Rebel Without A Cause: One on One with Carlton Ridenhour
Every once in awhile, we are allowed the opportunity to step out of our world and into someone else’s. Last Friday, it happened to me; I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with one of my earliest heroes, Carlton D. Ridenhour.Mr. Ridenhour is more than just an active citizen of the United States. He has been a firm believer in racial equality and vehemently employed his Constitutional right to free speech to voice his opinions since his early days on Long Island. He furthered those principles in the mid-80’s through rap music--helping pioneer a new musical medium--where his radical tongue spat rigid beliefs that made white America cringe and black America stand up. He bridged a militant philosophy between his music and an unfair social climate daring his people (the ones who had seemingly always been asked to bow down to the status quo) to get involved in THIS movement and everyone else to get the f&%k out of the way.
Carlton was called Chuck by family members from an early age. “That was my name from the beginning,” he chides, “the ‘D’ just happens to be my middle initial.” The poet in me had always believed that the persona Chuck D was this alter-ego created by the man…a vigilant superhero nurtured from the surrounding inhumanity and molded in angst by the Reagan years and what it was like to be black and to live in America in the 1980’s (and earlier). But I was wrong…it was just a harmless nickname.
Chuck was born in 1960 in Roosevelt, a community of some 16,000 in Nassau County, Long Island, New York. Tagged as Da Velt by the locals for its high poverty levels and lack of scholastic funding, Roosevelt is one of the few towns on Long Island whose African-American residents are the majority. Although small in size, Roosevelt can claim larger than life celebrities Julius “Dr. J.” Erving and Eddie Murphy as local icons. Another native, William “Flavor Flav” Drayton, Jr. would eventually unite with Chuck D to form one of the most seminal acts in the history of hip hop—or for that matter, music in general.
It can be argued that Public Enemy changed the face of hip hop in many ways. Many of today’s emcees are laying down candy-coated, user friendly flows over safe radio-friendly loops, Chuck D has always been more intent on getting a point across through will, skill and volume rather than to attempt to garner a mainstream fan base. His refusal to back down was a blatant middle finger towards the bourgeoisie The live shows were epic: samples of speeches from African-Americana, raised fists, Black Panther-like camaraderie, an entourage of men in military uniforms (the S1W), Terminator X, Flav’s energy and Chuck D’s venomous persistence. The shows were like speeches that the people listened to…a rally…the chance to stand for something that wasn’t a sure thing: for white America this was trendy; for black America it was fundamental.
There is something to be said about a person dedicated to his craft, unwilling to back down an inch, intent on putting a foot down for a wronged ethnic group. A group that he had every right (constitutional or otherwise) to speak on behalf. In doing so accepting the torch from those who spoke out historically against these unbelievable injustices and re-emphasizing the tenets of liberty, equality and opportunity within the society with little regard for the consequences.
Consider that Chuck D led Public Enemy’s message against an entire country. A country that most certainly was not afraid of what this black band had to say. Yet, “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” broke down some of the barriers between whites and blacks that politicians did not want to see crumble. The message was clearly pro-Black, but it was more informative than mutinous. Chuck wasn’t leading a coup d'état he was uniting a group of people who “[had every] right to be hostile.”
What “Nation” did to the music scene is still evident. The crossover game was for the most part perfected by Public Enemy. When rock bands the caliber of Anthrax and Sonic Youth come calling, there is no doubt the music was genius. When Rolling Stone writes the album into the Top 100 All-Time Records & #44 All-Time Artist your band had moved into another spectrum. “Anytime your music crosses borders, orders and goes across the waters,” Chuck D flowed matter-of-factly, “you do what governments can’t.”
In 1996 he established the Slam Jamz record label. “Still in the music 24 hours a day…365, you know,” he continues, “doin’ it at a high level.” Most recently, he has been working with Crew Grrl Order (no typo) an all female hip-hop group. The record label is sure that CGO will provide a spark that rekindles the female influence on the music. “I am fighting for women’s empowerment through hip hop. Entirely female,” he emphasized, pointing out not just the emcees “the advisors, production…everything.”
“At Slam Jamz, there is not an emphasis on selling records.” After a short pause, maybe to catch his thoughts his vocal barrage resumes, “the music is the advertisement for the act—a business card for the artist.” Chuck D’s ideology is to bring back the performance, “…put the ‘awe’ back into the ‘au’dience.”
His control of the English language is more than evident. I spent two days going over my transcripts, trying to read between every line, dissecting each quote searching for the message. They were everywhere. Even during the interview, I kept trying to focus on what he was saying, all the while looking for an in to ask about politics, early days in the rap game, race relations—topics that I am more than 1000% sure he has fielded several trillion times and he was candid beyond my wildest dreams.
“[Race relations] have gotten better and gotten worse because America has a problem dealing with humanity.” Before I had a chance to ask him to elaborate he was into another veritable freestyle “[America is] worried about foreign issues and there are only 10 or 11% of American’s who own a passport.” Is he suggesting that we spend too much of our money and time in other parts of the world instead of helping out our own people who need the assistance just as badly? I think that is painfully obvious.
I asked Chuck D what he thought of the changes in the hip-hop of today versus the music that he helped break. “Basically, the groups that introduced rap to the society knew how to perform; they delivered sound and the artist demanded a local commitment.” He went on, “When Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame that really said something about their performance. When other acts were on stage with them,” he emphasized, “they knew that they had to bring it. Those guys brought it.” Was Chuck D hinting that today’s artists aren’t as interested in the live shows? I cannot be certain.
(I wanted to ask him how he felt about the potential Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton Presidential ticket, but I chickened out.)
I decided that the man behind the most talked about group in the hip-hop genre, who has succeeded as a musician, an activist and a spokesperson for inequality and injustice can say whatever he wants. Whether or not he actually points the finger at particular individuals seems irrelevant.
Carlton D. Ridenhour appears to be doing what he wants and is still doing it well. Whether it is penning the Ali Rap theme song, encouraging Americans to “Rock the Vote” or writing the best selling auto-biography, Fight The Power, he is still going to do the things that keep shedding light on the rap game. He will speak out “loud and proud” via the same channels that he used 25 years ago. Why change? Besides, Chuck D will still have his back…and that is what worries me.
—buttersquared (never worried so much about writing anything like this one). peace.
(Please check out www.slamjamz.com or hit him up mistachuck@rapstation.com and you can ask him your political questions…)
