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Public Enemy
Public Enemy performing at the Bilbao Urban Musikaldia, Vista Alegre bullring on October 8, 2006
Background information
Also known as	PE!
Origin	Roosevelt, Long Island, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, political hip hop, hardcore hip hop
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Def Jam/Columbia/Play It Again Sam
Website	publicenemy.com
Members
Chuck D Flavor Flav Professor Griff DJ Lord The S1W
Past members
Terminator X Sister Souljah

Public Enemy is an American hip hop group consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and his S1W group, DJ Lord (DJ who replaced Terminator X in 1999), and Music Director Khari Wynn. Formed in Long Island, New York in 1982, Public Enemy is known for their politically charged lyrics and criticism of the American media, with an active interest in the frustrations and concerns of the African American community.

In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Public Enemy^[1] number forty-four on its list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[2] Acclaimed Music ranks them the 29th most recommended musical act of all time and the highest hip-hop group.^[3] The group was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.^[4]

History[link]

Formation and early years (1982–1986)[link]

Developing his talents as an MC with Flavor Flav while delivering furniture for his father's business, Chuck D (Carlton Douglas Ridenhour) and Spectrum City, as the group was called, released the record "Check Out the Radio," backed by "Lies," a social commentary—both of which would influence RUSH Productions' Run-D.M.C. and Beastie Boys.

Chuck D put out a tape to promote WBAU (the radio station where he was working at the time) and to fend off a local MC who wanted to battle him. He called the tape Public Enemy #1 because he felt like he was being persecuted by people in the local scene. This was the first reference to the notion of a public enemy in any of Chuck D's songs. The single was created by Chuck D with a contribution by Flavor Flav, though this was before the group Public Enemy was officially assembled.

Around 1986, Bill Stephney, the former Program Director at WBAU, was approached by Sam the Assassin and offered a position with the label. Stephney accepted, and his first assignment was to help fledgling producer Rick Rubin sign Chuck D, whose song "Public Enemy Number One" Rubin had heard from Andre "Doctor Dré" Brown. According to the book The History of Rap Music by Cookie Lommel, "Stephney thought it was time to mesh the hard-hitting style of Run DMC with politics that addressed black youth. Chuck recruited Spectrum City, which included Hank Shocklee, his brother Keith Shocklee, and Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, collectively known as the Bomb Squad, to be his production team and added another Spectrum City partner, Professor Griff, to become the group's Minister of Information. With the addition of Flavor Flav and another local mobile DJ named Terminator X, the group Public Enemy was born."

According to Chuck, The S1W, which stands for Security of the First World, "represents that the black man can be just as intelligent as he is strong. It stands for the fact that we're not third-world people, we're first-world people; we're the original people [of the earth]."^[5]

Public Enemy started out as opening acts for the Beastie Boys during the latter's Licensed to Ill popularity, and in 1987 released their debut album Yo! Bum Rush The Show

However, over the next few years Public Enemy released It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Fear of a Black Planet, and Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black. In addition to ushering in the golden age of hip hop, during this time, Public Enemy reached the height of their popularity, adulation, and controversy. The group then separated from Def Jam and has since been independently producing, marketing, and publishing their music.

Mainstream success (1987–1994)[link]

Their debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, was released in 1987 to critical acclaim. The album was the group's first step toward stardom. The group released the album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back in 1988, which performed better in the charts than their previous release, and included the hit single "Don't Believe the Hype" in addition to "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos". Nation of Millions... was voted Album of the Year by The Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll, the first hip hop album to be ranked number one by predominantly rock critics in a major periodical. It is also ranked the 17th best album of all time (and best album of the 1980s) by Acclaimed Music.^[3] Writing towards the end of 1987, music critic Simon Reynolds dubbed Public Enemy "a superlative rock band".^[6]

In 1989, the group returned to the studio to record Fear of a Black Planet, which continued their politically charged themes. The album was supposed to be released in late 1989,^[7] but was pushed back to April 1990. The title song "Fear of a Black Planet" addresses the fear some white people have of black and white relationships. It was the most successful of any of their albums and, in 2005, was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress. It included the singles "Welcome To The Terrodome", "911 Is a Joke", which criticized emergency response units for taking longer to arrive at emergencies in the black community than those in the white community, and "Fight the Power".^[8] "Fight the Power" is regarded as one of the most popular and influential songs in hip hop history. It was the theme song of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. It was ranked the 80th best song of all time by Acclaimed Music.^[3] Among other things, the song voices disgust for considering Elvis Presley and John Wayne standard American icons.

The group’s next release, Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black, continued this trend, with songs like "Can't Truss It", which addressed the history of slavery and how the black community can fight back against oppression; "I Don't Wanna be Called Yo Nigga", a track addresses on how the urban culture uses the word nigga outside of its usual derogatory context. The album also included the controversial song and video "By the Time I Get to Arizona," which chronicled the black community's frustration that some US states did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday. The video featured members of Public Enemy taking out their frustrations on politicians in the states not recognizing the holiday.

