Chuck D

Chuck D Defends Melle Mel Following Eminem & Kendrick Lama Comments

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Melle Mel caused a storm in the past week after his commentary on a few prominent rappers. The Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five member shared some unpopular opinions surrounding Kendrick Lamar and Eminem. Though both artists earned their acclaim as hip-hop reached new heights commercially, he felt as though K. Dot and Em didn’t aren’t as influential as the masses deem them to be. Nobody wants to rap like Kendrick Lamar. Nobody wants to rap like Eminem,” he said. “A lot of people wanted to rap, like ‘Pac and Biggie.”

Eminem and Kendrick Lamar haven’t said much about Mel but 50 Cent had a few words to say about the pioneer. Given that Em played a significant role in Fif’s career, he didn’t hold back. “There was more money selling dope then being in hip-hop when Melle Mel was popping, the culture grown so much,” he said. “I’m not sure if it would be what it is today without artists like Eminem,” he added before stating that Melle Mell is hating on the younger generation. 

Chuck D Defends Melle Mel

With Hip-Hop 50 underway, Chuck D reminded the masses of Melle Mel’s contributions to the culture. Though the famed rap pioneer has a history of downplaying the success of those who came after him, Chuck D made it clear that the OG rapper is an integral force in shaping the culture we love and enjoy today. Chuck said that Mel is like the Wilt Chamberlain of hip-hop due to his dominance on the mic, as well as the parallels between Melle Mel and Chamberlain’s criticism of the younger generation.

“Understand Melle Mel was so dominant over the rest of the pack in the first 5 years of records its hard to comprehend for born after MC folk,” he explained. “Its why i call him Wilt Chamberlain and Wilt had a crate of critiques for the rappers after him including ME . Just Let Mel be Wilt lol.” Some people agreed with Chuck D’s take while others pointed out to Melle Mel’s frequent disrespect of new MCs. How do you feel about Melle Mel’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.

De La Soul Member Trugoy Passes Away At 54

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Trugoy

Trugoy, one of the founding members of the hip-hop trio De La Soul died at 54 on Feb. 12 after a five-year bout with congestive heart failure. Tributes from Pharrell, Chuck D, and more have poured in. RIP To The Dove David Jude Jolicoeur, known to the hip-hop world as Trugoy the Dove of the […]

The post De La Soul Member Trugoy Passes Away At 54 appeared first on SOHH.com.

Chuck D Only Wants To Talk About Kanye’s Art, Not His Scandals

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We’re easing into the second month of Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary, and Chuck D is celebrating the culture. The Rap pioneer witnessed the inception of Hip Hop all those years ago, and he was instrumental in the genre’s development as a member of Public Enemy. On February 7, Chuck D is releasing Livin’ Loud: ARTitation, a collection of 250 artworks, and it arrives ahead of his Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World, a must-see series on PBS.

In a discussion with USA Today, Chuck D explained why it was necessary for him to produce this four-part docuseries. “I’m 12 years older than hip-hop and I’ve been entrenched in it my whole life. I always wanted to be a caretaker of it.” He also shared, “I grew up a child of the arts. I knew who my people were and when hip-hop came along, I saw it as a latter-day voice.”

Read More: Bow Wow Receives Response From Hip Hop Alliance’s KRS-One, Kurtis Blow, & Chuck D

The Fight The Power series explores Hip Hop through a different lens. Chuck touched on what he learned through the process of speaking with his acclaimed peers about the depths of Hip Hop history. He suggested that several artists were able to share their knowledge of Hip Hop because they were being presented with the right questions.

“Grandmaster Caz, Monie Love, Eminem,” he began. “They all sound like scholars because they were never presented with questions of depth and detail about hip-hop before. I learned that when you present questions in a high regard, when quality is the conversation as opposed to quantity, everybody came up with answers that went beyond what was expected.”

Elsewhere, the Rap icon was also questioned about a drawing of Kanye West featured in his art book. Chuck D was asked if he was disappointed that West seemed more interested in attention than the message itself. He replied, “I don’t look at Kanye as being any different than Salvador Dalí. I’m gonna keep it to your art and go no further.”

“I’m not in the business of making Black people or Black art look bad,” Chuck D answered. “Celebrity is a drug of the USA. They try to tell you it’s a drug of the world, but you go other places and they’ll tell you that you’re an entertainer, you have no political voice. They say, play a song and don’t say anything to the audience. And the No. 1 job of an entertainer is to abide by that law. I learned that with Public Enemy or we would have been Brittney Griner a long time ago. And no one was coming to get a Black male.”

