the wbau show and I passed it
37:53
over the lap of Jam Master Jack so
37:56
everybody you know and all it was Public
37:58
Enemy Number One was really like a
38:00
jingle because we didn't have enough rap
38:02
records yeah to fill nine hours of the
38:04
weekend so it was like yeah I'm doing it
38:07
but this is you know of course I'm [ __ ]
38:10
I get on the mic you know the whole key
38:11
was back then
38:13
the key for MC back then with cheap
38:18
systems is like not bars
38:21
it's like you get on there if you sound
38:23
like a kid you ain't getting a mic if
38:25
you [ __ ] up the DJ you ain't getting
38:26
them like if you're off beat while the
38:28
DJ's switching through you'll get MC's
38:30
today I wonder if the MC can rock good
38:34
times and I can't stop because what the
38:36
MC would do on different speeds is still
38:40
ride the pony and if you got thrown off
38:42
the pony you know the Throne of the pony
38:44
is like I'ma throw you a a song that's
38:46
gonna be I'm gonna cut up a song 110
38:49
beats per minute the 92 beats per minute
38:51
and then 103 beats per minute you
38:54
couldn't you couldn't you couldn't you
38:55
couldn't pick your song that's what we
38:57
do the five fingers right exactly you
38:59
couldn't pick your song The DJ pick it
39:01
you get thrown off the pony in the whole
39:03
thing you ain't you ain't getting the
39:05
mic so that was the skill level back
39:07
then you will hear those original tapes
39:09
with Melly Mel Curtis blow you know love
39:13
bug Starsky and Modi all those cats and
39:17
the DJ would just be like well you don't
39:19
know what's coming but you better ride
39:20
it the minute you can't write it I'm
39:21
turning that [ __ ] down and taking your
39:23
mic right yeah so so I mean so that's
39:26
where those Beginnings I I kind of went
39:28
off point on on it but the standard of
39:32
MCN was high barred
39:36
uh it was a high bar the salt and that's
39:39
where
39:40
you have to learn from I had to learn
39:41
from that and um so Rick Rubin wanted to
39:45
sign me that's the point
39:47
as a component you just had LL Cool J
39:49
yeah and LL Cool J
39:52
talents were basically in the vernacular
39:55
of T LaRock big words really coming at
39:59
you aggressively although Cool J was
40:01
something that dropped out of out of the
40:03
damn Galaxy I'm telling you people don't
40:06
know this today 40 years later LL Cool J
40:10
number one the name would sound like a
40:13
goddamn car that's like they all sounded
40:15
like cars Run DMC what the [ __ ] is a Run
40:17
DMC DeLorean you know LL Cool J I
40:21
remember and here's another story I
40:22
could talk all day and I I'm trying to
40:24
keep it neat
40:25
now Hank Shockley and Harry Allen went
40:29
to Manhattan Center which was Ben
40:31
Franklin High School Def Jam had a they
40:33
just came out as an independent label
40:35
we had played the Beastie Boys MCA in
40:38
brazooty the Purple Label stuff and they
40:41
were going to this school because we
40:43
promoted gigs out in Long Island 100
40:45
miles long
40:46
yo Hank Harry go up there go get Tila
40:50
Rock's number
40:52
they go up there right I do the radio
40:55
show
40:56
I'm expecting to come back I said did
40:59
y'all get Tila box number because they
41:00
would have to see a performance a Tila
41:02
Rock
41:02
and others for the new Def Jam label
41:07
these dudes come back to the studio I
41:10
said you get t-r's number yeah yeah but
41:12
LL I'm like what the [ __ ] is the LL
41:15
sounds like you know some big nine foot
41:18
tall
41:19
and they just stepped seven hell yeah
41:22
but yeah we got this number hell hell
41:24
I'm like what the [ __ ] is that LL then
41:29
they released Ella I need to be I said
41:32
oh
41:35
[Applause]
41:40
yo man let me tell you
41:43
people talk about rock the bells what's
41:45
number one and Rick actually was
41:47
orchestrating that whole day musicality
41:50
yeah
41:51
and it was like yo matter of fact people
41:54
forget the uh they were on the other
41:55
side of the rock the bells that we know
41:56
it was to rock the Bells with these
41:58
rocking the the
41:59
um Mardi Gras the go go beat the Go-Go
42:02
beat yeah the B side so Rick wanted me
42:05
in the middle of that then he got Dre
42:07
original concept who invented bass Dre
42:12
invented that because he showed he's
42:13
showed Rick Rubin what to do with the
42:16
rolling 808 and the first song that you
42:18
hear the Boom is Together Forever by Run
42:21
DMC so Dre
42:23
oh wow invented the 808 in hip-hop dude
42:26
and then he came out with pump that base
42:28
later but before that
42:30
it was the Run DMC together forever he
42:32
showed them on the rolling 808 done at
42:34
Chung King Studios so they wanted me
42:36
part of that Dr Dre from the OM TV
42:39
that's what most people know who's the
42:41
man in the movie and they never give him
42:42
credit they never give him credits his
42:45
group was original concept yeah
42:48
he invented the 808 and now people
42:52
before that Afrika bambaata and soul
42:55
Sonic force with Arthur Baker they
42:58
helped create that big sound but they
43:00
didn't stay with it remember looking for
43:01
the perfect looking for the perfect so
43:03
we're looking for the perfect beat we're
43:04
like I don't hear the Perfect Beat
43:06
except for the break beat this
43:09
that's what Larry Smith in them took
43:11
their whole thing and went in their
43:13
Studios and put like it's like that
43:18
and soccer MC
43:21
was was action yeah yeah you know Curtis
43:25
blowing Crush Groove and they took it
43:26
and they put that
43:29
like God damn so these are the oranges
43:34
and he wanted me in the middle like okay
43:35
damn y'all got LL y'all got Beastie Boys
43:37
I can't see myself doing Chucky D
43:39
records I know I I know of course back
43:42
then the standard was not bars I had
43:45
bars but I I would make a cheap mic
43:48
sound like it's a million dollars and
43:49
then somebody get the mic and said I
43:51
can't make it sound like this and I
43:52
point to my throat yeah you can't but
43:56
that's what the standard thing so
43:58
finally we surrendered because when I
44:01
signed with Def Jam it wasn't what kind
44:03
of contract was it this [ __ ] that's
44:05
[ __ ] but listen I mean because
44:07
because Russell and Rick's
44:09
um contract was [ __ ] because it was
44:11
experiment with CBS okay so that's why
44:14
they gave [ __ ] contracts well if you
44:16
got a [ __ ] contract you saving it
44:18
off your [ __ ] contract yeah that's
44:21
just what it was it was experiment CBS
44:23
was in the business of selling albums
44:25
up to that point
44:27
hip-hop and rap music was a singles
44:29
medium they own you know every side b
44:31
side we we slide singles Independence
44:34
CBS says yeah we're gonna [ __ ] with it
44:36
but it's better to sell some albums
44:38
Curtis blow was already selling albums
44:40
with Mercury but there was a different
44:42
area of black music department that he
44:45
was in we talked about Def Jam was was
44:48
an experiment
44:50
and Crush Groove when LL came out across
44:52
Groove and came out with radio
44:55
that was the thing that made Def Jam
44:57
said we are seriously legitimately the
45:01
first Super distributed powerful rap
45:04
label so I was like all right LL Cool J
45:07
LL Cool J give it up for LL and I'm also
45:11
honored to have LL Cool J
45:13
I call him goat I have a lot of goats
45:16
you know I I you know I have about 50 to
45:18
75 goats so my list is thick with goats
45:22
you know Heather bees a goat yeah
45:28
growing old that we don't know anything
45:30
but um
45:32
but uh yeah they wanted me in in into
45:35
the debt so when you see the contract
45:37
that I signed it's not Public Enemy
45:40
signing the death down no it's we call
45:43
it the great surrender because we had to
45:46
give up our radio dreams and become our
45:48
artist ah but damn it what a decision we
