Freewrite: Why is Public Enemy’s "Fight the Power," “[top] VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever” (http://www.eurweb.com/printable.cfm?id=47324).
September 25, 2008
*Public Enemy’s 1989 black power anthem “Fight the Power” topped VH1's list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever.
The cable channel will count down all 100 songs on the list in a series of shows beginning on Monday.
Following "Fight the Power" on the list is the Sugar Hill Gang’s groundbreaking song, “Rapper’s Delight,” followed by Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin but a ’G’ Thang” at No. 3. Run-D.M.C.’s “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s “The Message” round out the top five.
Salt ’N Pepa was the lone female act in the top 10, with their early hit “Push It.” Jay-Z and Eminem made the top 20, while other acts on the list include the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Biz Markie, Black Sheep and J.J. Fad.
http://www.eurweb.com/printable.cfm?id=47324
Fieldtrip
DAY 8, Thursday, October 16th, 6:00-8:15 p.m.
PUBLIC ENEMY: WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME
The Oakland International Film Festival runs from Thursday until Oct. 16 at the Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Ave. Tickets are $10 per block of movies. Passes for all seven days are available for $99 to $250, plus processing fees. Details, ticket prices and a schedule of films are available at www.oiff.org. The e-mail is info@oiff.org
Student tickets are: $5 is you attend as a group with me. I will be at the theatre at 5:30 p.m. Let me know if you can make it and how many tickets you need.
Public Enemy: Welcome To The Terrordome recounts the groups monumental impact on music and global culture over the past two decades through behind the scenes interactions between Chuck D and Flavor Flav, live concert footage from shows as far flung as Moscow, Rio, Italy, Spain, the UK and finally Austin, and interviews with artists such as the Beastie Boys, Tom Morello (Audioslave, Rage Against The Machine), Henry Rollins, Talib Kweli and Jonathan Davis of Korn.
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26 comments:
While it may be easy to just look up an article about why this song was rated the best hip hop song, I decided to answer this question with my own thoughts. Looking at the title itself “Fight the Power”, you can already tell the song is if anything, politically related. It leaves off a strong statement before the song even starts, Fight the Power.
Throughout the song it talks about what it means to fight back and what has happened over the centuries. For example, “Our freedom fo speech is freedom or death”. That is a quote from the song saying how Freedom of speech is bullshit. It talks about how the world was so corrupt and leaders that people looked up to were only shown in the light but not in the dark due to being afraid of ruining their image.
Overall, In my opionion this is a good song that definitely contradicts everything that the United States stands for. However, I personally think that there are so many good songs out there that speak in terms of what Public Enemy is speaking so its hard to really pick the “best” song. The ideas definitely resonate in your head after listening and reading the lyrics.
While it may be easy to just look up an article about why this song was rated the best hip hop song, I decided to answer this question with my own thoughts. Looking at the title itself “Fight the Power”, you can already tell the song is if anything, politically related. It leaves off a strong statement before the song even starts, Fight the Power. You can tell that this particular song is politically related through the beginner lyrics:
“Got to Give us what we want
Got to give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear your say
Fight the power”
Throughout the song it talks about what it means to fight back and what has happened over the centuries. For example, “Our freedom fo speech is freedom or death”. That is a quote from the song saying how Freedom of speech is bullshit. It talks about how the world was so corrupt and leaders that people looked up to were only shown in the light but not in the dark due to being afraid of ruining their image.
Overall, In my opionion this is a good song that definitely contradicts everything that the United States stands for. However, I personally think that there are so many good songs out there that speak in terms of what Public Enemy is speaking so its hard to really pick the “best” song. The ideas definitely resonate in your head after listening and reading the lyrics.
Robert Flores
10/14/08
Eng 1B TuTh 9-11am
Professor Sabir
Free Write: Public Enemy - Fight The Power
Vh1 recently rated Public Enemy's, Fight the Power number one. Out of one hundred songs this topped the charts. The lyrics are strong in this song. Not only does this song state facts but it also tells us things we need to be doing. I feel this song was rated number one because it talked about freedom of speech, self awareness and prejudism.
One of our most powerful tools is speech. We can convince and move people by what we say. "Our freedom of speech is freedom or death," this means that we say what we feel or take it to the grave with us. We should be expressing ourselves and not keeping anything to us. One of the Bill of Rights is freedom of speech and we should take advantage of using that tool.
