In the wake of the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, rapper Lil Baby released a powerful Black Lives Matter anthem called “The Bigger Picture,” YG disrupted Los Angeles protests with a video shoot for “FTP (Fuck The Police)” and Nas unleashed the King’s Disease single “Ultra Black,” all songs that spoke to the socio-political climate in the United States.
As protests continued to erupt in every major city from Los Angeles to New York City, Public Enemy was tapped to open the 2020 BET Awards in June with an updated version of the 1990 Fear Of A Black Planet classic “Fight The Power.” This time, Chuck D, Flavor Flav and DJ Lord were assisted by Nas, Black Thought, Rapsody, Questlove, YG and Enemy Radio’s Jahi. about:blank
On Friday (September 25), Public Enemy, Paris, Arrested Development and Nappy Roots were among the many “classic” Hip Hop artists who dropped a new album, begging the question — does 2020 mark the beginning of a return to more conscious rap? Furthermore, are Hip Hop fans craving more content-driven music?
Admittedly, there have been some significant wins for the conscious rap “sub-genre” in recent years. Kendrick Lamar’s 2017 masterpiece DAMN. won a Pulitzer Prize and was certified triple platinum in 2018. That same year, J. Cole’s KOD tackled drug addiction, mental health and greed and still debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling almost 400,000 units in its opening week. Even Run The Jewels’ RTJ4, which dives deep into politics and the overt racism prevalent in the U.S., hit the Billboard Top 10, a first for the duo.
But, the mainstream radio waves primarily pump out vacuous songs that typically center on partying, sex or financial status in an effort to appeal to a younger crowd. Meanwhile, Public Enemy has always stood for something — whether they were fighting against systemic racism or Arizona’s refusal to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a national holiday.
Public Enemy’s latest album What Will You Do When The Grid Goes Down? again explores politically-charged themes as illustrated on songs such as “State Of The Union (STFU)” and the “Fight The Power (2020 Remix).”
Speaking to HipHopDX, Chuck D explains he doesn’t think there’s necessarily a renewed interest in content-driven Hip Hop, he’s confident that hunger has always been growling all along.
“I think the appetite for it has always been there from the fans, but I think the thing that’s misunderstood is the actual bandwidth of Hip Hop’s fanbase, which can go from age five to 60 and even beyond,” Chuck tells DX. “If we’re only going to ask people aged five to 15 what they’re thinking about or what they want to hear, these kinds of artists aren’t their thing yet. It’s an acquired taste.
“There’s a whole demographic that’s grown up with us who might feel a little bit of comfort in knowing there’s still another voice — or in this case, four — that’s out there that can culturally connect with them. I am honored to be connected to and affiliated with these groups this way. My involvement with Paris and Arrested Development’s Speech is documented, and I’ve played Nappy Roots’ music on RAPstation, past, present and future with equal aplomb.”
Paris see things a little differently. The Oakland native, who was once a member of the Nation of Islam, faced controversy early on for his radical content. In fact, his inaugural video “Break The Grip of Shame” was banned from MTV.
Images of Malcolm X, the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses and Black Panther rallies proved to be too much for the network to handle in 1990.