| Chuck D | |
| Birth Date: | 1 August 1960 |
| Birth Place: | Long Island, New York, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1984–present |
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper,[1] best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav.[2] Chuck D is also a member of the rock supergroup Prophets of Rage. He has released several solo albums, most notably Autobiography of Mistachuck (1996).
His work with Public Enemy helped create politically and socially conscious hip hop music in the mid-1980s. The Source ranked him at No. 12 on its list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Lyricists of All Time.[3] Chuck D has been nominated for six Grammys throughout his career, and has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of Public Enemy.[4] [5] He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as a member of Public Enemy.[6]
Ridenhour was born on August 1, 1960, on Long Island, New York.[7] When he was a child, his mother played Motown and showtunes in the home and his father belonged to the Columbia Record Club.[8] He began writing lyrics after the New York City blackout of 1977. He attended W. Tresper Clarke High School,[9] [10] where he was offered no formal education in music.[11] He then went to Adelphi University on Long Island to study graphic design, where he met William Drayton (Flavor Flav). He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Adelphi in 1984 and later received an honorary doctorate from Adelphi in 2013.
While at Adelphi, Ridenhour co-hosted hip hop radio show the Super Spectrum Mix Hour as Chuck D on Saturday nights at Long Island rock radio station WLIR, designed flyers for local hip-hop events, and drew a cartoon called Tales of the Skind for Adelphi student newspaper The Delphian.[12]
Ridenhour (using the nickname Chuck D) formed Public Enemy in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Upon hearing Ridenhour's demo track "Public Enemy Number One", fledgling producer/upcoming music-mogul Rick Rubin insisted on signing him to his Def Jam Records.[13] Their major label releases were Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987), It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988), Fear of a Black Planet (1990), Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991), the compilation album Greatest Misses (1992), and Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994). They also released a full-length album soundtrack for the film He Got Game in 1998.
Ridenhour also contributed (as Chuck D) to several episodes of the documentary series The Blues. He has appeared as a featured artist on many other songs and albums, having collaborated with artists such as Janet Jackson, Kool Moe Dee, The Dope Poet Society, Run–D.M.C., Ice Cube, Boom Boom Satellites, Rage Against the Machine, Anthrax, John Mellencamp and many others. In 1990, he appeared on "Kool Thing", a song by the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, and along with Flavor Flav, he sang on George Clinton's song "Tweakin'", which appears on his 1989 album The Cinderella Theory. In 1993, he was the executive producer for Got 'Em Running Scared, an album by Ichiban Records group Chief Groovy Loo and the Chosen Tribe.[14]
In 1996, Ridenhour released Autobiography of Mistachuck on Mercury Records. Chuck D made a rare appearance at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, presenting the Video Vanguard Award to the Beastie Boys, commending their musicianship. In November 1998, he settled out of court with Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace's estate over the latter's sampling of his voice in the song "Ten Crack Commandments". The specific sampling is Ridenhour counting off the numbers one to nine on the track "Shut 'Em Down".[15] He later described the decision to sue as "stupid".[16]
In September 1999, he launched a multi-format "supersite" on the web site Rapstation.com. The site includes a TV and radio station with original programming, prominent hip hop DJs, celebrity interviews, free MP3 downloads (the first was contributed by rapper Coolio), downloadable ringtones by ToneThis, social commentary, current events, and regular features on turning rap careers into a viable living. Since 2000, he has been one of the most vocal supporters of peer-to-peer file sharing in the music industry.
He loaned his voice to as DJ Forth Right MC for the radio station Playback FM. In 2000, he collaborated with Public Enemy's Gary G-Whiz and MC Lyte on the theme music to the television show Dark Angel. He appeared with Henry Rollins in a cover of Black Flag's "Rise Above" for the album . In 2003, he was featured in the PBS documentary Godfathers and Sons in which he recorded a version of Muddy Waters' song "Mannish Boy" with Common, Electrik Mud Cats, and Kyle Jason.[17] He was also featured on Z-Trip's album Shifting Gears on a track called "Shock and Awe"; a 12-inch of the track was released featuring artwork by Shepard Fairey. In 2008 he contributed a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture (The MIT Press, 2008) edited by Paul D. Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky, and also turned up on The Go! Team's album Proof of Youth on the track "Flashlight Fight." He also fulfilled his childhood dreams of being a sports announcer by performing the play-by-play commentary in the video game on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
In 2009, Ridenhour wrote the foreword to the book The Love Ethic: The Reason Why You Can't Find and Keep Beautiful Black Love by Kamau and Akilah Butler. He also appeared on Brother Ali's album Us.[18]
In March 2011, Chuck D re-recorded vocals with The Dillinger Escape Plan for a cover of "Fight the Power". Chuck D duetted with Rock singer Meat Loaf on his 2011 album Hell in a Handbasket on the song "Mad Mad World/The Good God Is a Woman and She Don't Like Ugly".