Another big theme I saw in this song was self awareness. Public Emeny states, " Now that you've raelized the prides arrived/ We got to pump the stuff to make us tough from the heart/It's a start, a work of art/To revolutionize make a change nothing's strange/People, people we are the same/No we're not the same/Cause we dont' know the game/What we need is awareness, we can't get careless/You say what is this?/My belovedlets get down to business/Mental self defensive fitness." If we don't do anything to make a change, then nothing will every happen for us. We need to be aware of what's going on in the world, we can't be ignorant to facts. A revolution can happen are mentally strong, step forward and know the game.
Predjudism was subconsciously mentioned in this song. Most "white" people idolize Elvis or even John Wayne, but Public enemy did not care about them. They thought that Elvis was a sucker and that John Wayne was a mother-----. They believed that only "white" people were published on stamps and you can check history for the past 400 years and it was true. Their heroes don't appear on stamps just because they are black.
Aerin O’Leary
English 1B
Why was “Fight The Power” by artist Public Enemy voted number one on the hip hop’s top 100 songs by Vh1?
Public Enemy’s song “Fight The “Power” is lyrically conscious and deals with issues in which people can relate to it doesn’t rap about fame, money and power yet touches on real life and urgues people to stand up and FIGHT THE POWER. They rap about freedom and say that “our freedom of speech is freedom or death.” …”what counts is that the rhymes designed to fill your minds.”…”To revolutionize make a change nothin’s strange.” Songs like these make things happen create a movement in a small way. While listening to the lyrics people will begin to break down the words and understand them…”power to the people no delay.”
In Chang’s book “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” he talks about this very issue of rap and its way of expression and its effect on people. Rapper “Kam” in his single “Peace Treaty” raps about “I’ma always remember this because my n****’s made the history books…”now it looks a lot clearer the man in the mirror’s got power…it’s now or never.” (381) These lyrics much like that of Public Enemy will continue to be heard and listened to due to their lyrics and depth.
On September 25 2008, “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy hit the top of VH1’s Best Hip-Hop list. The song is about fighting for what people want, and fighting for what is right. In the first chorus, Chuck says that freedom of speech will be his freedom, and if he can’t have it, it will become his death. The song is powerful because he talks about today’s society, and recognizes that even he doesn’t like the rock and roll legend Evils Presley because he was racist. (Fight, lyrics) This reminded me when we went on our first field trip to an art gallery, where the artist asked us why Washington was on the dollar bill, because he was a slave owner.
“Fight the power” is more than just a song, at the time when it was played, it was almost like a whole other movement: “the group performed the song on a red, black, and green stage framed by a large photo of Malcolm X…”(Can’t Stop, p.279) This was more like a demonstration, than a performance, and people rallied together to remember the rights of the people, that they were equal just like everyone else, and to remember their ancestors. Another page was turned in the history of hip-hop.
“Fight the power” is also straight forward, short and simple.
“Cause I’m black and I’m proud
I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped
Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps
Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check” (Fight, lyrics)
This is a reminder of how long African-Americans suffered, how long white people ruled, but now times are changing. Public Enemy wrote their song with meaning, and Chuck wanted his music to provoke the people, but he didn’t want to lead. This song made the top 100 not only because it was a good song, but because of the history behind it.
Dominique West
English 1B
Sabir
October 14, 2008
===>>>Fight The Power<<<===
I believe that Public Enemy’s 1989 song, “Fight The Power” was rated in VH1’s top 100 best songs ever because it has strong lyrical content. The song has lyrics that impacted blacks across the nation in a way that other songs hadn’t or even haven’t yet. It has clear emphasis on the fact that we as a people need to stand strong and stand up for what we believe in. We need to believe in ourselves and know that we are capable of doing so much more than what others think and what they set the bar to for us. Blacks were talented and weren’t recognized for what they could do. However, times began to change and people began speaking out. “Public Enemy’s theme was Black collectivity, the one that had been lost in the post-Civil Rights bourgeois gold rush. Over the years, rap groups had shrunk down to duos, but Public Enemy brought the crew back” (Chang 252).
This song has been on top because of its meaning and what we as people which now include other races can become. Blacks were talented and weren’t recognized for what they could do. However, times began to change and people began speaking out. They began to speak about things that others were afraid to. Public Enemy raised the bar without anyone else having to set it for them.
“As the rhythm designed to bounce
What counts is that the rhymes
Designed to fill your mind
Now that you've realized the prides arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough
from the heart
It's a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothin's strange
People, people we are the same
No we're not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness, we can't get careless
You say what is this?
