Chuck D Talks CNN, His Perception of Cops & His VP Pick for Hillary Clinton
Chuck D has been fighting the power since 1987. Over two decades since the New York rap collective Public Enemy released their rebellious record "Fight the Power" for Spike Lee's classic film Do The Right Thing, the unfiltered MC continues to speak his mind online and off. Chuck D spoke with Billboard from his Long Island home about the power of social media, his perception of cops and the state of America after the shootings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and the Dallas sniper attacks.
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What was your first reaction to the recent police-involved shootings?
WTF. That was my first reaction. I mean, do you have the words for things like that? I had no words. I still have no words for it. And they went and covered that woman's boyfriend [Philando Castile] that just got killed -- I was even more silent. And then I totally had no words for what happened in Dallas, so the only statement that I think I can reiterate is the worst thing that ever happened after the worst thing that ever happened, after the worst thing that ever happened, after the worst thing that ever happened.
What are your thoughts on the way the media has portrayed the events?
I think in your business that editors need to get a better life, figure out how to be out in the world and how the world is moving so they can make social media or a stupid correspondent seem less of a news force than something that's moving with the times. I've seen so much "breaking news" on CNN that's not really breaking news. And then when something actually does happen, it's like, why isn't that breaking news? That was the first thing that came to my mind. Why is there 61 police murders in 2016 at the same rate as 2015? Why isn't that breaking news?
What would you like to see change?
I'd like to see the money grab kind of lessen itself. You can't sell the bullshyt. You gotta tell the truth because sometimes the truth might not hit your bottom line. And I know that's the reality of some situated things -- they might go out of business if they keep trying to deal with the truth as opposed to something they can buy with both hands, but you know, tough. Because when you don't accurately cover something in that world, it has side effects that are immeasurable over time. And then you have social media. New generations are not equipped with enough backstory to weigh opinions like basic actual chunks of fact. The only thing that makes something ring true is that you have enough information on the backstory to pry yourself into being able to say I agree or I disagree. Because if you looked over the past or the supply of information and then you still want to have an opinion, that's sometimes even worse than a lie. You have to become thorough when you start to regurgitate news out there. I consider myself an opinionist, so I put an opinion out there. But I think when my opinion rings, I have enough of a past backstory just in the way I always worked that news and always looked at life but I wouldn't call myself a journalist. I'm a public person and an international person so I know that my voice is bigger than another voice in the crowd.
Would you characterize your reactions as emotional?
My reactions and my opinions are definitely emotional. I try to edit it down in my mind because I can say things that are wrong that will trigger people's responses and opinions in a whole different way, and I have to be mindful of that. A lot of people really hold on to their opinions and kind of wait and see which opinions they should join instead of creating their own opinions. I think people have been trained by the media over the last 30 years to kind of rely on information they're given without further research. I studied that to be able to make a rap song in the '80s, people don't believe the hype but simply like to challenge the information. You gotta put in the time to challenge it. A lot of artists don't put in the prep work to be able to deal with the subjects that are coming at them at light speed. They barely know how to handle the business that they're in. Asking them if they understand everything coming at them is a big assessment, especially a slew of artists under 25.
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An old photo of the Dallas shooter with Professor Griff sparked a reaction online. Can having too much information be a bad thing?
I don't know if I can answer that question. It ain't no going back with technology. It's what we do that's the banging effect of it. You expect that somebody would say, well, this is one of many pictures that this kid has taken or one of many pictures that Griff has taken in an era where everybody got a camera on their phone. If I take a picture with some blond woman then all of a sudden, it's like well you must be sleeping with her. We're in the era where a picture tells you a thousand words, but now we got a thousand pictures and it doesn't do that. You got a thousand pictures per person out there in the world. I just thought that was lazy low-fi journalism. That's always the challenge that people have been dumbed down to comprehend the speed of the images coming at them. So even if you have the truth on your side, the speed of technology already dictates the perception, and the perception is a stain on your clothes. If you got a white suit on and you got a stain, you can try and get it out of there but that stain ain't going nowhere.
How do you feel about live-streams?
