The world has changed a great deal since 1989 when Public Enemy released the political anthem “Fight the Power” for Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing.”
During a recent interview ahead of the hip-hop group’s Nov. 14 concert at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, frontman Chuck D said he views the song not as a relic of the past, but as part of an ongoing continuum.
He added that the song echoes The Isley Brothers’ 1975 “Fight the Power, Part 1,” which addressed systemic inequality and oppression during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Public Enemy’s version was intended to carry that same message into a new era.
“The song simply says if something is stopping you from living your free right, you’ve got to knock that foot off your shoulder. ‘Fight the Power’ applies to what’s going on in a lot of high echelons and governments that are on some goon squad shit right now,” said Chuck D.
Public Enemy’s hip-hop legacy goes beyond “Fight the Power.” When the group — which also included Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and DJ Terminator X — emerged in the late ’80s, its music amplified Black culture, consciousness and political resistance against systemic racism, featuring anti-establishment and anti-imperialist messages.
But the label of “legacy act” doesn’t sit well with Chuck D.
“I think an act like Public Enemy, maybe legacy is the wrong word for it, as opposed to enduring. We’re still doing our thing,” said Chuck D. “I think the rock genre has figured out in so many ways that legacy might be a little bit of disrespect and downturn to the endurance of a band, but I think in hip-hop, we need all the appendages and adages that are possible to make us be looked upon as a legitimate artform or a legitimate genre.”
Public Enemy adopted a fan-first approach with its latest album
In June, Public Enemy dropped its 16th album, “Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025,” on the online music platform Bandcamp as a “pay what you want” download for the first 72 hours. Radiohead famously did a similar release in 2007 with its album “In Rainbows,” which was a success because of the website traffic and email addresses the band received. The commercial release sold over three million copies worldwide.
Chuck D noted that the album was a success because of all the people who were introduced to it on Bandcamp, which he called a “great platform,” and who were then moved to purchase it.
“People not only paid for the album, but a lot of them who received a free album are going out to buy the vinyl and the CD, so the acknowledgment of the fans … they’re saying we’re sincere about what we do,” Chuck D said. ”You shouldn’t have to ask for support, but I think you should be able to set up scenarios where your appreciation is reciprocated, and them knowing you think and care about them.”
Proceeds from the single “March Madness,” a collaboration with student musicians, were donated to anti-gun violence groups such as The Black Music Action Coalition Human Rights Fund and Everytown. Chuck D credits the collaboration to Flava Flav and his manager, Rhiannon Rae Ellis.
The album combines the classic sound of Public Enemy with contemporary production, incorporating elements of rock, funk and other raw, layered styles. Over the past decade, Public Enemy has worked closely with producer David C-Doc Snyder, whom Chuck D has credited with pushing creative boundaries on many tracks. He described Snyder as “the Brian Eno of hip-hop and rap.”
“(Snyder) takes these great experimental chances in sudden drop-off production, sudden turns, and he’s able to come up with something that could still be viewed upon as crazy but still within the Public Enemy ethic of recording. You have to be fearless and don’t care where it might go, because right now, you have a lot of voices out there. Even if you make the craziest move, you can compile any number of voices that are pro, con or neutral,” said Chuck D.
Chuck D has hot takes on social media, speaking truth to power
In the modern world, where public discourse is amplified on social media, Chuck D said that instead of taking it to the streets, “screenagers” are sharing their opinions of what they believe is right and wrong. During the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, insensitive videos appeared on social media using Public Enemy’s 1990 Hollywood protest song “Burn Hollywood Burn” featuring scenes from the fire. He responded immediately and condemned the use of the song in that context.
Chuck D, along with his friend Tom Morello, the guitarist from Rage Against the Machine, is one of many politically active musicians who have dedicated their careers to creating music and statements that address political issues. This activism extends to their social media accounts as well. He has a strong reaction when fans tell him and other musicians to “just stick to the music and stop talking about politics.“
“If you counted all the voices, then you take a tally, you’re going to have every voice that says everything pro, con and indifferent on a scale from one to 10. So, you take it with a grain of salt and tell that voice that it’s outnumbered because they don’t know what they need to know,“ he said. “Anybody telling Tom Morello to ‘stick to the music,’ (I’d say to them) ‘why would you get to a point of telling somebody what you think Rage Against the Machine is?’“
How does Chuck D find solace in the current contentious political climate?
“I do art, and I’m saved by the fact I’m therapeutic when it comes down to me doing my art and doing my music,“ he said. “I started a book imprint with Akashic Books out of Brooklyn and Enemy Books has put out five ‘Naphic Grovels,’ which is myself drawing things I see, things that have influenced me and things I hear. I think this depiction keeps me grounded and it’s therapeutic to cover it with my pen and pad.“
If you go
What: Public Enemy in concert
When: 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14
Where: Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, 84-245 Indio Springs Parkway, Indio
Cost: $62 to $153
More info: fantasyspringsresort.com
Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Chuck D doesn’t appreciate when fans say to ‘stick to music’ rather than politics online
Reporting by Brian Blueskye, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