45:52
need a part too
45:54
um real quick Joseph sikora who was
45:56
played Tommy
45:58
um and Empower had a question for you
46:00
and it's in relation to how your lyrics
46:03
When I look at the lyrics that are being
46:04
utilized against artists today that's
46:06
actually convicting them you know being
46:08
used in the court of law and under a lot
46:10
of scrutiny I I try to tell folks
46:12
Lyric's been under scrutiny for a long
46:14
time
46:15
um and when you may fight the powers a
46:17
lot of things you said that uh people
46:19
like pointed but but you know what fight
46:21
the power to come back to that real
46:22
quick yeah it was the theme for Spike
46:25
Lee's do the right thing a lot of people
46:27
have detached the song from the movie in
46:30
retrospect going forward because they
46:31
gonna fight the powers of stand-along
46:32
song no it was a song that's why the key
46:36
in back in the day you had New York talk
46:38
radio the key in that in that in that
46:42
movie
46:42
was Samuel L Jackson's character uh-huh
46:46
it was DJ loved that yeah he was the key
46:49
because he was the one that was
46:50
communicating to the people they they
46:53
dismembered black talk radio in the 90s
46:56
in this city you know what I'm saying
46:58
but back then he was the key so fight
47:02
the power also was a message that was
47:04
conveyed through black talk radio at
47:07
that particular time a lot of people
47:08
forget that because they like okay Sarah
47:10
today they talk about Samuel Jackson was
47:12
like oh yeah he's agent Fury he's like
47:14
the cursing [ __ ] you know what
47:16
I'm saying no his role inside do the
47:20
right thing was the radio reaching the
47:23
people with the point of view we need to
47:26
look at ourselves and communicate with
47:27
ourselves and Fight the Power Road that
47:30
so the reason why you get the Elvis in
47:32
the in the John Wayne line is because
47:34
you know uh Giancarlo Esposito says you
47:37
know hey Sal you know you know black
47:39
people on the wall
47:40
so right ain't no black people on the
47:43
wall yeah so I went in and and pointed
47:46
at Americana and said you got to put
47:48
some black people on the wall you know
47:50
[ __ ] him and John Wayne not so
47:52
much a personal attack but it's like God
47:55
damn I'm tired of hearing about these
47:57
dude two dudes all the time how about
47:58
our heroes too and that here's the
48:00
here's the trivia twist to it not to
48:02
bore you there was a song by Clarence
48:05
Reed also went by the name of blowfly in
48:07
1980 he had a song on TK records called
48:11
Blow Fly rap right inside there's a line
48:14
you know and make a long uh story short
48:16
he's a line in there where he's kind of
48:20
saying he's a KKK and a brother got
48:22
trapped by the KKK and he's doing all
48:24
the voices and the dude has a rhyme as a
48:27
KKK Clansman and says [ __ ] you and
48:30
Muhammad Ali
48:43
so I stuck in my mind and nine years
48:46
later I just flipped it I said well
48:48
[ __ ] him and John Wayne you know
48:51
what I'm saying well here's Joseph's
48:52
question but you kind of answered it go
48:54
ahead
48:55
what did he think of the Elvis movie
48:59
and you know why because it also has
49:02
it's a hip-hop soundtrack inside of the
49:04
movie and now it's being nominated
49:07
it for best picture that's an
49:09
interesting that's a very and and what's
49:12
crazy about the Elvis uh pictures uh
49:14
what's the girl Doja cat yes she would
49:17
she actually was up to uh be nominated
49:19
for best song but because it wasn't
49:22
original they used Elvis's sample of the
49:24
hound dog they knocked her out of the
49:28
um the academy running but what's
49:30
interesting is I believe there's a
49:32
publishing conversation between hound
49:34
dog and Elvis with a black writer yeah
49:36
Elvis didn't write that that's exactly
49:39
right I can't think of the writers I
49:41
know he was a hero the most but but he
49:43
