Yo Harry, you're a writer, are we that type?
Don't believe the hype.

                Don’t Believe the Hype, Public Enemy, 1988

If at any time you thought rappers were the unintelligent type, Chuck D is here to set the record straight with authority.

The frontman for legendary hip-hop group Public Enemy spoke for over two hours to a couple hundred students at the University of Miami about Rap, Race, and Reality. Rarely did he talk about rap or hip-hop. But ask him about the economy, education, culture, or this coming election, and he had more than a few things to say.

Among them, Chuck D affirmed his support of presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama, although he didn’t always think Barack could be Commander in Chief. “I thought Barack could run free safety all over the field, basically redefining the vice presidency. But with the way Hillary’s campaign has been run, I’m not sure that Hillary and he can work together.” He also touched on John McCain, making another football analogy. “With the way the Democrats are fighting, McCain can sit back like Bill Belichick and plot his next move.”

Chuck D’s brash analogies (interior rhyme?) didn’t stop with football. “Who has a dollar in the audience? Somebody take out a dollar.” I took a flimsy American greenback out of my wallet. “What backs the American dollar?”  “The goodwill of the United States,” I said. “No.” “The gold standard?” asked someone else. “No. The threat of getting your butt kicked by the US government is what backs the dollar.” And in a way, he’s right. Our currency is fiat money, basically without the backing of a physical asset. Instead, our money has value because our government says it has value. And their right to tax us and enforce the value of the dollar contributes to its value. I would never have considered this if he hadn’t brought it up.

“We’re entering a realm where silencing intelligence is at an all time high,” Chuck D told the audience before congratulating us for being in college and using our minds, the “real estate of the millennium.” But regardless of when we’re living, one intelligence that is loudly speaking its mind is that of Chuck D, the epitome, a Public Enemy.

Check out both of my videos to see what else Chuck D had to say. That’s right! Two videos! I must be crazy!

Chuck D on the Youth Vote

Chuck D on Minds and Music