The rock icon Public Enemy called “racist”
Public Enemy is widely considered one of the most overtly political hip-hop groups ever. The collective was the precursor to political commentators such as 2Pac and the New York group mobilised African-Americans across the US with their conscious lyrics. Aside from N.W.A. on the West Coast, Public Enemy was one of the only hip-hop acts using their music as a vehicle for social commentary in the 1980s and changed their music is still relevant to this day.
Comprised of Chuck D, Flava Flav, and Terminator X, the collective was lethal, and their discography is rich and vast. However, one of their singles is particularly interesting and has a compelling message.
‘Fight The Power’ is Public Enemy’s best-known track and one of the most iconic songs of the 1980s. Its politically charged messaging was provocative and energised the era’s youth. However, some of the track’s lyrics were critical of the US and some of the country’s cultural heroes.
One figure that frontman Chuck D addresses in the song is none other than the iconic rock singer Elvis Presley. During the song, he refers to Elvis Presley as a “f*cking racist.” Although Chuck D has since admitted he respects Elvis, he unveiled his reasons for including that line in ‘Fight The Power’.
Elvis, as a singer and performer, was undoubtedly talented. However, his success angered many as he drew lots of inspiration from Black music during his early career and many perceived the vocalist as someone who had connivingly gained success by adopting a style and sound that was quintessentially black.
‘Fight the Power’ included one of the most famous references to the ‘Hound Dog’ singer. In one verse, Chuck D angrily rhymes, “Elvis was a hero to most/But he never meant sh*t to me you see / Straight up racist that sucker was / Simple and plain / Motherf*ck him.”
Although the lyric sounds like a condemnation of Presley himself, Chuck D has since explained that it was a rejection of what Presley represents to black Americans, which is a music industry with a structure that rewards some more than others for the same product along racial lines.
During an interview with the Associated Press, Chuck D delved into his reasoning, explaining, “As a musicologist – and I consider myself one – there was always a great deal of respect for Elvis, especially during his Sun sessions. As a Black people, we all knew that. My whole thing was the one-sidedness – like, Elvis’ icon status in America made it like nobody else counted!”
Chuck D detailed how there wouldn’t have been an Elvis without some of the iconic black rock pioneers who came before him and he asserted that he will not be forced to forget history, adding, “You can’t ignore Black history. Now they’ve trained people to ignore all other history – they come over with this homogenized crap. So, Elvis was just the fall guy in my lyrics for all of that. It was nothing personal – believe me.”