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
(Yo) bum rush the show
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say...
Fight the Power”
As far as this generation goes with its rap music I don’t think that there will be other songs that have such a strong message as the one that Public Enemy has or any other hip hop songs of the 1980’s era. These songs have such a strong ring that when you hear it you just want to hear what these people have to say. It’s like a medication that you need in order to function better. “…They stopped the march. They stopped the music. They bowed their heads, and against a granite sky in the filling silence of the midday city, a thousand proud fists rose into the air” (Change 465).
i think that public enemy's "fight the power" is on vh1's top 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever list because of the message it portrays even through it's name. its a revolutionary song that gives listeners motivation to fight the power and not let these higher authorities take control of us as they are still doing today
-Haseeb Naweed
(corrected version)
Aerin O’Leary
English 1B
Why was “Fight The Power” by artist Public Enemy voted number one on the hip hop’s top 100 songs by Vh1?
Public Enemy’s song “Fight The “Power” is lyrically conscious and deals with issues in which people can relate to. The song isn’t about fame, money and power, yet touches on real life and urgues people to stand up and FIGHT THE POWER. The artists rap about freedom in the first stanze and say that “our freedom of speech is freedom or death”. They say, “What counts is that the rhymes designed to fill your minds[,] [to] revolutionize make a change nothin’s strange” (second stanza).
Songs like these make things happen create a movement in a small way. While listening to the lyrics people will begin to break down the words and understand them… “power to the people no delay.”(thrid stanza)
In Chang’s book “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” he talks about this very issue of rap and its way of expression and its effect on people. Rapper “Kam” in his single “Peace Treaty” raps about “I’ma always remember this because my n****’s made the history books…”now it looks a lot clearer the man in the mirror’s got power…it’s now or never.” (381) These lyrics much like that of Public Enemy will continue to be heard and listened to due to their lyrics and depth.
“Fight the Power,” by Public Enemy is considered by VH1 as one of the top 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever because of many elements. Unlike many other hip hop songs in the world today, “Fight the Power” is focused on something other than something shallow such as getting girls, getting action, making money etc. “Fight the Power” is about people of African American culture getting together, realizing who they are, where they originated from and together, create something wondrous and revolutionary through beats.
Public Enemy bought out what was true. Although they called Elvis racist, they also called John Wayne-someone that would be called as one of their own-racist. What they mean when they write that John Wayne is racist because he continues with the stereotypes that America portray African Americans. Through his music videos, instead of rapping and singing something useful, something educated, he raps about girls, where he wants them, and what he wants them to do.
“Elvis was a hero to most
But he was never meant --- to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother --- him and John Wayne
Cause I’m black and I’m proud” (37-42, Public Enemy)
“Fight the Power can be considered as such a great hip hop song because the reason for hip hop is to evolve stories, experiences and emotions into beats that can be shared with others. Hip hop music is supposed to be more than a shallow subject. It’s supposed to be something important to the artist, a belief, or a feeling. “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death; we got to fight the powers that be” (13-14, Public Enemy.) Public Enemy did just that by rapping what they want others to hear. They made a shout out to all of their people that they should unite, to “fight the power.”
Eder Aragon
The song “fight the power” has wonderful lyrics content, I believe that is the main reason why it is rated the best hip hop song ever. The main point of hip hop is to communicate the world what you feel inside, to let your mind think and at the same time let your mouth say it without any one telling you is wrong. Even though hip hop is very popular worldwide, at first it did not had a good impression on the majority of people, and hip hop artists had difficulty to let the world listen to their music. I can feel in the song a person going beyond the limits to defend his music and ideas against the world.
In the song the author says “Elvis was a hero to most but he meant shit to me, straight up racist that sucker was simple and plain”. That was great part where you can see what he is talking about, fighting that big power, fighting against the majority of people that can see a racist person as hero, but he was being the victim- so if he raise his voice to the world and ask for what he wants, for what he needs, fight for justice, fight for freedom.
In “Can’t stop, Won’t stop”, the author says “we were trying to make links between issues facing people of color, white students didn’t see those connections so clearly, with students of color we made that connection very clear (Chang, 218). This relates to the song fighting the power, fighting against the majority to make you a space in society, make yourself count. If you let others give you an opportunity to let your feeling show, you probably will have to wait your whole life.
Aerin O'Leary
Responding to Loren's post...
Her ideas on the Fight The Power lyrics by Public Enemy was very straight forward and easy to understand and her link to Can't Stop Wont Stop was very on point. Good free write.