In 1992, the group was one of the first rap acts to perform at the Reading Festival, in England, headlining the second day of the three day festival.

Terminator X's Exit and DJ Lord's Entrance (1998–current)[link]

After a 1994 motorcycle accident shattered his left leg and kept him in the hospital for a full month, Terminator X relocated to his 15-acre farm in Vance County, North Carolina. By 1998, he was ready to retire from the group and focus full-time on raising African black ostriches on his farm.^[9]

In late 1998, the group started looking for Terminator X's permanent replacement. Following several months of searching for a DJ, Professor Griff saw DJ Lord at a Vestax Battle and approached him about becoming the DJ for Public Enemy.^[10] DJ Lord joined as the group’s full-time DJ just in time for Public Enemy’s 40th World Tour.^[11] Since 1999, he has been the official DJ for Public Enemy on albums and world tours while winning numerous turntablist competitions, including multiple DMC finals.^[12]

Legacy[link]

Public Enemy at Vegoose in 2007. From left: DJ Lord, Chuck D, and Flavor Flav.

Terminator X's innovative scratching tricks can be heard on the songs "Rebel Without a Pause," and "Shut Em Down". The Bomb Squad offered up a web of innovative samples and beats. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine declared that PE "brought in elements of free jazz, hard funk, even musique concrète, via [its] producing team the Bomb Squad, creating a dense, ferocious sound unlike anything that came before."^[13][14]

Public Enemy made contributions to the hip-hop world with political, social and cultural consciousness; which infused itself into skilled and poetic rhymes, using raucous sound collages as a foundation. Public Enemy developed a strong pro-Black political stance. Before PE, politically motivated hip-hop was defined to a few tracks by Ice-T, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and KRS-One. Other politically motivated opinions were shared by prototypical artists Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets. PE was a revolutionary hip-hop act, basing an entire image around a specified political stance. With the successes of Public Enemy, many hip-hop artists began to celebrate Afrocentric themes, such as Kool Moe Dee, Gang Starr, X Clan, Eric B. & Rakim, Queen Latifah, the Jungle Brothers, and A Tribe Called Quest.

Public Enemy Official Logo.

Public Enemy was one of the first hip-hop groups to do well internationally. PE changed the Internet's music distribution capability by being one of the first groups to release MP3-only albums,^[15] a format virtually unknown at the time.

Public Enemy helped to create and define "rap metal" by collaborating with New York thrash metal outfit Anthrax in 1991. The single "Bring The Noise" was a mix of semi-militant black power lyrics, grinding guitars, and sporadic humor. The two bands, cemented by a mutual respect and the personal friendship between Chuck D and Anthrax's Scott Ian, introduced a hitherto alien genre to rock fans, and the two seemingly disparate groups toured together. Flavor Flav's pronouncement on stage that "They said this tour would never happen" (as heard on Anthrax's Live: The Island Years CD) has become a legendary comment in both rock and hip-hop circles. Metal guitarists Vernon Reid (of Living Colour) contributed to Public Enemy's recordings, and PE sampled Slayer's "Angel of Death" half-time riff on "She Watch Channel Zero."

Members of the Bomb Squad produced or remixed works for other acts, like Bell Biv DeVoe, Ice Cube, Vanessa Williams, Sinéad O'Connor, Blue Magic, Peter Gabriel, L.L. Cool J, Paula Abdul, Jasmine Guy, Jody Watley, Eric B & Rakim, Third Bass, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, and Chaka Khan. According to Chuck D, "We had tight dealings with MCA Records and were talking about taking three guys that were left over from New Edition and coming up with an album for them. The three happened to be Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe, later to become Bell Biv DeVoe. Ralph Tresvant had been slated to do a solo album for years, Bobby Brown had left New Edition and experienced some solo success beginning in 1988, and Johnny Gill had just been recruited to come in, but [he] had come off a solo career and could always go back to that. At MCA, Hiram Hicks, who was their manager, and Louil Silas, who was running the show, were like, 'Yo, these kids were left out in the cold. Can y'all come up with something for them?' It was a task that Hank, Keith, Eric, and I took on to try to put some kind of hip-hop-flavored R&B shit down for them. Subsequently, what happened in the four weeks of December [1989] was that the Bomb Squad knocked out a large piece of the production and arrangement on Bell Biv DeVoe's three-million selling album Poison. In January [1990], they knocked out Fear of a Black Planet in four weeks, and PE knocked out Ice Cube's album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted in four to five weeks in February."^[16] They have also produced local talent such as Son of Bazerk, Young Black Teenagers, Kings of Pressure, and True Mathematics—and gave producer Kip Collins his start in the business.

Poet and hip-hop artist Saul Williams uses a sample from Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome" in his song "Tr[n]igger" on the Niggy Tardust album. He also used a line from the song in his poem, amethyst rocks.