In 2016 Chuck D joined the band Prophets of Rage along with B-Real and former members of Rage Against the Machine.
In July 2019, Ridenhour sued Terrordome Music Publishing and Reach Music Publishing for $1 million for withholding royalties.[19]
In 2023, Chuck D released a four-part documentary on PBS entitled "Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World."[20]
Chuck D is known for his powerful rapping. How to Rap says he "has a powerful, resonant voice that is often acclaimed as one of the most distinct and impressive in hip-hop". Chuck says this was based on listening to Melle Mel and sportscasters such as Marv Albert.
Chuck often comes up with a title for a song first.[21] He writes on paper, though sometimes edits using a computer.[22] He prefers to not punch in[22] or overdub vocals.[22]
Chuck listed his favourite rap albums in Hip Hop Connection in March 2000:
Chuck D identifies as Black, as opposed to African or African-American. In a 1993 issue of DIRT Magazine covering a taping of In the Mix hosted by Alimi Ballard at the Apollo, Dan Field writes,
At one point, Chuck bristles a bit at the term "African-American." He thinks of himself as Black and sees nothing wrong with the term. Besides, he says, having been born in the United States and lived his whole life here, he doesn't consider himself African. Being in Public Enemy has given him the chance to travel around the world, an experience that really opened his eyes and his mind. He says visiting Africa and experiencing life on a continent where the majority of people are Black gave him a new perspective and helped him get in touch with his own history. He also credits a trip to the ancient Egyptian pyramids at Giza with helping him appreciate the relative smallness of man.[24]Ridenhour is politically active; he co-hosted Unfiltered on Air America Radio, testified before the United States Congress in support of peer-to-peer MP3 sharing, and was involved in a 2004 rap political convention. He has continued to be an activist, publisher, lecturer, and producer.
Addressing the negative views associated with rap music, he co-wrote the essay book Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality with Yusuf Jah. He argues that "music and art and culture is escapism, and escapism sometimes is healthy for people to get away from reality", but sometimes the distinction is blurred and that's when "things could lead a young mind in a direction."[25] He also founded the record company Slam Jamz and acted as narrator in Kareem Adouard's short film Bling: Consequences and Repercussions, which examines the role of conflict diamonds in bling fashion. Despite Chuck D and Public Enemy's success, Chuck D claims that popularity or public approval was never a driving motivation behind their work. He is admittedly skeptical of celebrity status, revealing in a 1999 interview with BOMB Magazine that "The key for the record companies is to just keep making more and more stars, and make the ones who actually challenge our way of life irrelevant. The creation of celebrity has clouded the minds of most people in America, Europe and Asia. It gets people off the path they need to be on as individuals."[26]
In an interview with Le Monde, published January 29, 2008,[27] Chuck D stated that rap is devolving so much into a commercial enterprise, that the relationship between the rapper and the record label is that of slave to a master. He believes that nothing has changed for African-Americans since the debut of Public Enemy and, although he thinks that an Obama-Clinton alliance is great, he does not feel that the establishment will allow anything of substance to be accomplished. He stated that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is like any other European elite: he has profited through the murder, rape, and pillaging of those less fortunate and he refuses to allow equal opportunity for those men and women from Africa. In this article, he defended a comment made by Professor Griff in the past that he says was taken out of context by the media. The real statement was a critique of the Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinian people. Chuck D stated that it is Public Enemy's belief that all human beings are equal.
In an interview with the magazine N'Digo published in June 2008, he spoke of today's mainstream urban music seemingly relishing the addictive euphoria of materialism and sexism, perhaps being the primary cause of many people harboring resentment towards the genre and its future. However, he has expressed hope for its resurrection, saying "It's only going to be dead if it doesn't talk about the messages of life as much as the messages of death and non-movement", citing artists such as NYOil, M.I.A. and The Roots as socially conscious artists who push the envelope creatively. "A lot of cats are out there doing it, on the Web and all over. They're just not placing their career in the hands of some major corporation."[28]
In 2010, Chuck D released the track "Tear Down That Wall." He said "I talked about the wall not only just dividing the U.S. and Mexico but the states of California, New Mexico and Texas. But Arizona, it's like, come on. Now they're going to enforce a law that talks about basically racial profiling."[29]
He is on the board of the TransAfrica Forum, a Pan African organization that is focused on African, Caribbean and Latin American issues.