never gave me laughs
49:46
hound dog was written by Libra and
49:48
stolen yeah you know and and they first
49:51
voted for Big Mama thornland
49:53
uh in 1952 it already was a hit these
49:56
are songs that Elvis coming up and you
49:59
know being raised in Tupelo and moving
50:00
to Memphis Memphis radio would play
50:03
black music and they were the first
50:05
radio stations to really ex you know
50:07
exalt in black music you know
50:10
um for white DJs like Dewey Phillips
50:12
black DJs like Rufus Thomas who later on
50:16
started damn there with records he
50:17
started Sun Records and later on started
50:20
Stacks records with hit records I ain't
50:22
gonna get long-winded into that Elvis
50:25
grew up with these influences you know
50:27
his first record uh that he did like on
50:30
as a demo a Blue Moon of Kentucky by
50:32
Wild Bill Monroe which was a hillbilly
50:34
record country music they call the
50:35
hillbilly back then which is derogatory
50:37
and then also that's all right Mama but
50:40
Arthur Big Boy crudup which was like you
50:43
know just Blues you know what I'm saying
50:44
Blues that turned into jump Blues after
50:47
World War II black folks needed wanted
50:50
to be respected you can't treat us like
50:52
you treated us in the 30s the new blood
50:54
said listen Jackie Robinson's playing
50:56
for the Dodgers and we ain't just called
50:58
you can't just call us race people you
51:02
got to call us something negro was
51:04
actually a a respected word for us then
51:07
billboard magazine which was um curated
51:10
by Jerry Wexler who's one of the
51:13
creators of Atlantic Records at the time
51:15
he was in charge of the charts and Paul
51:18
Ackerman was his boss of billboard
51:20
records and he said listen these black
51:23
folks are coming up they looking at the
51:25
race records charts as being derogatory
51:27
you got to come up with something
51:29
because there's this growing pride and
51:32
they're in New York black folks in New
51:34
York it's World War II black folks is
51:37
like I just fought for this country the
51:39
young ones are like man [ __ ] what they
51:40
was doing in the third this was like we
51:42
going into the 50s respecters Jackie
51:44
Robinson playing with the Dodge and [ __ ]
51:46
like that we yo respect us so musically
51:49
and culturally the people is in charge
51:51
of of music and the business and all
51:54
that felt that they had to say something
51:56
Paul Ackerman sends Jerry Wexler home
51:59
says listen we got to come up with a new
52:01
category race records this ain't gonna
52:03
do these race people they standing up
52:06
Jerry Wexler goes home comes back and
52:08
says I got a new title for for our
52:10
charts you know what that title was what
52:12
the rhythm and blues charts the term r b
52:16
starts right there
52:18
now he ain't even if it the music
52:21
but he invented the term so I'm saying
52:23
and this is what the documentary says we
52:25
have to deal with actual facts when
52:28
things start it ain't based on opinion
52:30
too many people freestyling opinion yeah
52:32
in fact don't mean I put a hash mark
52:34
behind it I said fact that [ __ ] don't
52:36
mean [ __ ]
52:37
opinions I know you got to go way
52:41
against that okay okay do your thing
52:44
Heather I love you I love you too
52:46
brother thank you okay you'll say it's
52:48
an r b
52:49
Thoughts with that term with the r b
52:53
rhythm and blues charts hey Chuck D is
52:55
here we're gonna do a part two Tracy ask
52:57
your question okay I don't know how
53:00
compact you can make it Chuck but I'll
53:02
get it because you know the dog how
53:05
hip-hop changed the world it made me
53:06
think about how has hip-hop changed its
53:09
own world its internal world I'm
53:11
thinking about for me examples are the
53:14
existence of Lil Nas X how we've become
53:17
less homophobic I'm thinking about a
53:19
point Heather made um last week when we
53:21
had Toby and nigway and his wife fat and
