Chuck D and Daddy-O are the equivalents of classic luxury cars that have been kept in immaculate condition under the sheets in the garage of mainstream Black society. They’ve thrived as self-contained units despite the lack of love from popular culture and even Black radio stations. But folks are looking to them now.
With the national insurrection popping off, along with the subsequent awakening and reckoning in mid-2020, these two icons are taking their rightful place on the cultural throne and dispensing much-needed wisdom on the populace.
Chuck D, who powers the legendary rap group Public Enemy, and Daddy O of Stetsasonic fame, spoke to rolling out about the lyrical nutrients they’ve prepared for a malnourished nation.
Recently, Chuck D and Daddy O joined forces with Speech of Arrested Development fame, to create a triumvirate of titans in the form of the group Night Train, whose music provides edification as well as sonic satisfaction.
As Chuck and Daddy expertly dissected the current state of affairs in America, you can almost envision them talking in white lab coats with clipboards in their hands.
“When we talk about Junteenth, we are talking about people are realizing things that they’ve never realized before — about their Blackness, about themselves, about where they live, about where they were born,” said Daddy O, 59, who was born Glenn Bolton.
He was referencing the social aftershocks that followed the jarring viral video of George Floyd’s death. Daddy said conscious music has never ceased, but that White and Black culture often ignored it in favor of pop candy tunes.
“Black radio, they are the silent ones. This is the perfect time for Black radio to say ‘you know what? I’m not playing nothing that don’t mean nothing right now.’ ”
Chuck D, 59, is operating today much like he did when he first shot to stardom in the 1980s: churning out hits without seeking the approval of anyone outside his orbit to substantiate his work.
“I have a 10-station network on the internet called Rap Station. And for the last 11 years, we have probably boosted and promoted like 10 thousand artists and their songs,” Chuck says of his network that includes an all-woman rap station called C-Movement Radio. It’s been in effect for many years. He also illuminated the other rap radio stations under his purview, including Hip Hop Gods and Planet Earth-Planet Rap.
“There’s a misnomer about very few women in hip-hop making a point and a statement. On PE and PR, 40 percent of the playlist is women — and not only as spinners, but as producers, record label owners and they are doing collabs and making supergroups out of it.”
Flip the page to check out the Chuck D and Daddy-O interview in full, as well as the rest of the rolling out “AM Wake-Up Call” show. The Chuck D and Daddy-O interview starts at about the 1:1:10 mark.
