Chuck D felt a responsibility to keep Public Enemy’s focus on politics and anti-racism the moment Donald Trump was elected as U.S. President.
The rap group has been addressing racism, inequality, and police brutality in its lyrics since the 1980s.
They recently made a new political intervention against America’s controversial leader by releasing the anti-Trump track “State of the Union (S###)” and album What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down.
Discussing his dislike of the celebrity billionaire turned politician, Chuck told The Guardian: “This guy has the governing power over 300 million people and also a presence in the world. The dude has been a running joke.
“You know, he was just a half-baked celebrity real estate hypocrite from New York City that I kind of had known a large part of my adult life. To see this guy end up in the seat of responsibility was a call to arms the minute he got in there.”
During his first term, Trump has enraged his opponents and many African-Americans with his flouting of political norms, reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests, and courting of white nationalists.
Slamming the president’s supporters, he adds: “You’ve got people who love fascism and you’ve got some people who won’t admit it but they love racism.”
Revealing he will keep making records into old age the “Fight the Power” hitmaker, 60, continues: “When I decided to do this in 1986, I said, ‘OK, I’m gonna do this for the long haul.’ Now, did I say, ‘I’m going to be doing it when I’m 60 and 70’? How are you gonna say that when you don’t even know how long you gonna live? So I would just say I’m gonna do it until I don’t want to do it. I love rap. I’m just, you know, amazed I’m a part of it.”