Public Enemy's brand of politically & socially conscious hip hop has been a direct influence on new hip hop artists such as The Cornel West theory.

The Manic Street Preachers track "Repeat (Stars And Stripes)" is a remix of the band's own anti-monarchy tirade by Public Enemy production team The Bomb Squad of whom James Dean Bradfield and Richey Edwards were big fans. The song samples "Countdown to Armageddon" from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The band had previously sampled Public Enemy on their 1991 single Motown Junk.

American punk rock band NOFX references Public Enemy in their song "Franco Unamerican", stating "I'm watching Michael Moore expose the awful truth/I'm listening to Public Enemy and Reagan Youth."

The influence of the band goes largely beyond hip-hop as the group was cited by artists as diverse as Autechre (selected in the All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival) in 2003, Nirvana (It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back being cited by Kurt Cobain among his favorite albums), Nine Inch Nails (mentioned the band in Pretty Hate Machine credits), Björk (included Rebel Without a Pause in her The Breezeblock Mix in July 2007), Tricky (did a cover of Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos and appears in Do You Wanna Go Our Way ??? video), Prodigy (included Public Enemy No. 1 in The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One), Ben Harper, Underground Resistance (cited by both Mad Mike and Jeff Mills), Orlando Voorn, M.I.A., Amon Tobin, Mathew Jonson and Aphex Twin (Welcome To The Terrordome being the first track played after the introduction at the Coachella festival in April 2008).

In September 2009, VH1 aired a show called "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs" where Public Enemy earned the number one spot with their hit song, Fight the Power.^[17]

The group's last album to date is How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?. Public Enemy's single from the album was "Harder Than You Think". The repercussions of Public Enemy are felt to this day. Public Enemy showed that hip-hop was not, as Alan Light says, "just a silly novelty, a fleeting fad."

Pop culture[link]

• Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" plays a central role in Spike Lee's 1989 film "Do the Right Thing." In addition to opening the film with the actors dancing to the song, Character "Radio Raheem" carries his beat-box everywhere listening to the same song, prompting one character to ask if he ever listens to anything else. Radio Raheem acts surprised and explains "It's Public Enemy!"
• The song "Power of Equality" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers makes a reference, saying, "I got tapes I got CDs, I got my Public Enemy." The band have also performed segments of Public Enemy's You're Gonna Get Yours as an intro to their song Give It Away at concerts.
• John Connor in the 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgement Day wore a Public Enemy t-shirt for the majority of the film.
• Part of NOFX song Franco Unamerican says "I´m watching Michael Moore expose the awful truth, I´m listening to Public Enemy and Reagan Youth."
• The episode of Futurama titled 'Fear Of A Bot Planet' is a reference to the album 'Fear Of A Black Planet'
• Shawn Wayans' stage name while serving as DJ on "In Living Color" was SW1, a reference to Public Enemy's S1Ws.
• In the Video Game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas the song "Rebel Without a Pause" from the album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back can be heard on the radio station Playback FM

Controversy[link]

In 1989, in an interview with Public Enemy for the Washington Times, the interviewing journalist, David Mills, lifted some quotations from a UK magazine in which the band were asked their opinion on the Arab–Israeli conflict. Professor Griff's comments apparently sympathized with the Palestinians and was accused of anti-Semitism. According to Rap Attack 2, he suggested that "Jews are responsible for the majority of the wickedness in the world" (p. 177). (In turn a quote from The International Jew) Shortly after, Ridenhour expressed an apology on his behalf.^[18] In an attempt to defuse the situation, Ridenhour first fired Griffin. He later rejoined the group in the album Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. In the late 1990s, he rejoined the band, and Ridenhour and Griffin took on a side project, the rap rock outfit Confrontation Camp.

In his 2009 book, entitled Analytixz,^[19] Griff criticized his 1989 statement: "to say the Jews are responsible for the majority of wickedness that went on around the globe I would have to know about the majority of wickedness that went on around the globe, which is impossible... I'm not the best knower. Then, not only knowing that, I would have to know who is at the crux of all of the problems in the world and then blame Jewish people, which is not correct." Griff also said that not only were his words taken out of context, but that the recording has never been released to the public for an unbiased listen.

The controversy and apologies on behalf of Griff spurred Chuck D to reference the negative press they were receiving. In 1990, Public Enemy issued the single "Welcome to the Terrordome", which contains the lyrics: "Crucifixion ain't no fiction / So-called chosen frozen / Apologies made to whoever pleases / Still they got me like Jesus". These lyrics have been cited by some in the media as anti-Semitic, making supposed references to the concept of the "chosen people" with the lyric "so-called chosen" and Jewish deicide with the last line.^[20]

In a letter to the editor, Leo Haber alludes to criticism by New York Times writer Peter Watrous of the group's supposed homophobia.^[21]

Reviewers John Alroy and David Wilson said that Fear of a Black Planet contained "homophobic babbling" which challenged politically correct thinking.^[22]

