Breaking it Down: Chuck D.

Most music groups and solo musicians are lucky if they can remain relevant for more than one album. This, however, is not a problem that legendary rap artist Chuck D will ever have to worry about. Chuck D burst onto the music scene in the late 1980s as a founding member of the rap group, Public Enemy. The radical group quickly gained attention for its militant and highly relevant lyrics, lyrics that often focused on uplifting and empowering blacks. Influential, politically daring, and diverse from the other styles of rap and hip hop that also sprung up in the 1980s, the group that Chuck D was instrumental in creating what has often been cited as one of the greatest music groups of all time.

Early Life

Chuck D is the stage name for Carlton Douglas Ridenhour. Born in Long Island on August 1, 1960, Chuck spent his youth listening to soul music and protest music by musical legends, such as James Brown, music that would undoubtedly influence him in his future musical endeavors. Growing up in the 1960s, Chuck was also influenced by the political and cultural groups of the time that were speaking up for injustice, such as the Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam. His parents were involved in the civil rights movement and signed a preteen Chuck up to attend a summer school program where he got the chance to learn more about the African American experience on a college campus. According to Chuck, the experience taught him facts about the slave trade and African history, molding his perception of the African American experience, knowledge that would inevitably shape his vision of the world and the music he created.

As a kid, Chuck attended the Roosevelt Youth Center. The entertainment and educational center for local youths had a training program formed by Hank Boxley in the mid-1970s. Boxley was a renowned Long Island disc jockey (DJ) and his training program taught the younger kids including his brother Keith, how to operate the turntables and play music. Going by the name Spectrum, the group would travel with its sound equipment, playing music at house parties, high school parties, the skating rink and other local music events. The brothers also used the last name Shocklee when performing. Although Chuck and the Shocklee brothers were friendly, Chuck was not originally affiliated with the group. The group did need flyers for their promotional events, however, and Chuck who was a skilled graphic artist offered to create their flyers for them.

In addition to an early love for music, Chuck was also an artistically gifted and bright student. After graduating from high school, he began studying graphic design at Adelphi University in 1979. The school was a small liberal arts college located in Garden City New York. Chuck had begun writing song lyrics as a kid and as his interest in music developed, he began to pursue rap and perform at local parties. His mature voice and intricate rhyming skills often gave him an edge when battling against other rappers. Chuck’s focus on music, however, was sometimes at the expense of his schoolwork. More focused on writing lyrics than attending classes, his schoolwork suffered and he found himself dismissed from school for several semesters.

This setback did not stop Chuck from continuing to focus on music, or partying on campus. One night he performed at a campus open mic night at which the Shocklee brothers were also attending. The group had been looking for a rapper to hype up the crowd and perform. Hank was impressed with Chuck’s booming voice and lyrical dexterity and formally invited him to join Spectrum as the group’s rapper.

Burgeoning Musical Career

After Chuck joined the group, the name was changed to Spectrum City. The group continued to do local parties but with Chuck in college, they also began performing at college parties. All of the members of Spectrum City had nicknames and Carlton Ridenhour was known as Chuckie D, with the D representing how dangerous his rapping skills were. Chuck also put his graphic design talents to use, drawing comics featuring the members of the group as superheroes fighting against evil. Called "Tales of a Skind," the comic strip was published in the University newspaper.

While at college, Chuck met Bill Stephney who hosted a hip-hop show on WBAU, the school’s radio station. Stephney was a fan of Spectrum City and invited Chuck and the Shocklee brothers to join his show. With the show breaking records for the number of listeners, Chuck and Keith were soon given their own hour-long show called the “Super Spectrum Mix Hour.” The show was given the prime, Saturday at midnight time slot and attracted a diverse mix of black and white listeners. Eventually its popularity would cause the show to be expanded to a 90 minute format.

Despite the shows status, rap was still a relatively new form of music and there was not enough recorded rap songs to fill out the program. To handle this issue, Chuck and Hank began making tapes featuring local rappers. Among these rappers was William Drayton. At the time, Drayton went by the moniker of DJ Flavor but would later become known as Flavor Flav. Flav began hanging out around the radio station and pitching in as needed. Stephney had been promoted to program manager of the radio station and eventually, Flav would be given his own radio show.