In Response to Ronnies.
I disagree in that freedom of public speech is "bullshit", and I actually think that Public Enemy like our law of freedom of speech, its just that they want these laws to actually work. Its like "all men are created equal". There is good intention behind it, but it just wasn't true for some time.
Responding to Loren Dieci's,
I thought her response to "fight the power" was amazing. (mine was pretty much exactly alike maybe thats why i overexagerate). It talks about alot of the things i talked about in mine which include, the idea of freedom of speech, what it says and what it actually means. It goes really indepth on even what the smallest details mean, the colors, the expressions, the flow of the music. Overall, I think it takes a good look on what the song is trying to communicate
i think that public enemy's "fight the power" is on vh1's top 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever list because of the message it portrays even through it's name. its a revolutionary song that gives listeners motivation to fight the power and not let these higher authorities take control of us as they are still doing today
The chorus "Fight the Power" puts mental power in the listeners as they understand the song. It also increases their awarewness of what's going on around them & how it is affecting them. This song helps people stand up for their themselves such as in bob marley song "get up, stand up".
Public enemy's quote "Our freedom of speech is freedom or death" talks about how the definition of freedom is blurry. This song provides us with knowledge. I understand why its on the top 100 list.
i think that public enemy's "fight the power" is on vh1's top 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever list because of the message it portrays even through it's name. its a revolutionary song that gives listeners motivation to fight the power and not let these higher authorities take control of us as they are still doing today
The chorus "Fight the Power" puts mental power in the listeners as they understand the song. It also increases their awarewness of what's going on around them & how it is affecting them. This song helps people stand up for their themselves such as in bob marley song "get up, stand up".
Public enemy's quote "Our freedom of speech is freedom or death" talks about how the definition of freedom is blurry. This song provides us with knowledge. I understand why its on the top 100 list.
-Haseeb Naweed
John Rawson
To see the reason that the Public Enemy song “Fight the Power” was so well liked and did so well, I would look at the time period that it related to. It was made in 1989 which was a time of political unrest and social and economic disparity. The people in urban communities had reached their level of tolerance and this song vocalized the anger and frustration felt by the urban communities.
“Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be”(10-14,Public Enemy)
The song also spoke to peoples opinions of how the government (authorities , and establishments of the government) was treating African Americans, which needless to say was unfair and bias. This enabled Public Enemy to reach millions of listeners with similar views on the treatment of African American citizens. “Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check” (46,Public Enemy). This is a big statement that spoke to people with like views and feelings towards the ways of treatment that they had endured. It also spoke to the way they believed that the government was and acted as because the overall view on “rednecks” is that they are racist, uneducated, and intolerant, and was what the government was compared to and viewed as.
In my opinion, it is about more than any other idea, it is about rights and the way that people need to band together. When Public Enemy says “Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be” he’s talking about the fact that in order to change anything, everybody needs to be in it together, everyone needs to see the problems and everybody needs to fight it together. With a song like this, I believe it was very popular for the exact reasons that The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Tupac Shakur were: because they directed their message to a people and time that felt the exact same way that they did. At times when social injustice occur, people are drawn to whoever will speak for their views, and in my opinion is why this song was so popular, and is now timeless.
John Rawson
To see the reason that the Public Enemy song “Fight the Power” was so well liked and did so well, I would look at the time period that it related to. It was made in 1989 which was a time of political unrest and social and economic disparity. The people in urban communities had reached their level of tolerance and this song vocalized the anger and frustration felt by the urban communities.
“Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be”(10-14,Public Enemy)
The song also spoke to peoples opinions of how the government (authorities , and establishments of the government) was treating African Americans, which needless to say was unfair and bias. This enabled Public Enemy to reach millions of listeners with similar views on the treatment of African American citizens. “Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check” (46,Public Enemy). This is a big statement that spoke to people with like views and feelings towards the ways of treatment that they had endured. It also spoke to the way they believed that the government was and acted as because the overall view on “rednecks” is that they are racist, uneducated, and intolerant, and was what the government was compared to and viewed as.
In my opinion, it is about more than any other idea, it is about rights and the way that people need to band together. When Public Enemy says “Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be” he’s talking about the fact that in order to change anything, everybody needs to be in it together, everyone needs to see the problems and everybody needs to fight it together. With a song like this, I believe it was very popular for the exact reasons that The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Tupac Shakur were: because they directed their message to a people and time that felt the exact same way that they did. At times when social injustice occur, people are drawn to whoever will speak for their views, and in my opinion is why this song was so popular, and is now timeless.
