Public Enemy’s
Chuck D. will take over programming at cable channel Trio for a week and will
show viewers films relating to the African-American experience in the United States.
From time to time
the network hands programming duties over to celebrities, who are given creative
control over a block of time.
The first film
to be shown by PE’s frontman and author of the memorable song “Burn
Hollywood Burn,” is “The N Word,” a world premiere documentary
by author Stanley Crouch, which features the rapper.
The documentary
chronicles the history of the word n**ger from its origin in the early 1700’s,
to its present use in today’s language. The
documentary features a variety of entertainer’s opinions on the word,
including Whoopie Goldberg, Ice Cube and others.
“I can’t
remember anyone calling me a n#####, not in a derogatory fashion,” Goldberg
says during the film. “I can’t even actually thing about anyone
calling me a n##### to my face or within hearing distance ever. Who’s
gonna call you a n##### in New York?”
Ice Cube, who with
N.W.A. released the groundbreaking album Straight Outta Compton, which
helped usher in the “Gangsta Rap” era, said use of the word did
not bother him.
“We’ve taken this
word that’s been a burden to us, we’ve been able to digest it and spit it back
out as a badge of honor, as defiance,” he says in the film.
Chuck D. will show
a wide variety of films including “Nothing but a Man,” “Coolie
High” and “Biggie & Tupac,” which dissects the feud between the
two slain rappers.
Chuck D. reasoned
that while the word may be used as a term of endearment for some, widespread
use of the word might be dangerous.
“If somebody
throws a rock at you and you don’t say to them ‘don’t throw that
rock at me,’ they’ll end up throwing a bigger rock. [And] then they’ll
throw a brick at you eventually,” Chuck D. told NPR’s Day-to-Day
radio when questioned about the use of the word.
Chuck D’s
programming begins every night at 9:00 pm starting today (July 2) through July
10.