*In his time of reflection and travel, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D has taken it upon himself to compose a “Hip Hop State of the Union” address.
Originally addressed to AllHipHop.com’s Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur and hip hop journalist Davey D, the trailblazing rapper shared his thoughts about music and Hip Hop’s global influence.
He began his letter with:
“Looking at a HIP-HOP Planet across 25 countries while still somewhat supportive of American rap, the rest of the world has surpassed the U.S. in skill, in fundamentals and commitment to their communities.”
He expressed that Hip Hip’s original facets like graffiti have all taken on incredible and meaningful transformations across the world. The emcee also lamented that artists lack support from local media outlets and from the community, making it hard for dreamers to emerge.
“For example a rapper working in the community gets obscured while if that same rapper robbed a gas station he’d get top coverage and be label a ‘rapper’ while getting his upcoming or current music somewhat put on blast, regardless of its quality which of course is subjective like any other art. RAP sites and blogs are mimicking the New York POST.”
Further, Chuck charged big name and highly influential artists like Jay-Z to do more for their communities and step up their game on the world change front.
Read the declaration here.
