Public Enemy’s Chuck D Talks His Audible Series, ‘Songs That Shook the Planet,’ and What’s Next
variety.comKyle Eustice Chuck D has been shouting “Fight the Power” for more than 30 years. As Public Enemy’s de facto leader, the rapper/ orator has witnessed hip-hop in all of its phases and iterations since his early teens.Along the way, he’s evolved into a living encyclopedia of music and sports.
A self-described “old hippie” at heart, Chuck’s love of Led Zeppelin, Seals & Crofts and the Rolling Stones makes the 61-year-old very much a child of the ‘60s.That background — not to mention his booming, commanding voice — is presumably what led Audible Originals to choose the Long Island native for its forthcoming “Words + Music” series, “Songs That Shook the Planet,” which premieres today (Feb.
3). Executive produced in association with Grammy Award-winning producer T Bone Burnett, the series aims to steer listeners to indelible music from songs from artists who spoke up while providing a soundtrack of civil uprising that still resonates decades later.
Selections include such naturals as Marvin Gaye’s 1971 opus “What’s Going On,” Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and Billie Holiday’s 1939 classic “Strange Fruit,” but Chuck says his vast knowledge of music from multiple genres and eras actually made the list more difficult.“If you’ve lived a long life, you have a long list,” he tells Variety. “I always try to avoid the obvious and do a little bit more digging to come up with something different, that people might have heard less than the usual suspects.
Read more on variety.com