In 1984, Spectrum City would release one single as part of Vanguard Records. The song titled “Lies,” commented on Regan politics and included Chuck rapping alongside Butch Cassidy, another featured member of the WBAU program roster. The song was not commercially successful, but the B-side of the tape featured the track “Check Out the Radio” which became a minor hit thanks to the low-tempo sound produced by the Shocklee brothers.

Public Enemy’s Number One

The Formation of Public Enemy

By 1985, Chuck had graduated from college. Not making money from their show, the group abandoned it and decided to focus their energy on paying gigs. To make extra money, Chuck along with Flav went to work for his father’s furniture store in Queens. The duo drove the delivery truck and completed deliveries. The long hours they spent driving together would give the pair a chance to sharpen their rap skills. When another local rapper called out Chuck to battle, the duo teamed up to record a song in response called “Public Enemy No. 1.”

Stephney meanwhile had gone to work for Def Jam a new record label founded in 1984. The new label was eager so sign up Chuck but the rapper was reluctant. His previous single had not been commercially successful. Furthermore, Chuck was already in his mid-20s and contemplating what to do with the rest of his life now that he had completed his education. Additionally, Chuck was wary of putting his fate into the hands of a record label. As a DJ and party promoter, he had seen other individuals exploited by teaming up with record labels only interested in turning a profit. Chuck was so reluctant, he would not even respond to multiple phone calls from Rick Rubin, one of the founders of Def Jam who called with various offers. Stephney, however, was eventually able to organize a meeting between them. Chuck played Rubin a demo tape featuring four songs including “Public Enemy No. 1.” Impressed, the label offered Chuck a deal for a solo act. Chuck, however, negotiated to form a group including Flavor Flav and the members of Spectrum City.

As the leader of the group, Chuck also brought in additional individuals to round out various positions. Richard Griffin, a friend of Chuck, would be brought in as a sideman, using the alias Professor Griff. Norman Rogers, dubbed Terminator X, would become the bands DJ. The group would also have its own production team known as the Bomb Squad. The production team included the Shocklee brothers along with Chuck producing under the alias Carl Ryder.

After formation, the group decided on a name change. Spectrum City was abandoned for Public Enemy; the name had been featured in the demo song “Public Enemy No. 1” and an additional song on their demo tape, called “The Return of Public Enemy.” Chuck would also get a chance to put his graphic artist skills to use by creating the logo for the group, a silhouetted figure in the crosshairs of a firearm. The logo signified that blacks were being treated as a public enemy, the defiant shadowy figure, however, symbolized that blacks were not backing down and would not be silenced.

The Debut of Public Enemy

During the summer of 1986, Public Enemy spent its time recording its first album and further defining the overall concept, style, and persona of the group. Chuck, not a teenage rapper or a young boy just entering adulthood, wanted to ensure the music he created had a lasting purpose. Instead, of focusing on bravado or challenging other rappers, Chuck looked toward uplifting the black community. To achieve this, the group used politically charged lyrics and addressed issues of the day, such as economic freedom, racism, and black power. The production team along with Chuck used innovative features such as police sirens and heavy beats, elements that worked together with Chuck’s forceful vocals to give the music its own identity. An identity that was often edgy, funky, lively, and chaotic all at once.

In 1987, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, the group’s first album was released. At this point, rap music was still mostly underground and had not yet reached the massive commercial success and worldwide appeal it would start to develop in the 1990s. Instead, rap was still relatively new and groups like Public Enemy were exploring and redefining the genre. As an alternative, to simple lyrics and songs that concentrated on simply having a good time (the type of style that had mainly been adapted in the late 1970s), Chuck D was aggressive. His delivery style and lyrics focused on socially relevant issues and displaying anger, rage, and unhappiness with the roles of blacks in America. The album was critically successful and eventually reached gold status. It peaked at number 28 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Albums List. With the album release, the group would go on their first tour with the Beastie Boys, a fellow Def Jam rap group.

Chuck D and Public Enemy quickly followed up their debut album by releasing 1988s, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The album is arguably their most popular, profound, and important contribution to music. Often called revolutionary and genre defining, the album is noted for its trendy production, mixing free jazz, funky guitar riffs and the group’s trademark of sampling, a process of inserting small snippets from the work of other artists into their sound. Chuck’s lyrics, which looked into media propaganda, pop culture values, commercialism, and other topics rarely confronted in rap or the music arena in general, quickly got the album attention from all types of listeners.

