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Issue 43 / 2012 PUBLIC ENEMY HIP HOP / RNB 31 www.guestlist.net 7 Rewriting the rules of hip-hop these guys became one of the most influential and contro- versial rap groups around. As part of their epic 25th anniver- sary tour, they rocked SW4 and headed up a Q&A session at Rough Trade Records store in Brick Lane. So you guys played SW4, what was it like playing the festival? Flava Flav: Ah, it was crazy awesome! Not only that but it was so energetic. I'm not gon- na' lie but I hadn't had much rest, coming from Amsterdam to the UK, but when I stepped out in front of that crowd, it felt like I had an extra surge of ener- gy coming from them and you know what, we tore the crowd up!" DJ Lord: There was electronic, dubstep, electro, dnb and then we turned up and blew a hole right in the middle of it all, and the crowd loved it! Lets talk about the birth of Public Enemy, I mean, how did it all begin? Chuck D: We started out with radio shows, playing records, hip-hop records, being really good at it then we moved from the radio shows to making mu- sic. We made music that we didn't hear and didn't play, and we created what was missing and that was now 25 years ago. er saying how they were black, proud and strong. So, our music has James Brown, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Bobby Womack in- volved because we represent that guard of saying something important in the lyrics. AndYouDon'tStop and it's really a significant show. This is be- cause we are the only radio show in the US that plays international MCs. So today's hip-hop is big- ger than what you hear on com- mercial radio and TV shows. I really think that African MCs are the best in the world right now: they have different languages, different rhythms and different BOB DYLAN, BOBBY WOMACK INVOLVED BECAUSE WE REPRESENT THAT GUARD OF SAYING SOME- THING IMPORTANT IN THE LYRICS." "OUR MUSIC HAS JAMES BROWN, BOB MARLEY, You're music is very politically driven, you have a lot of politi- cal messages coming through with your music, did you origi- nally intend for this happen? Cuck D: Yeah, we're from the 60s and at that time there was already an atmosphere in the air and people related to each oth- There's many different opin- ions and prophecies but me ask you, where do you think the future of hip-hop is heading and do you think its a movement that can last? let Chuck D: Well I do a radio show in New York and its been run- ning for three years, its called styles. People think that it's just about New York, London or LA but hip-hop's a lot bigger than that and its up to us to let every- body be comfortable in making their own area grow. Flava Flav: I just wanna say, hip- hop is going in the direction that we all take it in to. So if you want hip-hop to go in the right direc- tion then you gotta take it there. If you start saying the wrong things in hip-hop then you're gonna take it in the wrong di- rection, not only that but you'll start confusing the young lis- teners that want to grow up and be like their idols, and we don't make music to confuse, we make music to lead and to keep these young people on the right path. Do you think its more impor- tant to make people dance or to make a message, or do you think there needs to be a bal- ance? Chuck D: There has to be a bal- ance! You can make people dance with a message, nobody did it better than Gamble and Huff, they moved people and made them think at the same time! Motown did the same. Songwriters can't write the same song as somebody else, because that cancels out ev- erybody. So we really concen- trate on writing songs that are different and helping the young people, letting them know that they can really talk about what's going on in their life through music. inspirations and Flava Flav: Hip-hop is about both, its about the message, its about the dance, and if you have one element overriding the other and there becomes imbalance, then yeah there's a problem. What message do you have for the next generation in Hip- Hop? Chuck D: I have a different mes- sage for you and everybody out there, I started www.spitdigital. com. Go there and start your own record label because we give artists and labels the op- portunity to get on to itunes, spotify, etc. So be your own la- bel, anybody that wants to be an artist, we tell them, be your own label! check out public enimy at; www.publicenemy.com