It's another piece of the puzzle. Just like anything, it's scientists and technologists that have come up with that stuff. You just try to keep your awe in check because decisions are already made for you whether you think so or not, whether you agree or not. There's already decisions made in 2010 that will be in effect in 2020 because of technology companies that already figured out ways to manipulate human energy and nature, better and easier ways to get something to somebody. Prince said it best when he said we gotta master technology as best we can because if we don't master it, it'll master you. You can't master technology. You can't even master the speed of it. All you can do is manage what you have before it masters you or your environment. This is the state of time that we're in and sometimes we gotta take a breath away from it, sometimes we gotta take a breath alongside it, and figure out what our move has gotta be. Our move has gotta be a little bit calculated not just jumping on it and making it work.
How do you manage social media in times where news breaks like this?
I only do Twitter. I don't do nothing else. I have no time for anything else. I do Twitter, and my brother works my Facebook, my daughter works my Instagram and my sister kind of keeps them in line, but anything from me personally will only go to Twitter. I manage that by saying I limit myself to one [account], and I'm not amazed by anything else that comes along.
Has there been a certain opinion about the recent shootings that's resonated with you?
I will tell you what resonated with me when I heard that Dallas police officer on CNN talk about the pressure of police officers and black accessories when they're in situations caught between community and a march. I was riveted by this officer. I was just, like, wow. It couldn't be conveyed on Twitter or anything else, but then again I don't go on other social media. I only go on Twitter to see the comments but this brother said it all. It has to be more of an inside adjoining type of thing instead of an outside policing watching type of thing. The police got their brotherhood, you gotta be mindful of that. They also have their brotherhood with the community.
How has your perception of cops changed from when you were younger?
I had no distrust in police. Police were just police. I knew if you f--ked with them, they were gonna f--k with you harder but I never really had this anti-police [sentiment]. I grew up in Nassau County. Nassau County is a shoot first, talk about it later county but I was raised with a father and with men in my community who gave me a clue of what to deal with and how to deal with it. It was the 1980s. This 'hood code has dissipated and you can't have the entertainers and rap music to always teach you. You know, for somebody that hasn't had an OG or elder in their life, a father in their life that would lay down the code of what it is to be a black male in America, you can't grab for straws or media to fill those spaces. Your whole activity and your whole life is dictated by your teaching of who you are and where you're at.
My overall attitude of police altered a bit when I first started traveling, especially when I traveled to Africa because I knew then that policing was policing, and not necessarily racial everywhere. I was in a car one time in Ghana and when this officer took off his belt, everybody fell in line because he was like "I'm gonna shoot five of y'all if you all don't listen to me." I couldn't pin it to racism, so it was one of these things like authority versus community.
Is there a presidential candidate that you feel is better equipped to deal with America today?
Yes. Cynthia McKinney or [community organizer] Rosa Clemente but they ran in the last election and they're not eligible now.
What about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?
I call it "Trumphill." But regardless of what people say about Hillary, if people are not equipped to think they know everything on Hillary they're like, "Oh, she wrapped up in that so that means she's Trump." That's the dumbest shyt ever. And the election process in the United States is so primitive. If you don't follow math you ain't gonna know shyt anyway because if you don't follow math, you know that by not voting for Hillary gives you Trump. The only thing Hillary Clinton offers is that you might have a little bit more time to get your shyt together and get your surroundings together cause her and liberal goals might have to answer to a collective. They don’t give a f--k about no goddamn individual so a collective is the only thing that could gather a response. Trump don’t give a damn about a collective. I would be down with Hillary Clinton if she chose Bernie Sanders as a vice president but it seems to never work that way.
Why?
Because Bernie Sanders made the most sense that I seen that I could resonate with. If I had to choose between Coke and Pepsi, Bernie Sanders a little Dr. Pepper in there. I make sure I keep the Coke on the side and drink the Dr. Pepper first. I make sure it’s chilled with ice to get the he acid out.
Is there a song of solace that you turn to in times of social unrest?
I like "People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield, the lyrics from beginning to end. Change is coming whether we like it or not.