Protest Song Post

Fight The Power - Public Enemy

[Verse 1]
1989 the number another summer (get down)
Sound of the funky drummer
Music hitting your heart cause I know you got soul
(Brothers and sisters, hey)
Listen if you're missing y'all
Swinging while I'm singing (hey)
Giving whatcha getting
Knowing what I know
While the Black bands sweating
And the rhythm rhymes rolling
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power

[Hook]
Fight the power
We've got to fight the powers that be

[Verse 2]
As the rhythm designed to bounce
What counts is that the rhymes
Designed to fill your mind
Now that you've realized the pride's arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough
From the heart
It's a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothing's strange
People, people we are the same
No we're not the same
Cause we don't know the game
What we need is awareness, we can't get careless
You say what is this?
My beloved lets get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
(Yo) bum rush the show
You gotta go for what you know
Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant **** to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother **** him and John Wayne
Cause I'm Black and I'm proud
I'm ready and hyped plus I'm amped
Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps
Sample a look back you look and find
Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check
Don't worry be happy
Was a number one jam
**** if I say it you can slap me right here
(Get it) lets get this party started right
Right on, c'mon
What we got to say
Power to the people no delay
To make everybody see
In order to fight the powers that be

[Hook]

Word Count: 318 words

This song is “Fight The Power” by Public Enemy.  It was released in June of 1989 on Motown Records.  This song was originally used for the movie “Do The Right Thing” which was produced by Spike Lee.  Later on, the track was used on Public Enemy’s studio album “Fear of the Black Planet” in 1990.  The song protests racism towards African Americans in the 1900s.  It uses many references and allusions to black history and even James Brown’s music.

In the first verse, they say, “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death.  We got to fight the powers that be.”  They are referring to the First Amendment which gives every citizen the freedom to speak and let their opinion be known.  “Freedom or death” refers to the 18th century in which France had a slogan, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, or Death.”  Fighting the powers that be is supposed to “bring the community together”, identify problems in the community, and figure out ways to solve each problem.

Public Enemy uses iconic figure such as Elvis and John Wayne to display a misconception of a person’s moral.  Chuck D raps, "Elvis was a hero to most / But he never meant sh*t to me / Straight up racist, the sucker was / Simple and plain," with Flavor Flav following, "Muthaf**k him and John Wayne!".  Their strong feelings towards the two men’s racism is displayed throughout the third verse.  In the line following, Chuck D says, “Cause I’m black and I’m proud ....... Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps.”  He’s justifying his comment in the previous line.

This song is one of the best songs in the 1900s hip hop era.  It’s showing the struggles with African Americans and how communities respond.  The hidden racism within popular culture and Hollywood is exploited in the song.  Public Enemy brought a few problems to light with their career and this great song.