Zoe Williams defended Public Enemy against charges of homophobia by stating that

• "If you look at the seminal black artists at the start of hip-hop, Public Enemy and Niggaz With Attitude, you won't actually find much homophobia. The only recorded homophobic lyric in Public Enemy's canon was: 'Man to man/ I don't know if they can/ From what I know/ The parts don't fit' [a lyric from "Meet the G that Killed Me" on Fear of a Black Planet]".^[23]

although Spin magazine noted that 'It only brings agony, ask James Cagney / He beat up on a guy when he found he was a fagney / Cagney is a favorite he is my boy' from "A Letter to the New York Post" on their album Apocalypse '91 has also been accused of homophobia.^[24]

Public Enemy have also been supporters of Nation of Islam Supreme Minister Louis Farrakhan,^[25][26] who has been controversial for his commentary which is often interpreted as being black nationalist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic.^[27]

Band members[link]

• Chuck D – MC (1987–present)
• Flavor Flav (William Drayton) – hype man, occasionally lead vocals
• Khari Wynn – music director
• DJ Lord (Lord Aswod) – DJ
• Professor Griff

Former members[link]

• Terminator X (Norman Rogers) – DJ, producer
• Big Casper (Tracy Walker)
• Brother James (James Norman)
• Brother Roger
• The Interrorgator (Shawn K Carter),
• Crunch
• Jacob shankle AKA (big Jake)
• The Bomb Squad
  • • Hank Shocklee (James Henry Boxley III)
    • Keith Shocklee (Keith Boxley)
    • Eric "Vietnam" Sadler
    • Gary G-Wiz (Gary Rinaldo)
    • Kerwin "Sleek" Young
    • Professor Griff (Richard Griffin)
    • Johnny "Juice" Rosado
• Brian Hardgroove – bassist

Discography[link]

• 1987: Yo! Bum Rush the Show
• 1988: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
• 1990: Fear of a Black Planet
• 1991: Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black
• 1992: Greatest Misses
• 1994: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age
• 1998: He Got Game
• 1999: There's a Poison Goin' On
• 2002: Revolverlution
• 2005: New Whirl Odor
• 2006: Rebirth of a Nation (with Paris)
• 2007: How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?
• 2012: Most of Our Heroes Don't Appear on a Stamp ^[28]
• 2012: The Evil Empire of Everything ^[29]

Further reading[link]

• Young Rick- cofounder/ cowriter of lyrics*Chuck D with Yusuf Jah, Chuck D: Lyrics of a Rap Revolutionary, Off Da Books, 2007 ISBN 0-9749484-1-1
• Chuck D with Yusuf Jah, Fight the Power, Delacorte Press, 1997 ISBN 0-385-31868-5
• Fuck You Heroes, Glen E. Friedman Photographs 1976-1991, Burning Flags Press, 1994, ISBN 0-9641916-0-1

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
  • Videos
• Discography at Discogs
• Live performance of Public Enemy
• Chuck D Interview: Intellectual Vietnam (Part One)
• Chuck D Interview: Intellectual Vietnam (Part Two)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

Public enemy is a phrase which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though in fact the phrase had been used for centuries to describe pirates and similar outlaws.

Origin and usage[link]

The phrase originated in Roman times as Latin: hostis publicus, typically translated into English as the "public enemy".

The modern use of the phrase was first popularized in April 1930 by Frank J. Loesch, then chairman of the Chicago Crime Commission, in an attempt to publicly denounce Al Capone and other organized crime gangsters.^[1]

In 1933, Loesch recounted the origin and purpose of the list:

"I had the operating director of the Chicago Crime Commission bring before me a list of the outstanding hoodlums, known murderers, murderers which you and I know but can’t prove, and there were about one-hundred of them, and out of this list I selected twenty-eight men. I put Al Capone at the head and his brother next, and ran down the twenty-eight, every man being really an outlaw. I called them Public Enemies, and so designated them in my letter, sent to the Chief of Police, the Sheriff every law enforcing officer. The purpose is to keep the publicity light shining on Chicago's most prominent, well known and notorious gangsters to the end that they may be under constant observation by the law enforcing authorities and law abiding citizens."

All of those listed were reputed to be gangsters or racketeers and most were rum-running bootleggers. Although all were known to be consistent law breakers (most prominently in regard to the widely broken Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution banning alcohol) none of those named were fugitives or were actively wanted by the law. The list's purpose was clearly to both shame those named and spur the authorities to prosecute them.

The phrase was later appropriated by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI who used it to describe various notorious fugitives that they were pursuing throughout the 1930s. Unlike Loesch's use of the term, the FBI's "Public Enemies" were wanted criminals and fugitives who were already charged with crimes. Among the criminals whom the FBI called "public enemies" were John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, Ma Barker, and Alvin Karpis.

