Rap legend Chuck D addresses Berklee students.

By Brian Coleman
Berklee.edu Correspondent
December 6, 2006

Chuck D urges Berklee students to collaborate with other artists.
Photo by Bill Gallery

"I can't believe it took me 20 years to get to Berklee," said Chuck D as he took the Berklee Performance Center stage. Chuck's appearance was part of a Berklee-sponsored talk entitled "Race, Rap, Reality, and Technology." Dressed in black from skullcap to boots, he was very much the same orator who has helmed classic Public Enemy records for the past two decades.

After an introduction by Bill Banfield, Berklee's Africana Studies chair, who referred to the day's speaker as a "living griot," Chuck wasted no time diving into a two-hour hip-hop town hall meeting. While he occasionally glanced at notes placed on his lectern, the talk was more often than not an improvised affair, touching on everything from the musical repercussions of the Louisiana Purchase and the advent of radio and 45 rpm singles in the '40s, to lashing out at MTV ("empty-v"), BET ("the booty and thug network"), and Vibe magazine ("a cultural coloring book"). He even addressed his newfound attention as "that guy in the group with Flavor Flav," which drew laughs from attendees filling the ground-floor seats of the BPC.

Chuck D (born Carlton Ridenhour and raised in Long Island, New York) made sure to break up the scholarly music history lessons with humor. "I know that even young people out there have Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer denial," he said at one point. "But somebody bought those records." He then contextualized his mention of Ice's name, explaining, "The Beastie Boys led to 3rd Bass, 3rd Bass led to Vanilla Ice, and Vanilla Ice led to Eminem. And don't forget that. Because evolution also teaches you what not to do."

Chuck drew parallels between Berklee's jazz curriculum and his own musical life. "Jazz and hip-hop are very similar forms of expression," he said. "Just like the blues, jazz and hip-hop are forms of 'code music,' which have their own language and culture. The big difference between the two is really just the eras in which they were formed. Billie Holiday and Ludacris are more alike than you might think. It's really about different ways of vocalizing."

Public Enemy's music was always about their assembled group. The group was formed in the early-to-mid-'80s when Chuck joined a collective that included producers and DJs Hank Shocklee (the group's musical patriarch), Shocklee's brother Keith, producer/guitarist Bill Stepheny, and Eric "Vietnam" Sadler. These men made up the group's "Bomb Squad" production team, which always maximized group production dynamics to bolster their ideas and their sound. It's no surprise then that Chuck lamented what he sees as a lack of teamwork among artists.

"I really feel that togetherness is missing in music today, in all genres," Chuck said.

On the other hand, entrepreneurial talents have more technology at their disposal than ever before. "There has never been a better time to be an independent musician," Chuck acknowledged. Noting the rise of MySpace and YouTube as powerful tools for working musicians, Chuck said that musicians can earn recognition on a national level only if they can harness their artistic power and get the word out to potential fans—and they won't get much outside help.

"The music business today is as healthy as ever," Chuck said, "but the record business is not. People have always made great music, but labels today just don't know the best way to harness that talent."

After speaking for over an hour, Chuck concluded his talk with a few important points. "When you make music, try and make it together with other people, as often as possible," he reiterated. "And don't ever forget about the importance of your live performance." Prince, he said, was the ultimate example of a musician who excels both on record and on stage.

Chuck D, of course, could have legitimately mentioned his own name. But with so many fans in the house—both new and old—he didn't need to.

"Jazz and hip-hop are very similar forms of expression." Photo by Bill Gallery

Chuck D Q&A

After Chuck D's talk, the floor was opened up for a Q&A session. Some of Chuck's responses follow:

You said earlier that you thought Jay-Z was the best rapper ever. Can you expand on that?

Chuck: Before I get into that, let me say first and foremost that KRS-One [from Boogie Down Productions] is the most feared rapper of all time. When he enters a room, he makes other rappers change their occupation. But Jay-Z is the MC that I consider to be the best. The reason for that is because this is a different era than when I came up. So much has happened since then, and Jay-Z has taken advantage of evolution in hip-hop. He has taken all the best characteristics of the rappers who have come before him. Plus, he has a willingness to perform live that I don't believe [Jay-Z's modern day MC rival] Nas has, not on that level. And as I've said, performance is so important to me.

Why do you think that there are still so few females in hip-hop today?

Chuck: I truly believe that the business has always chased females away from all genres after they're past a certain age. And in hip-hop, it's still just a straight-up dudes' dorm room. And not a nice dorm room . . . it's a nasty one. Women still aren't made to feel welcome, and so a lot of them stay away. But nothing can stop women when they get together, so they should come in, clean up hip-hop, and kick all the dudes out. Women can rhyme just as well as dudes, so get the dudes out of the way!

How do you think young musicians can best take advantage of technology?

Chuck: Most of all, to really succeed in getting your music out there and hopefully selling it, you have to know your audience. That's number one, and I can't emphasize that enough. Start in a small room and go from there. If you want to start a movement, then be that movement. Start a team, get the word out any way you can. Control the way your music is recorded, make it sound exactly the way you want, and don't let anyone else tell you how you should sound. And definitely always think outside of the box, because that's what innovators and pioneers have always done. Think about different ways to get your music out there. Try and get your music in commercials, on TV shows, on ringtones. The world can't stop the digital age, and technology is what it's all about these days. Culture is the universal language, and technology is what brings the world together.

What do you think about the current state of hip-hop?

Chuck: One thing I want to make clear is that just because a rapper sells more albums than another rapper or group, that doesn't mean that they're a better rapper. Don't fall into that way of thinking. You just can't compare the Roots to Lil Wayne. And why should you compare them? They make completely different kinds of music. I think that there are still a lot of hip-hop artists making great music today, it's just that all of them don't have videos on BET or MTV. And for the future hip-hop producers and artists out there, let me ask you: Do you make music, or do you just make beats? There's a big difference. Go beyond just making beats, because everyone does that. If you do, you'll help bring this music to another level.

Boston-based journalist Brian Coleman is the author of the upcoming book "Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies" (Random House /Villard) and 2005's "Rakim Told Me: Hip-Hop Wax Facts, Straight from the Original Artists." He is a regular contributor to publications including "Scratch," "Wax Poetics," "URB," and "Boston Metro." His website is www.waxfacts.com.

Related Links

• Chuck D: "Jay-Z is the Best Rapper of All Time" (Boston Phoenix, November 24, 2006)
• Hip-Hop Legend Brings the Noise (Boston People's Voice, November 30, 2006)