Originally from Long Island, NY and formed in the year 1986, Public Enemy—also known as P.E.—is an American hip hop group known for their politically themed music and criticism of the American media; particularly the frustrations and concerns of the African American community. Members of P.E. consists of Chuck D (Carlton Ridenhour), Flavor Flav (William Drayton), Professor Griff (Richard Griffin), and Terminator X (Norman Lee). These members came together in 1986 at Adelphi University in Long Island, New York due to their shared interest in politics, philosophy, and hip-hop. One day Ridenhour rapped a track that a friend Hank Shocklee wrote called “Public Enemy No.1.” which appeared on his other friend Bill Stephaney’s radio show. When Ridenhour began making regular appearances on the radio show, he picked up the name Chuckie D. In 1987 the group released its first album “Yo! Bum Rush the Show” which generated some positive review however, their second album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” that gave Public Enemy its popularity reaching forty-two on the pop charts and number one on the R&B chart. In 1989, the group recorded “Fight the Power” which was the theme song for Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing”. This track furthered their popularity and encouraged African-Americans to unite. Shortly after, Chuck D became rated as one of the best rappers of all time and the group itself had major influences on artists and bands in almost all genres of rock and roll and some influences on genres of hip-hop as well. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 and is still together today.
The track “Fight the Power” which later became the anthem for the Spike Lee film “Do the Right Thing” was produced in the year 1989 which was particularly a long year of struggle for equality for African Americans. The new generation of African Americans hadn’t grown up with the Civil Rights Movement so many artists felt it was controversial to produce tracks that could receive major backlash. Public Enemy however took this opportunity to produce a track which created a single unified message that many African Americans could get behind. This song became an anthem that made it blatantly obvious how wrong racism is while also commenting how tricky figuring out what the “right thing to do” truly is. The song incorporates various samples and allusions to African-American culture such as civil rights exhortations, black church services, and the music of James Brown. The single reached number one on Hot Rap Singles and number twenty on the Hot R&B Singles. When film director Spike Lee was searching for a theme tune to accompany his 1989 film “Do the Right Thing”, he was hit hard by the message and aesthetic of the track “Fight the Power”. He made the anthem the iconic opening credits to his film and had the song again play as a motif from the character Radio Raheem’s boom box as racial tensions increased in his community. Overall, the track reminded more than just African-Americans to “Fight the Power” and to continually fight until equality is achieved.
Written By Rachel Anello
