Still Fearless

Chuck D is in his car, driving from Washington DC where he has been attending the Occupy Movement's Occupy The Justice Department rally on the 58th birthday of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the prisoner who has recently had his life spared after being on death row for over 30 years charged with the shooting of a Police officer in 1981.

To be honest, it's been hard to get Chuck D on the phone to chat about the forthcoming Public Enemy tour. He's a busy man, what with guest appearances to make on other records, countless social and political causes to dedicate his time to, a record label to run and generally just, you know, being Chuck D. But what really has him flat out right now is new Public Enemy material. A lot of it. Chuck D, real name Carlton Ridenhour, and his Public Enemy crew plan on releasing two albums of new material this year, after a five-year (relative) absence since the release of How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?

So, why a double album? “Why be regular? Why be normal? Come out with something that will kind of have people scratching their heads, like, 'What the hell?'” Chuck D says, before making it clear that the very concept of commercial success doesn't even register with the group. “We have a precise way of putting together an album; whether [the songs] fit the soundscape of today? Well, it'll be interesting… We create them for ourselves, we're not trying to compete or create something that's going against anything else. It's not made to win Grammys, it's not made to top the charts; it's made to actually point to the music-making legacy of a group that's been around for twenty-five years and is still active - that's what important for us.”

Grammys are an interesting topic in relation to Public Enemy. While in many eyes they were the most consistently high-quality hip hop group since the Grammys first considered awarding accolades for music of the rap genre in the late '80s, victory has always eluded them. Earlier this year Public Enemy were honoured at the Grammy Museum; the band performed a set and were interviewed onstage by the Museum's Executive Director Bob Santelli. A real honour for any musician, sure, but a bit of a shock for one that, on their 1988 song, Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic, spat “Who gives a fuck about a Goddamn Grammy”. A long time has passed since then, says Chuck D.

“Back when we said 'Who gives a fuck about a goddamn Grammy', that wasn't personal. It was because the Grammys did not have a rap category yet. So we protested the Grammys and they finally put a rap category on there. So that's when I dropped my beef with them. The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles is very, very special because they realised that we had a passion and a commitment to the artform. Bob Santelli is a close ally of ours.”

This tour is billed as the group's 25th anniversary tour, as it's a quarter of a century since the release of the group's debut record, Yo! Bum Rush The Show. The record holds strong memories for Chuck. “No question; I was doing the same thing I'm doing right now, I was driving while writing. I was writing that album as a messenger. Certain elements of that record I hear exactly what I was doing at that time. It's like a birthmark.”

The group is planning on celebrating the entire spectrum of their career on this tour. Though, given their last visit wasn't long ago, they're also looking to inject something a little different. “We're going to have to present something that's very different, but still deliver those records that people have got into.” Chuck also says not to expect too much of the new Public Enemy material; even though there's a lot of it. “I don't think we're going to perform a lot of new material because y'all haven't heard it. We might do a couple of things. For Public Enemy the performance is a large part of it. With the performance you've got a large amount of spontaneity that goes beyond the recordings - that's something that you've got to keep in mind. That's just the truth of it all.” He trails off as he stops to pay a toll.

Public Enemy were one of the trailblazing hip hop acts with regards to touring outside of their own country. In a time where few hip hop artists would leave US soil, the band would spread their gospel to just about anywhere that would have them. “This is the sixth time we've toured Australia and I think De La Soul has us by maybe a couple of times,” Chuck D ruminates. “But I'm really mind-boggled that my friend KRS-One finally made it down to Australia. I remember in the '90s trying to convince him to get down to Australia, and the fact that he went down is just a wonderful thing to see. Probably the most gifted rapper of all time.

“When we first came to Australia in 1990, it was like, for most rap artists at that time it was impossible to comprehend a fifteen-hour flight. Most of them would do three to four hours and be afraid to go out of the country. We set that precedent and helped pave those roads, like for Ice-T in '92 [the two acts toured Australia together that year]. We were older too, so we weren't afraid to go, but a lot of artists were like 'Nah, it's impossible for me to get down there.'

“But now, the amount of artists going down there in the last five years, it's mind-boggling for me. Loads of entertainers not only from North America, but South America, Asia and Europe, are really psyched to be coming to Australia, performing and showing their abilities. I just hope that Australian artists, namely Australian MCs and DJs, have equal opportunity to be accepted abroad like people coming down to Australia.”

One thing that hasn't changed for Chuck D is his willingness to involve himself in styles of music outside the realm of hip hop. In 1990 he appeared on Sonic Youth's Kool Thing, he covered Black Flag's Rise Above alongside Henry Rollins for a West Memphis Three benefit record. Recent years have seen him collaborate with the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan and… Meat Loaf. He credits his companions in his most successful collaboration with opening his mind to wider musical possibilities.

“You gotta be fearless to take it on and accept it. When Anthrax wanted to join with Public Enemy and do Bring Tha Noize [from 1991's Public Enemy album, Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black], that was [Anthrax guitarist and drummer] Scott Ian and Charlie Benante's idea. They wanted to step up to the challenge of taking on other musical terrain. I learned a lot from those guys.”