Chuck D is arguably the most influential voice in hip-hop history. Public Enemy’s lead microphone controller introduced social activism to hip-hop in the late 1980s with the classic albums, It Takes a Nation of Millions and Fear of a Black Planet.
Although much of Chuck D’s mainstream appeal waned during the influx of gangsta rap in the 1990s, he continues to speak out against social injustices and encourages the hip-hop community to take advantage of the digital age.
“I became tired of submitting my art to a panel of corporate strategists who [would] decide if it meets their standard of what gets into stores or not,” Chuck D says. “It was quite simple for me. They act like judge and jury of my art, and that is unacceptable. I wanted to give it right to the public.”
Chuck D has cut out the corporate middlemen by establishing Slamjamz.com, SellABand.com and HipHopgods.com. Slamjamz.com is a digital record label that releases new music by Public Enemy, SellABand.com allows fans to invest in their favorite artists, and HipHopgods.com archives hard to find old-school hip-hop albums.
The Internet has allowed independent musicians to reach wider audiences and maintain reasonable marketing budgets. However, Chuck D believes that a large majority of hip-hop artists still seek corporations to promote and distribute their music.
“The biggest thing that has happened to hip-hop in the last 10 to 12 years is the clinging on to the corporation as the all-mighty hub of the music,” he says. “When culture is created in boardrooms with a panel of six or seven strategists for the masses to follow, to me that is no different than an aristocracy. It’s not created from the people in the middle of the streets. It is created from a petri dish for the sake of making money, and it is undermining the longevity of the culture.”
As long as Chuck D has his hands in hip-hop, the culture will survive. He will soon release a three CD/three DVD boxed set titled Welcome to the Terrordome. The DVD/CD will feature 12 years worth of performances, documentaries, videos and new music from Public Enemy. The group will also tour this summer and Chuck D will continue to speak at colleges and universities across the nation.
“My work throughout my life is always representative of the time we live in,” he says. “It’s all about keeping it in order and keeping it in gear. I want to always move forward with everything I am doing.”
–a.r.
