Public
Enemy
Blood of Abraham
Roseland Theater 8 NW 6th Ave., 229-9912
9 pm Saturday, Oct. 23
$21-$24.50
Public Enemy is
one of the greatest music groups, hip-hop or otherwise, of
the latter half of the 20th century.
On landmark albums like Yo! Bum Rush the Show and
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Chuck
D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, Terminator X and the Bomb
Squad brought the noise like no other crew, carving out
a small but powerful niche that continues to influence the
sounds of the '90s. While boo-boo groups like Limp Bizkit
and Korn strive to make their shit louder than a bomb, the
emphatic, conscious challenges to the American political
and social systems delivered by Chuck and Flav are often
overlooked. Still, the hip-hop underground--embodied by
artists like Mos Def, Pharoe Monch and the Wu-Tang Clan--adheres
to P.E.'s message, reminding headz not to believe the hype.
I recently caught up with Chuck D, by phone, on Public
Enemy's tour bus in Texas.
WW: Public Enemy has come to symbolize a certain
consciousness, the politics within hip-hop. What do you
think is happening in hip-hop, as we've gone from era to
era, to cause the focus not to be on the consciousness and
the politics the way it used to be?
Chuck D: Well, first of all, I think that the artists are
better skilled than they've ever been. I think they understand
the levels of song-writing--hooks and choruses and things
like that. But I think when it comes down to spreading the
topic, I think that has been co-opted and undermined by
corporations that have taken rap music, taken 15 percent
of it and mainstreamed it for their purposes only. Maybe
a nationalistic point of view was a threat to them. And
something that's not nationalistic, it could be anything.
It could actually alleviate pressures on their business
control. See, my whole thing is if you've got somebody that's
funding the situation, they don't feel threatened by whatever
they're funding. That was a pattern that was set in the
early '90s, whereas in the late '80s they might have said,
"Well, this is racist" or "That's anti-this" or "That's
anti-that." When it happened to be clearly anti-black--anti-black
people or anti-black community--nobody was saying a word.
I think that was an interesting thing that happened in the
early- to mid-'90s that was far more destructive than anything
before.
You obviously are out in the street talking to people
from all backgrounds. Do you think the so-called black leadership,
like Henry Louis Gates and Cornel West, do you think they're
out of touch?
I think, first of all, we the people, I guess even in America,
equate success with money. And we equate that if somebody
actually says something for the people that might be against
the grain, they have something to lose--which means money.
And I'm saying, money is just a tool, and that shouldn't
be equated with the people or a person. The media system,
when they want to a show a black leader or black people,
they spend too much time radiating the profile of the athlete
or the entertainer, not shining enough light on the actual
people that work day to day. People that might be in the
trenches that they need to make celebrities instead of,
you know, looking at somebody dribbling the ball or singing
the song. But if they can divert the attention in other
areas and come up with these cultural distractions, then,
once again, it won't provide a threat for the people that
use it as a business. Bottom line, it sells.
There's a chorus on the song "41:19" (on P.E.'s latest
album, There's a Poison Goin' On) about police
harassment of minorities. I know a lot of people outside
of the black community don't see the whole "driving while
black" thing as an issue. I mean, it's not just happening
in New York, it happens here in Portland. Where do you feel
that's coming from in the broader sense?
I think the situation politically and socially is still
lopsided. And, understand, when they say, 'We the people,'
black people weren't in mind when that constitutional statement
went down. So we have to understand that the original meaning
of police was to protect and serve property owners. And
if we continue to live in this country disenfranchised,
that system of policing the community will always be something
on the outside looking in.
So we're definitely looking forward to coming up to Portland
and doing our thing. Public Enemy's 40th tour is a very
important statement in rap music and hip hop. This is a
campaign. We're filling out a report card on black America.
Oh yeah?
Yeah.
Cool. See, I've never seen you all live.
Yeah, well I'll tell ya, it's a sight to behold.
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