Engaging With The Enemy

“Obama? Good man, bad government. It’s like having a great driver in a fucked-up car!” laughs Chuck D.

The Public Enemy legend is holding court in the Hot Press Chatroom at Electric Picnic. From Michael Jackson to U2 via the current state of hip hop, he is ready with an insightful opinion whatever the subject.
“He knew the car was fucked-up, he just thought he could make it work!” he continues. “But as soon as he got in and got under the hood they’re like, ‘Don’t touch that!’ Right now what the US government is doing in Africa is a goddamn shame. Especially to me, being ‘African-American’. What the fuck does that mean anyway? You can be Caucasian and live in Africa and then go to America and be African-American too. So I’m... BLACK!” (Much laughter from the crowd).
Public Enemy are arguably one of the most important hip hop bands in the world. Since the early ‘80s they’ve been a pivotal force in rap. Seminal albums like It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back and Fear Of A Black Planet changed the face of the genre, paving the way for an entire generation of politically conscious rhymers.
However, Chuck has voiced his concern about the direction of modern hip hop by posting a response to Kanye West and Jay-Z’s bling tribute video to Otis Redding on the web.
“It was a polite response!” he laughs almost defensively. “It was a salute to say, ‘I think those guys are the best in hip-hop but I think people are the most important thing in hip-hop. People are the most important thing in music and people are the most important thing in the world’.
“So you can’t show off what you have to people, I think it’s a bad policy,” he avers. “You just can’t say, ‘Okay, you made me big so therefore I’m going to spend the rest of my time showing off to you’. So my response was, you did a tribute to Otis so you should ‘try a little tenderness’ with the people out there, especially in the US. The US right now is going through a recession headed into a depression – and with black folks it’s a desperation.
“Those guys, they’re the now people so they should represent where people are at,” he insists. “I mean, how many people can relate to owning their own jetplanes?! I drive a ‘94 car, I drive a ‘97 car. (Much cheering from audience) It’s like, fuck swag! Have you ever seen a U-haul behind a hearse?! You can’t take none of this shit with you! All you can do is leave people with some knowledge, wisdom, some understanding, feeling and some good vibes. (Clapping) And listen to them. I think one of the biggest problems with rap artists is that they don’t listen to each other and they don’t listen to other genres of music.
“This great band here (points out of tent) I don’t know who they are, but they’re four or five people playing together,” Chuck adds. “In hip hop it’s about the individual. I understand individuals carry weight because I consider Kanye West the Elton John of hip hop (much laughter) and I consider Jay-Z the David Bowie. For me the biggest problem in hip hop has been the disappearance of groups. No individual can be better than a group – and any other genre you look at, usually it’s mostly groups. That’s the power of a group like U2, it’s four guys and they work together, you know. The Beatles. The O’Jays. We could go on and on…. so I’m a big group fan… I’m a group groupie!” (Much applause)
On the subject of U2, what are Chuck’s memories of the Public Enemy support slot on the US leg of Zooropa?
“Stadiums!’ he smiles to much laughter from the audience. “I remember the first time we played in Chicago I was talking to Bono and all of a sudden people moved us away because there were three other helicopters coming down. Edge, Larry and then way, way, way, way back….. there’s Adam Clayton.” (Everyone laughs)
Over the years Public Enemy have toured with a wide variety of bands from a multitude of genres, including Anthrax, The Sisters Of Mercy and Primus to name but a few. Perhaps their diverse appeal is down to the fact that their music draws on a rich tapestry of influences and indeed samples many. There’s The Jackson 5, James Brown, The Beatles...
“Michael Jackson’s records speak for themselves,” asserts Chuck. “I was nine years old in the fourth grade and the Jackson 5 were big. Now I’m 51 and they’re still so important. Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5… their records are timeless.”
Where was he when he heard the news of Jackson’s death?
“I was on a plane and my eyes caught the TV,” he remembers solemnly. “It kept showing his home for about 50 minutes and I’m like, ‘Well damn they’re spending a lot of time on Michael Jackson’s home, I wonder what happened?’ When I finally landed he was at the hospital and the shock of being so near where all of this was taking place…”
Some of their samples may date back to the ‘60s and ‘70s but Public Enemy have always been to the forefront of innovation and change, There’s A Poison Goin’ On was one of the first albums to be made available via the internet in 1999. Chuck is visibly animated about the opportunities the net
affords artists.
“It allows everybody to at least have the opportunity and the chance,” he states. “Also, I tell artists all the time: don’t count the quantity, count the quality of people who follow your work. If you’re on the internet and you sell 100 CDs then that’s 100 people you need to pay attention to. Don’t think we need more, more, more, more, more…. that’s not always better. I think with the internet the important thing is how can you be a number one fan of your number one fan? It’s like when Eminem made that record ‘Stan’? I’m like, ‘Well how can you stalk Stan? Stalking Stan would be an interesting concept!’” (Laughs)
Chuck’s stance on people power is reflected in his interaction with fans of Public Enemy, something he devotes much of his spare time to.
“I don’t do Facebook. I do Twitter, I like to keep it to 140 characters,” he says. “I make sure I’m not a Tw-idiot. I try to be a Twit-illectual because there are some idiots on that motherfucker for real! I don’t be tweeting about my lunch and things like that. I try to say positive things. I read my emails because I don’t spend time watching the TV for hours. I am involved in social media at a higher level than just scratching my ass and you know, I answer people. I like listening to people, reading and hearing new music. Music is my life! Don’t expect me to be in movies, don’t expect me to do reality TV… that’s Flavor’s job!”
All joking aside Chuck has the utmost respect for his musical sidekick.
“I’m very proud of Flavor Flav, he’s a wonderful person,” he notes. “Often people say, ‘Well Flavor, why does he do that and you do what you do?’ Well that is why the combination works, we are who we are. The thing about Flavor is he’s been often imitated and never ever duplicated. He has a great heart. And that’s who he is, you can’t take your eyes off him. He’s been that way for the 35 years that I’ve known him. He is the world’s oldest teenager.” (Much cheering and laughter from audience)
Can we expect a new release from the band soon?
“Yeah, there will be a new PE album,” he nods to delighted whoops. “But I feel technology has all but obliterated the concept of albums. I love doing one song at a time, I love that, but we will release an album because we know there are people that will want that.
“But right now the internet is a great tool,” he enthuses. “I could go back to the tent and write a song about this great gathering here in…
outside Dublin.”
People chant ‘Laois’ and Chuck strains to make out the correct pronunciation.
“Ah, Laois! So we have local Laois-eans here? Unlaoised!” he exclaims. “Well, I could write a song about being in Laois and cut it on the bus and release it online tonight. To me you can’t beat
that immediacy.”
Stage time for the band is approaching. Chuck closes his sermon with his thoughts on the hallowed ritual that is the Public Enemy live experience.
“To be an artist you have to be a person of service especially if you have tenure – and we have tenure so we have to be of service,” he states. “You have to make an impact. You have to leave people saying, ‘Well, that was some great shit!’ And also you have to think there might be people that have never seen you before so you always have to treat the stage like it’s sacred. The great thing about a festival is that it brings a lot of people together. People who may not necessarily go to a show in downtown Dublin, but because it’s a festival, might check you out. And that’s how people become fams. Fan or fam, it’s the same thing when you work for it because a fan should be your fam. But in order for somebody to be family you can’t treat them cheaply.”
Amen sir!

Watch the Chuck D interview on hotpress.com.