Faraj Fayad
Without a need to look up the reason why Public Enemy's song "fight the power" became the number one hit on VH1's top 100 hip-hop songs, I definantly think its a great song with an effective message.
Based on the summer of 1989, the point of this song and it's video
is a protest to end racism and show just how much we are in need of freedom. "Our freedom of speech is freedom or death." (13, Fight the Power)
Public Enemy's "fight the Power" summarizes everything about the intrest of hip-hop; the anger in their song and the enthusiasm of the political rhymes. A line from the song "to revolutionize make a change nothin's strange people, people we are the same" (24-24 Fight the Power), is a very inducing guote trying to get people to believe we are all the same.
Further throught the song Chuck D says there are racist people like Elvis Prestly who was concidered a hero by many, which got me to think if all of his fans were racist aswell because Elvis was a very popular Rock star.
"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps
sample a look and find
nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check
dont worry be happy" (44-47 Fight the power)
This song let a lot of people see just how much freedom,or should I say power people have living in the U.S., and that we should fight the power of whats keeping us at a lower level compared to the U.S. Government.
Public Enemy was one of many early hip-hop groups of the 1980's, their music was different from other groups because they were trying to send across a message. It was voted the number one hip-hop song of all time by VH1.
The song was primarily directed towards the african-american community as a wake-up call to make blacks realize they need to stand up in their communities and make a change, Chuck D says
"To revoulutionize make a change nothin's strange
people, people we are the same
No were not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness,
We can't get careless"
Public Enemy also adressed how they felt about white icons in america and how blacks could not relate. For example, "Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me'. He said that because young african-american icons weren't singers they were activist like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Public Enemy opened a lot of ears when they released this song by telling the truth and expressing how blacks felt in the early 60's all the way to the present.
-Rashad Aiyewunmi
Kimberly Peterson
10/14/2008
Tuesday
"Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" freewrite"
Why would VH1 rate this song number one?.. Well lets take a look. It is about black liberation, about even being human. You can do whatever you want to if you put your mind to it. It spoke about the turth.. Hip hop really started to submerge in the 1970's, but it didn't start getting accepted untill the late 80's.. This song really sparked what true hip hop was all about. It is a timeless classic.
It reminds us that racism still exsists, but you have to go beyond that.
Deon Johnson
English 1B
~Freewrite~
Public Enemy (P.E) 1989 black power anthem “Fight the Power” toppedVH1’s list of the 100 greatest hip hop songs ever, because of the lyrical content and the overall video; simple and authentic. There were moments in music history as earth-shattering, and exhilarating, as the summer of 1989 when a black man in a baseball cap and a goofball sporting a giant clock necklace commanded America to Fight the Powers that Be. "Fight the Power" ripped open a space for the band to take its proper place in the cultural mainstream. With "Fight," P.E. stood alongside not only their hip-hop peers, but also legendary musical innovators and activists. Though it harked back to '60s and '70s protest music with its call for political engagement, the song surpassed its predecessors with its unbridled fury, which I feel also played a part in that been the number one song, it’s close to election and Hip Hop is still tackling flak for its lyrics and video images, not to mention they were the first ever to get VH1 “Hip Hop Honoree.”
From inside, Chuck D comes out swinging, which is my favorite verse, verbally hacking a roster of American icons:
"Elvis was a hero to most/ But he never meant shit to me, you see/ Straight up racist that sucker was simple and plain/ Mother fuck him and John Wayne."
Arguably the most fearless lyric in all of popular music, this anti-ode to Elvis and John Wayne is a virtual flag-burning. Who better embodies the American ideal than Duke and the King, bumbling patriots who personified the nation's illiberal character and defended its order, an order from which blacks had been routinely barred? Chuck D cutting them up so brazenly was like a spiritual emancipation for anyone who felt excluded from American culture. In making a mockery of two of the country's greatest heroes, P.E. assailed white America's fairy-tale world and boldly accepted their place at its margins. Chuck goes on,
"I'm ready and hyped plus I'm amped/ Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps/ Sample a look back you look and find/ nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check."