53:23
along with their children there was a
53:25
time once where nobody wanted to claim
53:27
their woman you know right the
53:29
appearance of being single was really
53:31
important to your branding what are some
53:32
other examples that stuck out for you of
53:34
how we've changed internally everything
53:36
that you said now finally looks like the
53:38
United States of America is catching up
53:40
to the rest of the world it's been done
53:41
in Africa and in so many different
53:42
places women are 33 well 30 percent of
53:46
hip-hop around the world they don't get
53:48
into the one or two is it cardio Nikki
53:49
debate they they got Crews they got
53:52
companies they got uh collectives they
53:55
on the radio they go on TV hip-hop
53:58
around the world if there was an
53:59
Olympics I hate to break y'all's heart
54:02
but I we'd be struggling for the bronze
54:05
just like basketball players are
54:07
struggling meaning that
54:11
but we got to work on the craft and and
54:13
it's great but just don't think you're
54:15
gonna wake up and it's gonna be great so
54:18
how it's changed the world the world has
54:21
moved fast we talk in language and beats
54:25
right you think the beat started here
54:26
yeah you think language started it well
54:28
you think we Masters in language you
54:30
know people in the United States barely
54:31
we barely got one and we'd be looking
54:33
down on people who got two like yo speak
54:36
some English you don't speak English you
54:38
speak badly speak American looking at oh
54:41
man they speak in that Spanish thing you
54:43
know no so we can learn and this is you
54:46
know beginning of making somebody
54:48
acknowledge so that's how it's changed
54:49
the world open yourself to the world you
54:51
got a computer you know latched on to
54:54
you he's an iPhone or Android you ain't
54:56
a third use it as a tool instead of a
55:00
toy if you're under 20 we understand why
55:02
you want to use it as a toy if you're
55:04
over 20 let it behoove you to use as a
55:06
tool another thing the last one with
55:08
hip-hop I'm gonna say sometimes we gotta
55:11
like stop looking at numbers yeah
55:14
I mean the quality is important even
55:19
sometimes when you talk about an art and
55:20
craft the quality is more important than
55:22
the quantity
55:23
Cuisine is different from McDonald's
55:25
yeah I know we might be responsible by
55:28
whatever but they know they know what
55:29
they got and you know what Cuisine is
55:31
when you sit your ass down wash your
55:34
hands and they they start serving you
55:35
whatever it's a difference there I just
55:37
think Hip-hop is that yeah it's fast
55:40
food too but we you know the whole key
55:43
is it's it's all got to be at least
55:45
presented by the presenters and the best
55:47
honorable way and that's why I I'm happy
55:50
and honored I had an opportunity
55:52
absolutely to be able to present
55:56
um I pop out fight the power hip-hop
55:57
change the world Tuesday January 31st on
56:00
PBS and also the the fine art book
56:03
living loud uh this is your first one
56:05
all right it'll be released Tuesday
56:06
February 7th and now available to
56:08
pre-order at Chuck dbook.com uh Mike
56:12
Muse I'm gonna let you get a question
56:13
Mike News man it's so great to be in a
56:17
conversation with you and just to hear
56:18
these stories it's really fascinating
56:20
I'm just curious man what you guys did
56:22
with Public Enemy and and you then Chuck
56:24
D really was groundbreaking in terms of
56:27
bringing social Consciousness and social
56:28
issues and political issues and social
56:30
constructs into the music landscape I'm
56:33
just curious now like I'm not asking for
56:34
who's your favorite or top five or
56:36
anything of that nature but you know I
56:37
look at Kendrick Lamar as someone who's
56:39
like carrying the mantle forward right
56:41
and advancing and pushing that narrative
56:42
it's like who are you excited about
56:44