The phrase was used so extensively during the 1930s that some writers call that period of the FBI's early history the "Public Enemy Era". Dillinger, Floyd, Nelson, and Karpis, in that order, would be deemed "Public Enemy No. 1" from June of 1934 to May of 1936. Use of the phrase eventually evolved into the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

The FBI's website describes the bureau's use of the phrase: "[The] FBI and the United States Department of Justice made use of the term, "public enemy," in the 1930s, an era in which the term was synonymous with "fugitive" or "notorious gangster."^{[citation needed]} It was used in speeches, books, press releases, and internal memoranda.

References[link]

Criminal justice portal

Chuck D
Chuck D and Flavor Flav performing at the Bilbao Urban Musikaldia, Vista Alegre bullring on October 8, 2006.
Background information
Birth name	Carlton Douglas Ridenhour
Also known as	Carl Ryder (as a member of production team The Bomb Squad), Mistachuck, Chucky D, Chuck Dangerous, The Hard Rhymer, The Rhyme Animal,
Born	(1960-08-01) August 1, 1960 (age 51)
Origin	Roosevelt, New York, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, publisher, lecturer, activist, record producer
Years active	1986–present
Associated acts	Public Enemy, Confrontation Camp, Fine Arts Militia, Immortal Technique, Sonic Youth, Sister Souljah, KRS-One, Living Colour, Vanilla Ice, Ludacris
Website	http://www.publicenemy.com

Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author,^[1] and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.

Early life[link]

Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York.^[2] After graduating from Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School, he went to Adelphi University on Long Island to study graphic design. He is the son of Lorenzo Ridenhour.

Career[link]

Upon hearing Ridenhour's demo track "Public Enemy Number One", fledgling producer/upcoming music-mogul Rick Rubin insisted on signing him to his Def Jam label.^[3]

Their major label albums were: Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987), It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988), Fear of a Black Planet (1990), Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991), Greatest Misses (1992), and Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994). They also released a full length album soundtrack for the film He Got Game in 1998. Ridenhour also contributed (as Chuck D) to several episodes of the PBS documentary series The Blues. He has appeared as a featured artist on many other songs and albums, having collaborated with artists such as Janet Jackson, Kool Moe Dee, The Dope Poet Society, Run-DMC, Ice Cube, Rage Against The Machine, Anthrax, John Mellencamp and many others. In 1990, he appeared on "Kool Thing", a song by the alternative rock band Sonic Youth. In 1993, he executive produced Got 'Em Running Scared, an album by Ichiban Records group Chief Groovy Loo and the Chosen Tribe.^[4]

Later career[link]

In 1996, Ridenhour released Autobiography of Mistachuck on Mercury Records. Chuck D made a rare appearance at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, presenting the Video Vanguard Award to the Beastie Boys, whilst commending their musicianship. In November 1998, he settled out of court with Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace's estate over the latter's sampling of his voice in the song "Ten Crack Commandments". The specific sampling is Ridenhour counting off the numbers one to nine on the track "Shut 'Em Down".^[5]

In September 1999, he launched a multi-format "supersite" on the web site Rapstation.com. A home for the vast global hip hop community, the site boasts a TV and radio station with original programming, many of hip hop's most prominent DJs, celebrity interviews, free MP3 downloads (the first was contributed by multi-platinum rapper Coolio), downloadable ringtones by ToneThis, social commentary, current events, and regular features on turning rap careers into a viable living. Since 2000, he has been one of the most vocal supporters of peer-to-peer file sharing in the music industry.

He loaned his voice to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as DJ Forth Right MC for the radio station Playback FM. In 2000, he collaborated with Public Enemy's Gary G-Whiz and MC Lyte on the theme music to the television show Dark Angel. He appeared with Henry Rollins in a cover of Black Flag's "Rise Above" for the album Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three. He was also featured on Z-Trip's album Shifting Gears on a track called "Shock and Awe"; a 12-inch of the track was released featuring artwork by Shepard Fairey. In 2008 he contributed a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture (The MIT Press, 2008) edited by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky, and also turned up on The Go! Team's album Proof of Youth on the track "Flashlight Fight." He also fulfilled his childhood dreams of being a sports announcer by performing the play-by-play commentary in the video game NBA Ballers: Chosen One on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

In 2009, Ridenhour wrote the foreword to the book The Love Ethic: The Reason Why You Can't Find and Keep Beautiful Black Love by Kamau and Akilah Butler. He also appeared on Brother Ali's album, Us.^[6]

In an interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio in late 2009, Chuck D spoke of his forthcoming projects and how he wanted to focus upon his label SlamJamz in 2010.^[7]

In a follow-up October 31, 2010 interview, Chuck discussed the importance of Public Enemy's tour in South Africa and his range of projects expected in 2011.^[8]

In March 2011, Chuck D re-recorded vocals with The Dillinger Escape Plan for a cover of "Fight the Power".

Chuck D duetted with Rock singer Meat Loaf on his 2011 album Hell In A Handbasket on the song "Mad Mad World/The Good God is a Woman and She Don't Like Ugly".