History looks very different when seen through the eyes of the oppressed. In '89, Americans were only beginning to grasp the profound sense of disaffection minorities felt in a culture that had made heroes out of those who historically abused them or to whom they had little cultural connection. Chuck told us, which most of his counter parts agreed with, that those “heroes” did nothing for him or his people and that the advantages they created for Americans were never enjoyed by blacks. So what meaning could they have? His confrontational tone and the near-blasphemy of the words could make a lump rise in your throat. You couldn't believe he said it, but you were glad he did. (Chang 342)
For Public Enemy, "Fight the Power" was the ultimate declaration of intent. Chuck D called out to the "brothers and sisters" in the street who were "swingin' while I'm singin'/ Givin' whatcha gettin'." Chuck wanted to let us know that he was black, he was proud and he was ready to force the establishment to "give us what we want/ Gotta give us what we need." The power structure had to be subverted, he believed, and only the people could make change. At a time when most rap songs spelled out the violence their authors would wreak within the confines of the black community, "Fight" sought to redirect the rage by declaring battle on the power structure. Public Enemy is a legendary group, and I think the world agrees with me, making it, understanding-ably the number one greats hip hop song ever! I’m also very please that one of Barack Obama’s early speeches, he came out to this song, the edited version of course, but nevertheless, he did and I feel it’s a great intro, to a great man.
Deon Johnson
English 1B
~Response to John Rawson~
Great free-write John! Even though all of what you said was good, I especially like the last paragraph, when you stated your opinion. The part you said about The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Tupac directing their message to people who felt the way they did, was something I totally felt. Indeed Public Enemy was spitting to and for people who felt the same way, and I think it was cool how you merged those two things together, because for me, I would have never thought of away those four artists could compare.
As you mention at the end of your piece, that the song is timeless; which I agree, however, I don’t think it reaching number one “today,” has anything to do with when the time period of the song was recorded, in 1989. I think it has solidly to do with the timelessness of it, that’s song is relevant right now, and I think that’s why the song was number one.
Great block quote also, even though the sound is dope, and I pretty much like the whole thing, that’s one of my favorite lines.
Benjamin Herrera
Professor Sabir
English 1B: (Tues/Thurs)
Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”
Free Write:
The 1989 song “Fight the Power” by the hip-hop group Public Enemy was the number one hip-hop song in VH1’s top 100 hip-hop songs of 2008. I believe that the song was the number one hip-hop song because of how powerful and inspirational the songs lyrics are. “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy must have impressed the judges of this particular list very well to be ranked the number one hip-hop song. The song is very different from any other because the artist is not just rapping about violence, power, money and hyper masculinity. The song opens the audiences mind by talking about how people should fight back against people that are trying to you down. There were some lyrics in this black power anthem song that really made me think a bit more and stuck out to me.
“While the Black bands sweatin’
And the rhythm rhymes rollin’
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power” (1st stanza lines 9-16)
I believe these lyrics talks about standing up for yourself and expressing your emotions without anyone telling you different or trying to stop and to fight back because rights should not be taken away without a fight.
This hip-hop group is talked about plenty in the book “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” by Jeff Chang a well known hip-hop intellectual. In the book many people refer to this group as being like the civil rights activist group The Blank Panthers for the same ideas and opinions they both push because toward the black community to make them aware and also to fight back against racial inequality that was big during the year the song “Fight the Power” came out. The music video for this song was very powerful as well for the conveying very well what the song was all about. The director of the video was none other than the famous Spike Lee a well known director through out Hollywood for his movies, music videos, and television commercials. Spike Lee talks about his plan for the video in the book “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” and he basically states that the whole idea for the video was going to be about a march that the younger generation was going to take part on to send the message to the people of the U.S to put an end to all the chaos caused by racial prejudice that hate minorities in the U.S during 1980s. The idea for the video was great because it really captured the real essence of the lyrics of the song “Fight the Power”. Another line that captured my attention from the song was “I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped. Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps” (3rd stanza lines 7-8). This line really caught my attention because it tells the truth about how African-Americans in this country our looked down on and it also shows that this is not right.
Aaron Lederer
I can't blame anyone for rating "Fight the Power" as the best hip-hop song of all time, but I wouldn't rate it at #1 myself. Easily the most influential political song of it's generation though. For the first time, artists expressed their frustration with the government through their lyrics, thus inspiring common everyday citizens to do the same. It may seem like an attack against politicians, but it also drew attention to politics in general.
I still think Rappers Delight is the best hip-hop song ever. The swagger on that song, the word creativity, rhyme schemes, all are things we still see in music today.
"I said a hip hop the hippie the hippie
to the hip hip hop, a you dont stop
the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie
to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat "
The definition of creativity and innovation. Lyrics like these are what spawned further rap slang... perhaps even all the way to snoop dogg's "izzle" lingo... haha.
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