Chuck D said in 1988:
"The point is that there's no hard information in any of these formats [radio, tv,journalism, records, etc]. Where's the news about our lives in this country? Whether or not radio plays us, millions of people listen to rap because rap is America's TV Station. Rap gives you the news on all phases of life, good and bad, pretty and ugly: drugs, sex, education, love, money, war, peace--you name it."
back in 1988, Chuck D and Public Enemy saw the power music, film, tv and journalism has over everything. they knew that the people who tell the stories about what happens, create what happened. and our country has survived by telling its citizens lies to make us compliant, fearful and hateful of each other. . every story, song, dance, novel, highschool text book or news report, is a reflection of a past experience and an influence on our brains and guide our future tastes, emotions and choices. and the more times a story is told, the stronger it gets. this discursive power has been wielded by companies like disney and clear channel, essentially a small, conservative, elite circle. 20 years ago, public enemy reached to harness this power for the better good of the black nation, particularly urban youth.
now what are the stories that are most often told and heard?
it looks like another cycle of corporate consumption got flav caught up, but where do we really stand now? some people say hip hops dead but i think its really just getting its feet. there are many people using different forms of hip hop to process and challenge the confines on our existence, to discuss lineage, heritage, "progress," civilization, exploitation, representation, stereotypes, performance, power, race, sex. and shit, just to have fun, to make and exprience something beautiful when the world is so ugly, to get down and let it all out. but we're not on mtv.
i wonder what chuck d thinks of flavor of love...