“Bring the Noise,” the album’s first single was featured in the soundtrack for the 1987 film, Less Than Perfect. The song was significant for its militant style, which included industrial noises and fast raping from Chuck discussing the legitimacy of rap music. The single was followed by “Don’t Believe the Hype,” a track discussing current politics. Another distinguished single on the album was “Rebel without a Pause,” a track featuring a sped up pace that gave the song a more energetic feel.

Within a few months of its release, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, went platinum and would command the top spot on the Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, an amazing achievement at the time, since the album was not getting commercial airplay. The high sales would help to cement the rap genre as a serious music force and not just some passing fad. The album is listed in the top 50 of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, by Rolling Stone magazine. Just one of several top albums of all times and best album of the year lists that the album has been honored on.

Continuing Success

With the success of their second album, Chuck D and Public Enemy quickly got back in the studio, releasing their third studio album in 1990 titled Fear of a Black Planet. Like their previous albums, the album was commercially and critically successful. It would sell a million couples after just a week of release and would peak at number 10 on the Billboard 200. From the beginning, Chuck approached this album as a complex album that really explored what it meant to create an album of work, not just a string of singles. Altogether, each song on the album added something unique and different, they all tied into the overall theme of the album. A theme focused on an honest exploration of current culture, touching on everything from race, to religion, to disease, and sexuality.

"Welcome to the Terrordome" was released as the lead single from the album and had an incendiary vibe covering multiple topics such as religion and allusions to current issues faced by the group, including Chuck’s decision to temporarily remove Professor Griff. The album also features one of the groups most loved and respected songs, “Fight the Power.” The hard-hitting protest song features Chuck’s rapid-fire rhetoric and unapologetic lyrics critiquing John Wayne and Elvis. The song would sell half-a-million records and be featured on the soundtrack for Do the Right Thing. A 1989 film by director Spike Lee focused on race relations. In 2005, the American Library of Congress would select the work as one of 50 to be preserved due to its important legacy.

By the time their fourth album, Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Black, was released in 1991, the group showed no signs of slowing down, or losing their edge. Chuck’s lyrics throughout the album were noted for their raw energy, focusing on issues affecting disenfranchised blacks. One of the most important songs on the album “By the Time I Get to Arizona” focused on the state’s decision to not celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday in recognition of the important contributions the slain civil rights leader had made to the world. The album also featured a new version of the single “Bring the Noise,” featuring Anthrax, a heavy metal band. The album would become a platinum seller and reached number four on the Billboard 200.

In 1992, Public Enemy was back with a new album, this time a compilation album called Greatest Misses. Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age, the groups fifth studio album, would follow in 1994. The album was notable for its negative depiction of gangsta rap, a style of rap that was beginning to dominate the rap culture. Inner city crime, economic troubles and numerous other issues also help to give the album diversity. The album also had less of a reliance on sampling; instead, production relied more on live instruments.

Throughout his career with Public Enemy, Chuck had collaborated on singles with multiple other artists. For example, he collaborated with the alternative rock group Sonic Youth in 1990 for the song “Kool Thing.” Eager to create a full-length album, Chuck decided to take a break from Public Enemy to focus on his solo album debut. Released in 1996, The Autobiography of Mistachuck managed to chart in the bottom rung of the Billboard 200. Although the album featured a more R&B influenced style than songs by Public Enemy, Chuck still included heavy hitting lyrics commenting on pop culture and government inadequacies. By 1998, Spike Lee had gotten the original group back together again to create a soundtrack for the basketball film He Got Game. The album was well-received and became one of their bestselling later releases.

The Evolution of Chuck D

Although Chuck D and the group he led have now been in the music industry for over 25 years, he shows no signs of slowing down. The music group he formed when rap was still in its infancy is one of the most critically acclaimed and socially relevant rap groups of all time. The group is still active and continues to periodically release new albums and go on tours. For the group’s 20^th anniversary in 2007, Public Enemy released their tenth studio album, How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???.

Chuck, meanwhile, contains to stand up and be outspoken for causes he believes in. He tours college campuses all around the country and participates in panels concerning race, rap music, and politics. Along the way, Chuck has lent support to social causes and appeared in public service announcements on issues such as encouraging citizens to vote and the depictions of minorities in the media. As a fan of musicians remaining in charge of their work, Chuck has advocated for Internet fan sharing of music files and his group was among the first to offer a digital full-length album, There’s a Poison Goin On, before making a physical copy available. The hip hop icon has also done voice overs for video games, written books, acted in various projects throughout the years and become a popular radio personality.

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