Rapping technique[link]

Chuck D has noted that he often comes up with a title for a song first, in the books How to Rap and Check the Technique^[9][10] and that he writes on paper, though he sometimes edits using a computer.^[11] He also prefers to not punch in vocals,^[12] and he prefers to not overdub vocals.^[13] Chuck D is known for his powerful rapping voice - How to Rap says, “Chuck D of Public Enemy has a powerful, resonant voice that is often acclaimed as one of the most distinct and impressive in hip-hop”,^[14] and Chuck D says this was based on listening to Melle Mel and sportscasters such as Marv Albert.^[14]

Politics[link]

Ridenhour is politically active; he co-hosted Unfiltered on Air America Radio, testified before Congress in support of peer-to-peer MP3 sharing, and was involved in a 2004 rap political convention. He continues to be an activist, publisher, lecturer, and producer. Addressing the negative views associated with rap music, he co-wrote the essay book Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality, along with Yusuf Jah (ISBN 0-385-31868-5). He argues that "music and art and culture is escapism, and escapism sometimes is healthy for people to get away from reality", but sometimes the distinction is blurred and that's when "things could lead a young mind in a direction."^[15] He also founded the record company Slam Jamz and acted as narrator in Kareem Adouard's short film Bling: Consequences and Repercussions, which examines the role of conflict diamonds in bling fashion.

In an interview with Le Monde published January 29, 2008,^[16] Chuck D stated that rap is devolving so much into a commercial enterprise, that the relationship between the rapper and the record label is that of slave to a master. He believes that nothing has changed for African-Americans since the debut of Public Enemy and, although he thinks that an Obama-Clinton alliance is great, he does not feel that the establishment will allow anything of substance to be accomplished. He also stated that French President Sarkozy is like any other European elite: he has profited through the murder, rape, and pillaging of those less fortunate and he refuses to allow equal opportunity for those men and women from Africa. In this article, he also defended a comment made by Professor Griff in the past that he says was taken out of context by the media. The real statement was a critique of the Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinian people. Chuck D stated that it is Public Enemy's belief that all human beings are equal.

In an interview with the magazine N'Digo published in late June 2008, he spoke of today's mainstream urban music seemingly relishing the addictive euphoria of materialism and sexism, perhaps being the primary cause of many people harboring resentment towards the genre and its future. However he has expressed hope for its resurrection, saying "It’s only going to be dead if it doesn’t talk about the messages of life as much as the messages of death and non-movement", citing artists such as NYOil, M.I.A. and the The Roots as socially conscious artists who push the envelope creatively. "A lot of cats are out there doing it, on the Web and all over. They’re just not placing their career in the hands of some major corporation."^[17]

Most recently Chuck D became involved in Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights, a 3-CD box set from Time Life. He wrote the introduction to the liner notes and is visiting colleges across the nation discussing the significance of the set. He's also set to appear in a follow up movie called Let Freedom Sing: The Music That Inspired the Civil Rights Movement.

In 2010, Chuck D released a track entitled "Tear Down That Wall". He said, “I talked about the wall not only just dividing the U.S. and Mexico but the states of California, New Mexico and Texas. But Arizona, it's like, come on. Now they're going to enforce a law that talks about basically racial profiling.”^[18]

He is on the board of the TransAfrica Forum a Pan African organization that works for the right of Africa, Caribbean and Latin American issues.

Personal life[link]

Gaye Theresa Johnson

Chuck D is married to Gaye Theresa Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.^[19][20]

Chuck is a vegetarian.^[21][22]

TV appearances[link]

• Narrated and appeared on-camera for the 2005 PBS documentary Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World.
• Appeared on-camera for the PBS program Independent Lens: Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
• Appeared in an episode of NewsRadio as himself.
• He appeared on The Henry Rollins Show.
• He was a featured panelist (with Lars Ulrich) on the May 12, 2000 episode of the Charlie Rose show. Host Charlie Rose was discussing the Internet, copyright infringement, Napster Inc., and the future of the music industry.^[23]
• He appeared on an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast with Pat Boone. While there, Space Ghost tried (and failed) to show he was "hip" to rap, saying his favorite rapper was M. C. Escher.
• He appeared on an episode of Johnny Bravo.
• He appeared via satellite to the UK, as a panelist on BBC's Newsnight on January 20, 2009, following Barack Obama's Inauguration.^[24]
• He Appeared on VH1 Ultimate Albums Blood Sugar Sex Magik talking about the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Film appearances[link]

• He is the narrator of the 2006 documentary Quilombo Country, directed by Leonard Abrams.
• He is prominently featured in Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a 2006 documentary by Byron Hurt.
• He is prominently featured in the 2008 film The Black Candle, directed by M.K. Asante, Jr. and narrated by Maya Angelou.
• He is featured in a web mini-series called On The Real Off The Record, produced by The Real News Network, June 1, 2009.
• He played a bank robber named "Malcolm Y" in an unused plotline for the movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which was eventually released straight-to-DVD as Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie.
• He appeared in An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn.
• He is featured in the 1997 documentary Rhyme & Reason about rap and hip hop.

