Taking care of business

Public Enemy are being honoured by the establishment but frontman Chuck D is still rocking the boat, writes Ed Power

CHUCK D cannot keep the disdain from his voice. “The media only wants to know about the egos in hip-hop,” says the frontman of iconic rap group Public Enemy. “They ignore artists who are doing their own thing.”

The subject has been on his mind lately. In a few days Public Enemy will be inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. It is a tremendous honour. The group are only the fourth hip-hop act to be so recognised, after the Beastie Boys, Run DMC and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Chuck D is naturally flattered. But he also sees the event as an opportunity to address what he regards as a problem with the contemporary urban music scene: the emphasis on brand names over talent. Reading between the lines, he is evidently not a fan of 50 Cent, Kanye West, Jay-Z or their peers.