Chuck D has blasted veteran rap artists for their seeming lack of positivity and alleged negative impact on Hip-Hop culture.
On Monday (June 3), the Public Enemy leader jumped on X to share his thoughts on the role that some elder statesmen have played in promoting “dark energy” and nihilsm in their music, despite being of middle age.
“If you over 40, and spitting meaningless dark energy in rap, you have to really think about what matters in the hip-hop foundation that birthed your chance at it,” the esteemed emcee wrote. Chuck D then called for his peers to take ownership of their actions and strive to be better representatives for the younger generation to learn from.
Chuck D attends Can You Dig It?: A Hip-Hop Origin Story With Chuck D at The GRAMMY Museum on November 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
“I didn’t say cease and desist,” he said of his intent or message. “I said think ……. A over 40 mind should have a better ability to KNOW self and surroundings better. The ‘green’ days is greying.”
Chuck D has never been shy to challenge himself and others to use Hip-Hop as a conduit to enact change and enlightenment, dating back to his peak as one of the culture’s more authoritative voices. However, the 63-year-old has been particularly vocal in recent years, as he’s lamented the seeming distraction that rifts among rap artists have created.
Earlier this year, the Long Island native decried the idea that battle rap is a pillar of Hip-Hop, arguing that it was spawned afterward and isn’t synonymous with the music or culture at its core. “Rap and Hip-Hop didn’t form from battle culture,” he wrote at the time. “It formed from party dance culture. The battle culture was a mutation alongside moving the crowd. The battle diss [sic] thing was a side evolution tumor. Started benign then ignorance made it malignant in the 90s.”
See Chuck D’s X posts below.
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