Today is Chuck D’s birthday! Here’s an interview he did last year in Motherjones. For those who don’t know, Chuck is from a long ago period in rap, when intelligent young black men expressed to the world their feelings and beliefs through poetry, defying all stereotypes in the process. It was unlike the commercial “gangsta” crap that suffocates the airwaves today (50 Cent is garbage). Though there is still a decent amount of thought provoking hip hop being produced, and there are still some really great rappers out there (Jay Z, Common, Mos Def), I feel like the powers that be would rather promote thugs that perpetuate long held stereotypes than present any sort of intelligence or thought. That’s why the Roots aren’t on MTV or Power 99, and Lil’ Jon is. When Chuck D was king, rap was a powerful tool for the voiceless to be heard. Now it’s just another crappy mainstream fad.