Music appearances[link]

• In 2010, Chuck D made an appearance on the track "Transformação" (Portuguese for "Transformation") from Brazilian rapper MV Bill's album Causa E Efeito (pt:Causa e Efeito, meaning Cause And Effect).
• In 1990, Chuck D appeared on the Sonic Youth song and video for "Kool Thing", from the album Goo.

Discography[link]

With Public Enemy[link]

Chuck D[link]

Studio Albums

• 1996: Autobiography of Mistachuck

Compilation Albums

• 2010 (as Mistachuck): I Don't Rhyme for the Sake of Riddlin'

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Chuck D

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chuck D

• Public Enemy's official website
• rapstation.com, Chuck D's official website
• Chuck D at the Internet Movie Database
• Entry on Chuck D at Rolling Stone's website
• Chuck D on Twitter
• How To Stomp the Blues and Funk the World: Chuck D/Public Enemy at Fine Print Magazine's website

David Guetta
David Guetta at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards
Background information
Birth name	Pierre David Guetta
Born	(1967-11-07) 7 November 1967 (age 44) Paris, France
Genres	House, electro house, hip house
Occupations	DJ, record producer, songwriter
Years active	1984–present
Labels	EMI Music France, Virgin, Positiva, Astralwerks, Jack Back Records
Website	DavidGuetta.com

Pierre David Guetta (7 November 1967), known professionally as David Guetta (French pronunciation: [daˌvid ɡɛˈta]), is a French house music producer and DJ.^[1] Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster (2004) and Pop Life (2007). His 2009 album One Love included the hit singles "When Love Takes Over" (featuring Kelly Rowland), "Gettin' Over You" (featuring Chris Willis, Fergie & LMFAO) and "Sexy Bitch" (featuring Akon), the last becoming a top five hit in the United States and all three reaching #1 in the United Kingdom, as well as another internationally known single called "Memories" featuring Kid Cudi which became a top five hit in many countries. Guetta has sold over three million albums and 15 million singles worldwide.^[2] He is currently one of the most sought-after music producers.^[3] As at 2012 David Guetta is the world's most popular DJ, claiming the #1 poll position of the DJ Mag 100 popularity poll.^[4]

Biography[link]

1984–2000: Early life and career[link]

At age 17, Guetta began DJing at the Broad Club in Paris.^[5] He first played popular songs, and he discovered house music when he heard a Farley master Funk track on French radio in 1987. The next year, he began hosting his own club nights.^[6] In 1990, he released "Nation Rap", a hip-hop collaboration with French rapper Sidney Duteil.^[7]

In the mid 1990s Guetta played in clubs including Le Centrale, the Rex, Le Boy, and Folies Pigalle.^[5][8] Released in 1994^[7] Guetta's second single, a collaboration with American house vocalist Robert Owens titled "Up & Away", was a minor club hit.^[6] In 1994, David Guetta became the manager of Le Palace nightclub and he continued to organise parties there and in other clubs, such as the "Scream" parties in Les Bains Douches.^[9]

[edit] 2001–2006: Just a Little More Love and Guetta Blaster

In 2001, David Guetta along with Joachim Garraud founded Gum Productions, and in the same year Guetta's first hit single, "Just a Little More Love", featuring American singer Chris Willis was released. Willis was vacationing in France when he met Guetta.^[6] Guetta's debut album Just a Little More Love was released in 2002 on Virgin Records and sold over 300,000 copies. The follow-up singles, ("Love Don't Let Me Go", "People Come People Go" and "Give Me Something"), were released in 2002. Guetta released a compilation, Fuck Me I'm Famous, in 2003, named after his party in Ibiza. It included "Just for One Day (Heroes)", a remix of David Bowie's song "Heroes".^[6] Later in his career, Guetta continued recording compilations under that title.

Guetta's second album, Guetta Blaster, was released in 2004. It released four singles: "Money" and "Stay" featuring Chris Willis and "The World Is Mine" and "In Love With Myself" featuring JD Davis. In 2006 the Just a Little More Love single "Love Don't Let Me Go" was re-released as a mash-up with the Tocadisco remix of "Walking Away" by The Egg. The mash-up single entitled "Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)" was charted higher than the original release of the song.