about this next generation of like the
56:47
Public Enemies 2.0 3.0 4.0 not in any
56:50
particular order this is about ranking
56:51
no chart system I'm just who are you
56:53
excited to hear pushing the envelope
56:54
because about storytelling of our
56:56
culture and social constructs well I
56:58
gotta say rapstation.com I've had it as
57:00
a minor league situation where we break
57:03
in at least 500 artists every month you
57:07
know so it's not just the ones that we
57:10
always hear about in the Main Street
57:11
like this is the major leagues we've
57:13
been doing it online with our own apps
57:15
and situations matter of fact I'm
57:16
debuting a super app in the next two
57:18
weeks which will Usher in the notion of
57:20
culture cultural media which is greater
57:23
than social media because cultural media
57:26
keeps it to our Arts culture music and
57:28
the vibe it just doesn't get messy with
57:31
all the other stuff I mean it's not
57:32
uninviting but it's really kind of 35
57:34
and on on up it's like that steer in I
57:36
told you about the Jukebox but I I would
57:40
say that um
57:43
yo man I'm amazed and I'll be I'll be
57:46
playing these artists like Sky Zoo is on
57:48
his 27th album
57:49
like terminology
57:52
sign for the great from Zambia you know
57:55
what I'm saying so I'm so Stokey T from
57:59
South Africa right I'm into this thing
58:01
so deep I'm like like like I'm like the
58:04
cats and Jazz would tell you about like
58:06
Sonny Rollins man you know I'm like so
58:09
deep when someone when a cat has a
58:11
conversation with me about hip-hop and
58:13
then I go deep on them I mean we put our
58:15
charts every every week that are like 50
58:18
to 100 of you know people ain't heard of
58:20
them but it's my service and my honor to
58:23
present them it's like that's their big
58:25
baby and a lot of artists go into a
58:27
studio
58:28
and what they want is when they come out
58:31
somebody to acknowledge and caretake and
58:33
handle them and I and I keep it simple I
58:36
I don't try to outstart a song
58:38
here's the artist here's the song Here's
58:42
where they come from this is what it's
58:44
about boom and I lay it out there this
58:47
is where you go get it simple as that I
58:50
come from a time where where we honored
58:52
and looked at Don Cornelius and saying
58:54
Don Cornelius he was the done let me
58:56
tell you come on Don Cornelius he
58:58
commanded respect when you walked in the
59:00
room and everybody went through the done
59:03
you know what I'm saying that everybody
59:04
talk about you know hindsight oh you did
59:07
this he did that whatever but musically
59:09
speaking you had to get your act
59:11
together coming into the Don and he
59:14
curated everybody from James Brown The
59:17
Gladys Knight to you know arrest the
59:19
development on I mean on and on for such
59:22
a long period
59:23
and we miss people like that yeah
59:25
because they really kept it to like
59:27
listen this is what it is and he said
59:30
okay do your thing I'm gonna present you
59:31
just don't be [ __ ] my thing up you
59:34
know what I'm saying and that was
59:35
amazing Cornelius um but you know you're
59:39
like the Don Cornelius right now you
59:41
give me that okay I'll take that okay
59:45
really seriously if you had to roll out
59:48
a carpet of all your accomplishment man
59:50
it's 75 feet long bro I remember last
59:54
time I saw we we were doing something
59:56
like what was it Spain or some Spotlight
59:58
or UK it was the you you was covering
1:00:01
something and it might have been Spain
1:00:03
Spain because I think it was good
1:00:04
because Spain
1:00:07
right here
1:00:10
but with the show you but to show you
1:00:13
what this music does I saw a swear he
1:00:16
saw me we talked for two seconds he went
1:00:19
on to do his super big thing and I went
1:00:20
on to do my thing I was like damn that's
1:00:22
good I mean that was beautiful man
1:00:26
um
1:00:26
um I want to ask you this before because
