Chuck D is still fighting the power

It’s 25 years since Public Enemy hit the mainstream with the Do The Right Thing film. Their frontman tells Don O’Mahony why his group’s message remains relevant

WHEN filmmaker Spike Lee conceived Do the Right Thing, his 1989 tale of simmering racial tension on a hot summer’s day in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Bed-Stuy, there was only one contender for defining the film’s musical theme.

Lee turned to Long Island hip-hop group Public Enemy. As Lee was writing his screenplay, the band’s second album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, was blaring from every corner and car stero. The album contained such fiery, lyrically and musically uncompromising tracks as, ‘Bring the Noise’ and ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’,

At Lee’s request Public Enemy produced ‘Fight the Power’. Over a dramatic opening credits sequence that features a shadowboxing Rosie Perez, Chuck D’s booming vocal essays black discontent over a bed of agonised jazz samples and an irritably funky beat. As far as establishing a tone to the film, this put you right in the face of Perez’s jabs.

Lee shot the film against real-life race conflicts. “The film reflected what was going on in New York City at the time,” explains Chuck D. “The black community wasn’t being served as well as the other communities but yet black communications, media, radio, newspapers spoke out against it intensely, and Spike was able to capture it on film and also bring Public Enemy into it to signify the soundtrack.”

Chuck recalls feeling floored after he first saw the film. The director had given ‘Fight the Power’ prominence throughout the film. Chuck sees a clear correlation between the message of the film and Public Enemy’s music.

Says Chuck: “It spoke to the times and what was happening in New York because some communities were being underserviced. And when these communities spoke out about being equally treated as human beings that’s what caused the friction with city government and officials. Spike created a scenario and film that covered it in a way news stations wouldn’t. So he was able to reflect what was happening in the black neighbourhoods, which was very hard at the time.”

Public Enemy have long been feted as ‘the Black CNN’ the unvarnished outlet for what really was happening on the streets. And while the Public Enemy frontman doesn’t exactly hold forth when asked for his thoughts on the 25th anniversary of Do the Right Thing — perhaps Chuck just isn’t one for nostalgic chinwags — a reference to the situation in Gaza and how it’s been reported by mainstream media sees him become more animated.

“It’s a shame of government and major media to de-emphasise the brutality that’s been going on in that region. I just think as an Earthizen and a culturist to see this going on in that region of the world, backed by a silent government and corporations… it’s a terrible mix of war and religion — everything that belies what human beings are supposed to be about. I’m sickened by it.”

Does he see any way out of this spiral? “Well this is what the United Nations was supposed to originally be for,” he replies. “The United Nations is just a hollow building with no power on the East River of New York. They might as well turn it into lofts or condominiums or a shopping mall because it’s a useless building.”

He goes on to suggest that a ‘new world order’ has taken its first steps in silencing the masses. Asked about whether these forces have prevailed, he sounds weary.

“I don’t know man. I try to not be affected by that crap that goes on personally. I believe that culture brings human beings together and knocks their differences away and I think governments and religions like to categorise people and glue them into their own agendas. And so me as a musician I’m letting you know what’s my priority.”

Chuck says his philosophy of being an Earthizen and culturist evolved over the course of Public Enemy’s travels around the planet over the past 28 years.

“I believe culture brings us together for our similarities and it’s the universal language. I’ve always had these beliefs.”

It’s certainly a softening of the band’s early rhetoric but they always possessed a knack for getting noticed.

They have also shown an ability to adapt to changing trends. In 1999 the band become an early embracer of internet technology when they made their seventh studio album There’s a Poison Goin’ On freely available online. Just as they were revolutionaries musically they showed they were also ahead of the game in other ways.

“In 1991 and 1992 I made a personal commitment not to sell records anymore,” Chuck says. “I just couldn’t go through the same routine of asking them to buy a record. I just thought that was stupid. Now of course the option of getting it was always there but I didn’t want to go through the whole dog and pony show of [affects slightly pathetic voice] ‘Please buy my record.’ I thought it was insulting to somebody who already supported you one to two to three to four times, already.

“I just felt that I didn’t want to sell a record. I made them and other situations sold them.

“Our challenge was to perform it and see if we could come up with an incredible show for it. And if people wanted to buy into it, it was available. But also it led me to go into the internet with the same amount of drive to tell people that if they’re really smart they can get our art for free — they want to support it fine.”

Giving away one’s art for free, that still feels like a radical notion.

“It’s not really giving it away but to say, you know what? If you’re smart enough you can find it for free. Go ahead,” he snorts.

“My thing is like, we’re more than just the audio file.” He permits himself a brief chuckle. “You got to be more than the audio file delivery. We’re more than that. A song is deeper than the recording, and the movement is deeper than the song. So keep that in mind.”

-Public Enemy play the Indiependence festival in Mitchelstown on Sunday. HERE