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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Martin Luther King, Jr. has made an impact in hip-hop, some good some bad, here are five times the late leader of the Civil Rights Movement was referenced in hip-hop songs dating back from the 90’s. SOHH is reflecting on the iconic leader’s influence in the world of hip-hop over the years with rappers mentioning […]
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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.
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.”
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.
[Via]
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.
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.
On Friday, July 29, Public Enemy‘s Chuck D joined Anthrax onstage to perform “Bring The Noise” at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian teased the appearance before Chuck D came out: “Imagine if you guys could f*cking yell so loud it would f*cking conjure Chuck D on this stage,” he said.
He added, “Let me ask you again Los Angeles… can you bring the noise?!” The crowd cheered for Chuck D, who immediately ran out with a microphone and launched into the ferocious track, which is from Public Enemy’s 1988 sophomore album It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back.
In 2020, the group celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1990 LP Fear Of A Black Planet with an art show. Chuck D cited his past as a visual artist as his reason for creating the show, writing in a press release, “Bringing visual artists and music together has always been important to me because it’s who I am. I was an illustrator and graphic designer long before I ever grabbed a microphone. We’ve been working hard at bringing together an amazing array of artists for the show, and look forward to people coming through to see their work.”
Watch Chuck D join Anthrax above.
Public Enemy is one of the greatest, and arguably the greatest, hip-hop group of all time. You would think the legendary group would be a household name, even outside of hip hop, but obviously, that is not the case.
During a recent episode of the long-running game show, temporary host Mayim Bialik read a clue from a category called “Chuck D, Times 3.” The question read “In the 1990s Chuck D began fighting the power in this hip-hop group with Flavor Flav, a man who always knew what time it was.”
The contestant Halley Ryherd obviously forgot to study hip hop music and the most popular groups of the 1990s when she answered the question with “The Funky Bunch.”
The clip quickly went viral on social media as people wondered how someone could mix up Public Enemy, one of the most important and legendary hip hop groups of all time, with Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch.
Chuck D even saw the clip, and decided to respond, saying that “everybody doesn’t know everything.”
“Everybody don’t know everything… it’s why I introduce myself wherever I go and whoever I talk to … it’s just courtesy. But the sad thing is not knowing those other Chuck Ds,” the PE frontman said on Twitter.
Even the contestant who screwed up the answer chimed in on social media, jokingly saying that she’s talked to her therapist and will forever be known as the person who mixed up the two groups.
“I’ve talked to my therapist about it and I think I’m ready to forever be the person who mixed up Public Enemy and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch on @jeopardy. #mylegacy.”
The post Chuck D Reacts To ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Mixing Up Public Enemy And The Funky Bunch, “Everybody Don’t Know Everything” appeared first on The Source.
Public Enemy is one of the most important groups in hip hop history, with (at least) two masterpiece albums to its name, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch is also a hip hop group from the 1990s, and that’s where the similarities between them and Public Enemy end. One group had “Fight the Power.” The other had the Booty Inspector. They are not the same — but one Jeopardy! contestant still somehow confused Chuck D and Mark Wahlberg.
One of the categories during Wednesday’s episode of the game show was “Chuck D, Times 3.” As Yahoo! Entertainment explained, “Four of the five questions pertained to either Charles Darwin or Charles Dickens. But one clue centered around rapper Chuck D.” (What a weird category.) The clue read, “In the 1980s, Chuck D began fighting the power in this hip-hop group with Flavor Flav, a man who always knew what time it was.”
Contestant Halley Ryherd buzzed in and guessed, “Who is the Funky Bunch?” Uh, no.
Everybody don’t know everything… it’s why I introduce myself wherever I go and whoever I talk to … it’s just courtesy. But the sad thing is not knowing those other Chuck Ds pic.twitter.com/gxLnyVmxCp
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) June 30, 2022
Another contestant, Pete Chattrabhuti, got it right — although Halley got her revenge by winning the episode with $5,999. It takes a nation of millions of Jeopardy! contestants to be in disbelief about the Public Enemy / Funky Bunch mix-up.
The category was “Chuck D,” and the answer was the name of the musical group that he led.
And she answered, “The Funky Bunch.”
I’m gonna be lying down over here for a spell.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 29, 2022
Did that Jeopardy contestant really just say that Chuck D was in the Funky Bunch? Is this the end times?
— Jamie Gillespie just wants lots of dogs (@filbertina) June 29, 2022
Watching Jeopardy tonight with my Mom, and a category about Chuck D came up. The question came up about what group Chuck D was in, and one lady answered the Funky Bunch, and Mom looked at me and said Public Enemy, and I said thank you for being my Mom, lol. pic.twitter.com/KVeqpeZUbm
— Jerry Parsons21225 (@jerry_parsons) June 29, 2022
the person just now on jeopardy who thought chuck d was in marky mark and the funky bunch basically committed a hate crime in thinking so
— Shithole Country Resident (@SeymourBugs) June 29, 2022
Oh, the Public Enemy/Funky Bunch confusion on Jeopardy tonight was painful.
— Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall) June 30, 2022
I simply do not have a response to someone confusing Public Enemy and …the Funky Bunch.
Don McLean was incorrect. Today is the day the music died. #Jeopardy
— Terynce B (@TerynceB) June 29, 2022
Oof. A woman on ‘Jeopardy!’ got this clue about Public Enemy last night and guessed… The Funky Bunch. pic.twitter.com/Y5tA65JrNG
— Geoff Herbert (@deafgeoff) June 30, 2022
At least Halley has a good sense of humor about it:
I’ve talk to my therapist about it and I think I’m ready to forever be the person who mixed up Public Enemy and Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch on @Jeopardy. #mylegacy
— Halley Ryherd (she/her) (@Halley_BuzzesIn) June 29, 2022
(Via Yahoo! Entertainment)