1:00:28
we got Lord I wish Lord Sear would come
1:00:30
in here where's Lord sin lord said get
1:00:33
in here man don't he take over the seat
1:00:35
yeah he does he's next
1:00:38
um I'll be remiss if I didn't ask you
1:00:39
about just real quick just if you could
1:00:41
recall one of your standout moments with
1:00:44
Park and Biggie
1:00:51
um Park
1:00:54
little brother yeah
1:00:57
1990 brought them on tour as well as you
1:01:00
know also resting beats my man shot G
1:01:02
yes right off the hip-hop band Digital
1:01:05
Underground from the bay great people
1:01:07
great people all of them Pockets
1:01:10
carrying bags and getting in and hope he
1:01:12
could get a verse on the stage as a
1:01:13
rookie
1:01:14
Queen Latifah introduces me to her
1:01:17
rookies he says Chuck meet young
1:01:19
treacherous
1:01:21
and we're in Lafayette Louisiana and I'm
1:01:24
looking at both of them I'm like okay
1:01:26
that's some on 1990 these two cats right
1:01:29
trench and talk I'm looking at yo yo
1:01:33
what up I've been Uncle all my life
1:01:34
right and Hip-Hop like a camp counselor
1:01:37
and I'm looking at them like listen
1:01:38
y'all
1:01:39
I'm telling you don't get arrested in
1:01:41
this town we not going to come back for
1:01:44
you this day you know keep your [ __ ]
1:01:45
between closed doors and all that they
1:01:48
were like so they were like this was
1:01:50
their college man on tour this was their
1:01:52
college they coming in and you felt so
1:01:54
good for them and Paco be like yo man I
1:01:57
just want to get that verse in it
1:01:58
sometimes shock said is the air in the
1:02:01
show pockets in that verse and whatever
1:02:02
and it threats you know with Latifah get
1:02:05
in that verse and I'm looking at them I
1:02:07
said they having the time in their life
1:02:08
it was my job
1:02:10
in our job as older had to protect that
1:02:13
and make sure they had the time of their
1:02:14
life and be on the way because you want
1:02:17
them to take over so we you know so
1:02:19
that's how it was you move up you
1:02:21
headline you take over so that was a
1:02:23
beautiful thing
1:02:25
um quick story about the park we the
1:02:26
Oklahoma City one time and somebody went
1:02:29
and stole some stuff out of the
1:02:31
backstage
1:02:33
out of the s1w I think stole some some
1:02:36
equipment they had or whatever
1:02:37
and they found the dude
1:02:40
and they said it's just the dude and I
1:02:43
was like oh and pox said they somebody
1:02:46
told me like yeah that was a dude and
1:02:48
park when I'm scientist dude's head and
1:02:50
damn didn't want to I said your pocket
1:02:52
ain't that deep man but Pock wanted to
1:02:54
prove like listen I'm riding for y'all
1:02:56
yeah
1:02:57
we don't want you to get arrested in OKC
1:03:00
man it's all right biggie Mount 2K
1:03:03
occasions one I'll go to Daddy O's Crib
1:03:07
in Brooklyn Daddio's putting everybody's
1:03:09
music together in Brooklyn and they
1:03:11
turned around and and it's just this big
1:03:14
dude with a hoodie and I'm looking
1:03:15
straight up his nostrils and you say yo
1:03:17
man this is Biggie Smalls and they say
1:03:19
oh nice to meet you right the next time
1:03:22
another story about biggie is when
1:03:25
he's playing inside Westbury Music Fair
1:03:27
and right when he had something happen
1:03:29
with his leg Yeah Yeah car accident I
1:03:32
think it was and I was pushing him in
1:03:33
the wheelchair you know he was pushing
1:03:35
him and and the story to that a lot of
1:03:38
times people say man Chuck didn't you go
1:03:40
after him and Primo and 10 Crack
1:03:41
Commandments and it's a story it's one
1:03:43
of the dumbest shits I ever was
1:03:44
associated with but that's the business
1:03:46
aspect of it when you write a song you
1:03:49
share with other songwriters yeah so I
1:03:52
let the sample slide but my other
1:03:54
songwriters I give well [ __ ] you Chuck D
1:03:56
I want my money because they talk about
