Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World from Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, a BBC four part documentary, premiered at the 21st Annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in August.
The premiere event featured an in-person talk-back event with Chuck D and basketball star/sports analyst Jalen Rose. The documentary explores Hip Hop’s socially conscious roots and stars many of rap’s top stars and cultural commentators. It is executive produced by Chuck D and takes a deep dive into Hip Hop culture, dance and artistry and its political awakening over the last 50 years.
Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World chronicles the rise of Hip Hop from a New York City underground culture to a global force for change and examines the struggles and triumphs of Black communities, as seen through the lens of hip hop culture. The stories of injustice shared by Hip Hop artists through decades of racial and political uprising, have become an important part of the history of racism in the US. Hip Hop music speaks the truth about the plight of Black America, probably more than any other music to come before it. Its authenticity resonates beyond the streets of New York where it was born finding audiences outside the US facing similar struggles.
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Chuck D is one of the main speakers/historians of the project speaking on the early origins of hip hop and how the genre rose as a direct response to the circumstances -racial, political, economic and social – that black people were experiencing at the time. The doc takes us through the historic assassinations of our leaders, as well as the controversial draft, Vietnam war and the protests against it. It examines the music that came out of these times, like “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud” by James Brown and Syl Johnson’s “Is It Because I’m Black” or “Seize the Time” by future Black Panther party leader Elaine Brown. Followed by a breakdown of the artists of the 1970’s like The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron, who were some of the first to put poetry to music and speak of Black power.
Others who appear on the project include KRS-One, Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel, Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Ice-T, Eminem, Fat Joe, MC Lyte, Sway Calloway, Monie Love, Killer Mike, B-Real of Cypress Hill and Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets.