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Vevo Teams Up With Public Enemy’s Chuck D To Celebrate 50 Years Of Hip-Hop

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Chuck D

Video network Vevo teamed up with Public Enemy’s Chuck D to celebrate 50 years of hip-hop. There will be programming including “Legends In Concert,” “Hip-Hop International,” “2K Hip-Hop Legends,” and more. The world’s leading video network will also collaborate with a hefty, yet, impressive list of hip-hop artists with appearances throughout 2023 from legends such […]

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Chuck D Defends Rick Rubin Saying He Knows Nothing About Music, ‘Art Should Come Out Of You. He gets That’

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Chuck D

Last week, legendary producer Rick Rubin’s interview with Anderson Cooper was released. The interview caught many people’s attention after the Def Jam co-founder and pioneers of hip-hop admitted to knowing nothing about music.

“No. I have no technical ability. I know nothing about music,” Rubin told said on 60 Minutes. “Well, I know what I like and what I don’t like. And I’m decisive about what I like and what I don’t like.”

When he was asked what he was being paid for, Rubin said: “The confidence I have in my taste and my ability to express what I feel has proven helpful for artists.”

Many were befuddled by Rick Rubin’s admission while some even said that Rick Rubin’s success was due to him just being a white man. Chuck D, founder of Public Enemy, came out to defend Rubin, saying that art is what someone feels.

Chuck D wrote in response on Twitter: “On Rick Rubin I will tell you this. Art is what you feel no one should tell you what Art should come out of you. He gets that. Many artists want things in exchange for their art from love to money. A whole other thing. Rick feels you out in a sea of others wanting the same thing.”

The post Chuck D Defends Rick Rubin Saying He Knows Nothing About Music, ‘Art Should Come Out Of You. He gets That’ appeared first on The Source.

Bow Wow Receives Response From Hip Hop Alliance’s KRS-One, Kurtis Blow, & Chuck D

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A tweet made by Bow Wow has caused the leaders of the Hip Hop alliance to step forward. Bow stated that artists need better representation. “Hip hop needs a board! No different than the NBA w/ the players association. A committee,” he wrote.

“That can set rules and keep things in control and protect this thing we call hip hop! And have a retirement plan for the OG rappers,” he also shared. “I hate seeing my heros liquor’d out no money just washed.”

Read More: Bow Wow Calls For Rappers To Unionize

In fact, pioneers Kurtis Blow, KRS-One, and Chuck D have been working on such an organization for some time. Those familiar with the Hip Hop Alliance were quick to educate Bow. Now, the three Rap icons have made a statement about the viral conversation.

“Like every other aspect of society’s workforce, the artists and creators of Hip Hop need protection, support and advocacy,” a joint statement shared with Rock The Bells reads. “From label disputes to intellectual property retrieval and the need for an overall governing body, the Hip Hop Alliance was established.”

Read More: KRS-One Teams With Slick Rick & Big Daddy Kane For Hip Hop Alliance Video

“Recent comments this weekend created a unique opportunity to bring forth a conversation that many in Hip-Hop & R&B have been addressing for a long time,” it further added. “The need of a governing body of Hip Hop. The goal of HHA is to empower artists to make informed decisions about their career and ensure that their rights are respected and protected.”

Additionally, the Hip Hop Alliance shows that KRS-One acts as Chairman, Kurtis Blow is the Executive Director, and Chuck D is President.

“As our culture comes together to honor and celebrate the 50th year of the creation of Hip-Hop, now is the time for all of us to come together,” the statement further says.

“In that spirit, we invite our brother Bow Wow to join us this coming Friday (January 20) at 7 p.m. EST on the Clubhouse app and/or our Black History Month online conference on Tuesday (February 25) at 4 p.m. EST on the HHA YouTube page.”

Read More: Meek Mill’s REFORM Alliance Applauds Scores Another Probation Reform Win

“We welcome all of the Hip Hop culture to roll up their sleeves and join us,” they said. “We work to uplift, honor, and protect Hip-Hop, for its past, present, and future.” 

It is unclear if Bow Wow has taken them up on their invitation, but it will certainly be a Clubhouse discussion that Hip Hop lovers—and artists—don’t want to miss.

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Public Enemy’s Chuck D Says Popularizing Rap In The UK Was “Our British Invasion”

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Chuck D recently opened up in a sit-down about his career to date and got on the topic of performing in the United Kingdom. In 1987, the “Don’t Believe The Hype” rappers famously rocked the stage at London’s Hammersmith Apollo and were met with a large group of fans.