[edit] 2007–2008: Pop Life

Guetta performing, May 2007

In 2007, Guetta's third album Pop Life was released. The album was successful in the UK and Ireland as well as in mainland Europe. According to EMI in 2010, the album has sold a total of 530,000 copies worldwide. The lead single "Love Is Gone" reached Number 1 on the American Dance Chart and charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

He played in many countries around the world to promote the album. He played in Mauritius in January 2008, accompanied by French rapper JoeyStarr. In the same year, he and his wife Cathy also planned a new event which took place in the Stade de France on 5 July 2008. The event was called "UNIGHTED", he performed with Tiësto, Carl Cox, Joachim Garraud and Martin Solveig in front of a crowd of 40,000.^[10]

In 2009, he was placed third in the "Top 100 DJs" poll by DJ Magazine,^[11] and was elected "Best House DJ" by DJ Awards in 2008. Since April 2009, Guetta had his own radio show on the internet radio station RauteMusik on Saturday evening. The show was afterwards moved into Radio 538, being aired every Friday evening after Tiësto's Club Life. Its name is DJ Mix. Guetta performs a one-hour set of house music, presenting mainly new talents inside.

[edit] 2009–2010: One Love and international breakthrough

David Guetta's fourth studio album, One Love, was released in August 2009. Its first single "When Love Takes Over", which featured Kelly Rowland, peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart and topped many other countries worldwide. His second single from the album, "Sexy Bitch" featuring Akon, became his second #1 in the UK. "One Love" featuring Estelle, "Memories" featuring Kid Cudi and "Gettin' Over You" featuring Chris Willis, Fergie and LMFAO followed. As of May 2011 the album had sold three million copies worldwide.^[12] Guetta's fourth studio album One Love was nominated as "Best Electronic/Dance Album" at the 52nd Grammy Awards.^[13] His song "When Love Takes Over" featuring American R&B singer Kelly Rowland received two nominations; Best Dance Recording and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, and won the latter. After conflicts over whether or not an album re-issue should go ahead, One More Love was released on 29 November 2010. First single, titled "Who's That Chick?" featuring Rihanna was released a few weeks prior.^[14]

On 16 June 2009, The Black Eyed Peas released the David Guetta-produced "I Gotta Feeling" as their second single from their fifth studio album, The E.N.D.. It became a worldwide hit topping the charts in seventeen countries. It became the most downloaded song of all-time in the United States with almost 7.5 million downloads and in the United Kingdom selling more than 1 million copies.^[15][16] He was nominated twice for his work with The Black Eyed Peas at the 52nd Grammy Awards; in the category Record of the Year for "I Gotta Feeling" and Album of the Year for their album The E.N.D.. In 2010, David Guetta co-wrote and produced Kelly Rowland's "Commander" from her third album Here I Am. It peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the United States, and reached top ten positions in Belgium and the United Kingdom. Guetta has also co-produced "Forever and a Day", which was Kelly's next UK single from that album.^[17][18] Guetta also produced the singles "Acapella" and "Scream" for American singer-songwriter Kelis's fifth studio album, Flesh Tone, released on 14 May 2010. "Acapella" was released as the lead single on 23 February 2010 and topped the dance charts in the United Kingdom and United States. On 28 June 2010 American rapper Flo Rida released the single "Club Can't Handle Me" featuring David Guetta. The song is included on the soundtrack album to the American 3D dance film Step Up 3D.

Guetta on the One Love Tour, January 2010.

[edit] 2011–present: Nothing But the Beat

Guetta's fifth studio album, Nothing But the Beat was released on August 30, 2011. It was released as a double-disc album; one disc being vocal and the other being electronic.^[19] The French DJ was inspired by rock bands such as Kings of Leon and Coldplay to add rock influences to his dance productions.^[20] "Where Them Girls At" featuring Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida, the first single off the album, was released worldwide on May 2, 2011.^[21][22] "Little Bad Girl" featuring Ludacris and Taio Cruz, was released as the second single on June 28, 2011.^[19][23] The third single "Without You" featuring Usher was released on September 27, 2011. Guetta also released three promotional singles for Nothing But the Beat, "Titanium" featuring Sia, "Lunar" with Afrojack and "Night of Your Life" featuring Jennifer Hudson. The album also features the hit single "Sweat" with Snoop Dogg.

Guetta is also scheduled to perform alongside Nicky Romero and Nervo at London's Alexandra Palace on June 1, 2012.^[24]

Personal life[link]

Guetta and his wife Cathy in January 2012 at the NRJ Music Awards ceremony.

His father was a restaurateur of Moroccan Jewish descent,^[25] and his mother is of Belgian descent.^[26][27][28] He is married to socialite and night club manager Cathy Guetta; they have two children, Tim Elvis Eric (born 2004) and Angie (born 2007).^[29]

Discography[link]

• Just a Little More Love (2002)
• Guetta Blaster (2004)
• Pop Life (2007)
• One Love (2009)
• Nothing but the Beat (2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• David Guetta on Myspace
• David Guetta on Twitter
• David Guetta's channel on YouTube
• David Guetta at the Internet Movie Database
• David Guetta official store
• David Guetta information at Ultra Records
• Review of 'Memories' on the Daily Music Guide
• David Jeffries. "David Guetta biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p572357. Retrieved 2008-09-22. 
• David Guetta in PACHA NEWS
• David Guetta at Billboard.com
• Review of 'Gettin Over you' on the Daily Music Guide