Chuck D spits to Jalen Rose about how he started Public Enemy with Flavor Flav

nypost.com:

he knows he’s nice.Proudly hailing from Long Island’s 516 territory, this man’s contribution to rap is the stuff of legend. Chuck D is a founding member of Public Enemy, known for hits like “Fight the Power” and “Don’t Believe the Hype” which skyrocketed the rapper’s illustrious group and solo career, one that’s now enshrined in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.My good friend Chuck D, who I absolutely idolized in the 1980s and ’90s, joined me on “Renaissance Man” this week to reflect on the good old days, including his adventures and experiences during that golden age of hip-hop — starting with the formation of Public Enemy alongside one Flavor Flav.The duo first connected at Adelphi University in Nassau County, where they both dreamed big and took advantage of every musical opportunity which came their way.

But changing hip-hop forever as young 20-somethings is harder than you think — especially when you need to make ends meet.“Me and Flavor used to drive the U-Haul trucks and other trucks to deliver furniture for my pops.

It was a part-time gig or whatever, so we would actually be in the cab of the U-Haul talking about what we were doing [with music],” Chuck D told me.What they were doing was creating a rap “collective,” as Chuck D called it, and had been recruiting some of the Island’s most coveted hip-hop talents like Hank and Keith Shocklee, along with local radio guru Bill Stephney.Much of that group played key roles on Public Enemy’s critically praised debut album “Yo!

Bum Rush the Show” in 1987, which, by the way, inspired “Yo! MTV Raps.”“It was a collective before people actually saw Wu-Tang Clan, a collective from Long Island, outside of the five boroughs,” Chuck D said.