The Public Enemy rapper then revealed that bringing rap and hip-hop to the UK was “our British invasion,” comparing it with the popularity of bands like The Beatles and the Rolling Stones in America during the 1960s.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK–SEPTEMBER 19: Rap group Public Enemy (Flavor Flav (aka William Jonathan Drayton Jr.) and Terminator X ( aka Norman Rogers) and the S1W’s) appears on the “Public Enemy Week” segment of “Yo! MTV Raps” on September 19, 1991 in New York City. (Photo by Al Pereira/Getty Images/Michael Ochs Archives)

In an interview with The Guardian this past week, the New York native said about performing overseas, “The UK was somewhere we relished because we knew words would be written about us, what we thought and where we had come from.”

READ MORE: Chuck D Sells Chunk Of Public Enemy’s Publishing Rights

On helping to bring fresh hip-hop sounds to another part of the world, the 62-year-old continued, “When we came to the UK, we paid our dues, but it was a two-way street. We wanted to stake the UK because we knew it was different from the US as far as freedom went. The English language had taken over the world, so we thought: why not plug hip-hop into it? The British had beaten the English language into so many cultures; bringing rap music back to the UK was our British invasion.”

Public Enemy quickly became pioneers in early rap history after forming in the early 1980s. Along with members Flavor Flav and Hank Shocklee, Chuck D climbed the charts with hits like “Fight The Power” and “Harder Than You Think.”

They tackled important topics like police brutality, racism, and politics throughout their music, earning them a dedicated following and several Grammy nominations.

Chuck D also told the Guardian his views on why newer artists don’t often cover similar topics, saying, “We had the blessing of right age, right place, right time. I was the right person with the right thing going on: Black music in New York. But it’s one thing to have coincidence and happenstance; you’ve also got to make it work.”

What is your favorite Public Enemy song? Let us know by sounding off below in the comments.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: Public Enemy Released ‘Apocalypse ’91…The Enemy Strikes Back’ LP 31 Years Ago

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On this date in 1991, legendary Hip Hop collective Public Enemy dropped their fourth full-length album entitled Apocalypse ’91…The Enemy Strikes Back on the Def Jam/Columbia imprint.

Drawn from the fictional movies Apocalypse Now and Star Wars sequel The Empire Strikes Back, the Bomb Squad produced project was a rush job according to Hank Shocklee, having to re-create the production after the discs from the past five years with album contents were stolen. “Once you lose all your data, it’s very difficult to get that data back…you may get some of it back, but you’ll never get the complete set. You won’t even know what the complete set is, because there’s data in there you didn’t really know you had,” Shocklee said of the missing project. 

The certified platinum album offered up a couple of timeless singles including “Shut Em Down”, “Can’t Truss It” and “By The Time I Get To Arizona”, where in the video the depicted killing of Arizona Governor Evan Mecham was seen in response for not recognizing MLK Jr. Day as a national holiday.

Salute to the entire P.E. for this timeless 14 track piece of Hip Hop history!

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Public Enemy Released ‘Apocalypse ’91…The Enemy Strikes Back’ LP 31 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Chuck D Sells A Huge Part Of His Public Enemy Catalog Publishing Rights

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In addition to being one of hip-hop’s most notable pioneers, Chuck D of Public Enemy has long been considered one of the genre’s most formidable lyricists. According to Rolling Stone, he’s now cashed in that reputation — and on the lucrative catalog of genre-shaping hits he wrote as Public Enemy’s de facto frontman — after selling a huge portion of his songwriting catalog to Reach Music.

Reach Music has been the rap titan’s publisher for the past two decades, and now owns 100 percent of Chuck’s songwriter’s share along with 50 percent of his publishing copyrights. Chuck will retain the other 50 percent of his copyright share. Neither party has revealed how much Chuck was ultimately paid for the catalog, but given the cultural ubiquity and timeless urgency of hits like “Bring The Noise,” “Don’t Believe The Hype,” and “Fight The Power,” Chuck’s fee would certainly be in line with other recent sales by pop forces like David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, and John Legend.

In a statement, Chuck said, “[D]oing this deal was the right timing for a forward and logical evolution of our business together in an ever-changing industry. Reach has always been ahead of the curve on establishing respect for the HipHop genre songwriting and publishing-wise, and they will continue taking care of my works.”

For more on how publishing rights work, check out Uproxx’s interview with Naima Cochran.