A REMINDER: FIGHT THE POWER ON PBS

The Chuck D executive produced series premieres on PBS January 31

This February brings Black History Month in the same year as hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. That means you’ll be seeing news articles, social media posts, and podcasts talking about the global rise of United States urban culture and its adoption across the planet as a form of musical and social expression. One piece of content I can vouch for is Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Conquered the Planet, a four part British Broadcasting Channel and United States’ Public Broadcasting Service co-production.

I’ve already written about it in this newsletter recently, but I don’t want it to get lost in the programming wave that’s about to hit. All the episodes are already available in the United Kingdon, but it debuts tonight at 9pm in the States and will air every following Tuesday. Executive produced by Public Enemy’s Chuck D and his producing partner Lorrie Boula, the series situates hip-hop in the center of U.S. social policy since the ‘60s as both of byproduct of the Civil Rights movement and the artistic agitation in the music of the Last Poets and others.

I consulted on the series and I’m happy to say the same critiques that has informed Public Enemy’s work for decades gives this series its urgency. Moreover you’ll hear Fat Joe, Monie Love, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, Roxanne Shante and other vets bring their years of experience to hip-hop’s evolution. This is series that isn’t blinded by the big money of a few stars. It is not a documentary about gangsta glamour, bling bling or Instragram. Instead it frames hip-hop as a revolutionary form of expression that has been impacted by (and been impacted) American racism and has given voice to those who oppose it. I tip my hat to the executives at PBS for getting behind a series that indicts Republicans and Democrats for their roles in the prison industrial complex.