1:03:58
bad boy they lost one two three four and
1:04:03
me I was like yo yo I mean I'm like you
1:04:05
know like they say in in music sense
1:04:07
you're a gunslinger you sample
1:04:09
hope you don't get caught people sample
1:04:12
for you cool whatever you know but I am
1:04:15
only part songwriter somebody say yeah
1:04:18
well you know what they talking about
1:04:20
how they got money you can let it slide
1:04:22
Chuck I want my money and you pay me
1:04:25
that money I'm like Yo dude so that's
1:04:28
where lawsuits come from okay because
1:04:29
when you write a song you share a song I
1:04:32
never wrote a song about I do my art by
1:04:33
myself but you share a song and every
1:04:35
time y'all look at a song look at the
1:04:38
names on the song and then you know the
1:04:40
business is always turning so you might
1:04:43
say yeah Chuck is suing this or got sued
1:04:46
for that but there's people out there
1:04:48
says you know what you Chuck D you could
1:04:51
make it slide and pass I ain't Chuck E I
1:04:53
want more money
1:04:55
they'd be like yo I ain't got that
1:04:57
Integrity dog I'm like all right yeah
1:05:00
and I take the hit you um I love that
1:05:04
you keep going living loud it's his
1:05:06
first fine art book
1:05:07
um I can't wait to see it uh you call of
1:05:10
the architation by Chuck D that's
1:05:13
released February the 7th uh fight the
1:05:15
power hip hop change the world premieres
1:05:17
Tuesday January 31st on PBS DMC
1:05:21
announced that run in him will do one
1:05:22
final show to all of them together yes
1:05:26
I gotta jump on that show I try to get
1:05:28
flavor get flavor don't be lazy man show
1:05:31
your ass up so could that happen all the
1:05:33
Public Enemy come together and do a show
1:05:35
we do Zoom calls every two weeks try to
1:05:37
get flavor on the damn Zoom call Flame
1:05:40
do the show man a little Zoom call first
1:05:43
call First and we would love to see
1:05:46
Public Enemy come matter of fact T.I uh
1:05:49
had a question for you yeah I know y'all
1:05:51
brought that up yesterday yo you saw it
1:05:52
Oh you could okay so I ain't got to play
1:05:54
for flavors like this man and then I I
1:05:56
hear him a little bit flavor he want he
1:05:59
want that Mick Jagger Keith Richards
1:06:00
money for appearances and I ain't mad
1:06:02
cause I got split with him yeah but me
1:06:05
I'll I'll just show up on dolo you know
1:06:07
what I'm saying but um you know flavor
1:06:10
he's he's flavorful he's flavor okay
1:06:13
well we just all got to hit a flag
1:06:15
because we love to see that Chuck D man
1:06:17
we love you brother I love you I love
1:06:19
you y'all too I love the crew I'm sorry
1:06:21
I haven't been able to have more of a
1:06:24
conversation
1:06:27
well usually I'm down on the street
1:06:29
walking by it's funny that y'all did
1:06:31
Stephen Colbert last night and I walked
1:06:33
on that street all the time yeah but
1:06:35
when I was going in and people of course
1:06:36
oh dude I walked on the street yesterday
1:06:39
yeah give me Chuck D man but come back
1:06:41
bro let's do a part two man I want to
1:06:43
say thank you for your continued success
1:06:46
and your legacy let's continue wait wait
1:06:48
let's continue to lock Lord Sia out of
1:06:50
here
1:06:52
[Music]
1:06:58
come back
1:07:00
let's do a series
1:07:01
I mean
1:07:03
I mean can we Zoom no [ __ ] that
1:07:07
I'll come there where you at on the west
1:07:09
or the uh East West soft yeah I'm like
1:07:13
the emcee from the north to the South
1:07:14
the east in the west yeah yeah all right
1:07:18
uh man I love you brother thank you for
1:07:20
this conversation we will you get you
1:07:22
guys listen back to it man it's a lot of
1:07:24
gems a lot of gems this man is golden
1:07:26
and keeps going all right this is my my
1:07:30
brother
1:07:31
inspiration and um this is the homie at
1:07:34
the same time Chuck D ladies and
1:07:36
gentlemen
#Arts & Entertainment