"Fight The Power!": Rapper Chuck D endorses Barack Obama - for VP

[Apollo11]

All you Obama fans will know that for their first date back in 1989 - Barack took Michelle to see the Spike Lee movie "Do The Right Thing" which prominently features the track "Fight The Power" by Public Enemy (legendary "conscious hip-hop" pioneers of NYC), with words written and rapped by Chuck D.

Yesterday The Observer (British liberal Sunday newspaper - same ownership as The Guardian) published an interview with Chuck D in which he said that Obama would make a great Vice-President. Chuck D says that he "believed in the dream ticket to begin with" - which I understand to mean that he has for a long time believed that Hillary Clinton should be at the top of the Democratic ticket this year.

Return of the great rap rebel

The Observer - Sunday May 18, 2008

I ask him, in conclusion, the inevitable question: does he, as an avowed hater of governments, support Barack Obama? He falls uncharacteristically silent for a moment or two. 'I support him for all the right and all the wrong reasons,' he says. 'It's a moment, you know, it's definitely a moment, but let's not kid ourselves, it will be very hard for him to do the job. They'll make it hard for him, as hard as they can. To tell the truth, I believed in the dream ticket to begin with. I thought that he could be the greatest Vice President ever. I think, in a way, he'd have more power as Vice President.'

Does he think, though, that Obama has a real chance of becoming the first black President? 'That's the really interesting question. How will white America respond when push comes to shove? Barack Obama may galvanise the black vote but there's not enough of us. And McCain may well pick Condoleezza Rice as his running mate to split the black vote, too. One thing you can be sure of, whatever happens, the racial insecurity of America will be tested to the limit.'

http://music.guardian.co.uk/urban/story/0,,2280752,00.html

[Teaser]

1. Chuck is one of my heroes

why he puts up with Flav, I'll never know.

Must be true friendship.

[marmar]

2. Perhaps he finds Flav as entertaining in a pathetic, train-wreck kind of way as I do....

n/t

[YOY]

11. That show that Flav is on is so bad there are no words to describe

If it were more popular it would set race relations back 50 years....

[Apollo11]

6. I was a big fan of Public Enemy, back in the day

Around the time of the albums "Nation of Millions" and "Fear of a Black Planet".

I also saw them live and Flavor Flav really added something special into the mix! B-)

As rappers - Chuck D and Flavor Flav had really different and complementary styles.

But to be honest I kind of lost interest in them after "He Got Game" ...

[Teaser]

7. He Got Game wasn't bad...

but it lacked an edge. Still, "The Politics of the Sneaker Pimps" is a great song,
and the album has some great, really melancholy, rhymes.

[jakem]

3. OMG I AM TOTALLY CHANGING MY VOTE!!!

not.

:eyes:

[Occam Bandage]

4. Well, there's a powerful endorsement.

[Forkboy]

5. Chuck is awesome. Cool guy, and he knows his shit.

Now, we'll see if Paris endorses him too. That'll be the one I like to see.

[SurfingAtWork]

8. WOW! This pretty much balances out the Edwards endorsement

[PBS Poll-435]

9. Take that Sheryl Crow!

:P

[cali]

10. golly, this issstunning news. It's just so, so, so

meaningful.

:sarcasm: