Chuck D blasts misuse of Public Enemy’s ‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ amid LA wildfires
Chuck D has spoken out about Public Enemy’s song ‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ being misused as wildfires continue to cause damage across Los Angeles. The fires in California have resulted in 10 deaths and forced over 130,000 residents to evacuate from their homes, with some social media users using the classic hip-hop record as a celebratory anthem.
‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ was released in 1990 and appeared on the group’s Fear of a Black Planet album. The song, produced by the Bomb Squad with features from Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane, is about Hollywood’s exploitation of Black culture and the negative portrayals of Black people in the entertainment industry.
The New York rapper shared a joint Instagram post with Flavor Flav and PE on January 9th, explaining the meaning behind the song and how it has nothing to do with wildfires.
“‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ is a protest song extracted from the Watts rebellion, coined by the magnificent Montague in 1965 against inequality when he said ‘burn baby burn’ across the air,” he wrote in a statement.
He continued, “We made mind-revolution songs aimed at a one-sided exploitation by an industry. [It] has nothing to do with families losing everything they have in a natural disaster. Learn the history. Godspeed to those in loss.”
In the caption, Chuck wrote, “PRAY 4 LA.” In another post prior to that, he said, “PRAYERS UP. BE SAFE. EVACUATE.”
Singer Jhené Aiko is one of those who have lost their homes to the wildfires. “Me and my children’s home is gone,” she told her followers on Instagram. “Burned to the ground with all of our things inside. Lord have mercy. Thankful we still have each other. Starting from scratch. My heart is so heavy.”
Chuck, Cube and BDK all spit verses on ‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ with vocals from Flav. In the first verse, Chuck raps, “Burn Hollywood burn, I smell a riot goin’ on/ First they’re guilty, now they’re gone/ Yeah, I’ll check out a movie/ But it’ll take a black one to move me/ Get me the hell away from this TV/ All this news and views are beneath me/ So all I hear about is shots ringing out/ About gangs putting each other’s head out.”