He has been an activist with projects of The Revcoms, such as Refuse Fascism and Stop Mass Incarceration Network.[30] Carl Dix interviewed Chuck D on The Revcoms' YouTube program The RNL – Revolution, Nothing Less! – Show.[31]
In 2022, he endorsed Conrad Tillard, formerly the Nation of Islam Minister known as Conrad Muhammad and subsequently a Baptist Minister, in his campaign for New York State Senate in District 25 (covering part of eastern and north-central Brooklyn).[32]
Chuck D does not drink alcohol.[33]
Chuck D has said on Twitter that he is the maternal great-grandson of architect George Washington Foster.[34] [35] [36]
As of June 2023, he had three children aged 34, 30, and 10, the two oldest by his first ex-wife, Deborah McClendon and the youngest by Gaye Theresa Johnson.
Chuck D lives in California and lost his home in the Thomas Fire that occurred from December 2017 to January 2018.[37]
See main article: Public Enemy discography. Studio albums
Studio albums
Studio albums
Studio EPs
Studio albums
Compilation albums
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| 1988 | Funny Vibe | Living Colour, Flavor Flav | Vivid | |
| 1989 | Self Destruction | The Stop the Violence Movement | Single | |
| Tweakin' | George Clinton | The Cinderella Theory | ||
| 1990 | Kool Thing | Sonic Youth | Goo | |
| Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside) | Ice Cube | AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted | ||
| Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside) [Remix] | Kill at Will | |||
| 1991 | Back from Hell (Remix) | Run-DMC, Ice Cube | Faces / Back from Hell 12" | |
| Buck Whylin' | Terminator X, Sister Souljah | Terminator X & The Valley of the Jeep Beets | ||
| Family Got to Get Busy | H.E.A.L. | Civilization vs. Technology | ||
| America Eats the Young | Marley Marl, Intelligent Hoodlum | In Control Volume II (For Your Steering Pleasure) | ||
| Rise N' Shine | Kool Moe Dee, KRS-One | Funke, Funke Wisdom | ||
| Time to Come Correct | Prince Akeem | Coming Down Like Babylon | ||
| 1992 | State of Accommodation: Why Aren't You Mad? | Sister Souljah | 360 Degrees of Power | |
| 40 Acres and a Mule | Success-N-Effect | Drive By of Uh Revolutionist | ||
| 1993 | Close the Crackhouse | Professor X the Overseer, Big Daddy Kane, Digital Underground, Wise Intelligent | Puss N' Boots (The Struggle Continues...) | |
| Paint the White House Black | George Clinton, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Yo-Yo, MC Breed, Kam, Shock G | Hey, Man, Smell My Finger | ||
| New Agenda | Janet Jackson | Janet | ||
| 1994 | Step | Freddie Foxxx | Crazy like a Foxxx | |
| Sticka | Terminator X, MC Lyte, Ice Cube, Ice T | Super Bad | ||
| 1995 | It's the Pride | Pump Ya Fist (soundtrack) | ||
| Ball of Confusion | Dapper Dan | The Promised Land | ||
| Hyperbollicsyllabicsesqueadalymystic | Isaac Hayes | Branded | ||
| 1997 | Generations | Kyle Jason | Generations | |
| Down to Now | The Last Poets | Time Has Come | ||
| 1999 | Survival A.K.A. Black Survivors | Bob Marley | Chant Down Babylon | |
| Undisputed | Prince | Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic | ||
| 2000 | Burned Hollywood Burned | The Roots, Zack de la Rocha | Bamboozled (soundtrack) | |
| 2001 | Cuttin' Heads | John Mellencamp | Cuttin' Heads | |
| 2002 | Pressin' On | Bootsy Collins | Play with Bootsy | |
| 2003 | Politics of the Business | Prince Paul, Ice T | Politics of the Business | |
| 2005 | Sing a Simple Song | Sly and the Family Stone, Isaac Hayes, D'Angelo | Different Strokes by Different Folks | |
| 2007 | The Reverse | Archie Shepp | Gemini | |
| 2008 | Winter in America | Paris | Acid Reflex | |
| Today's Topics | KRS-One | Adventures in Emceein | ||
| Self-Esteem | Nelly | Brass Knuckles | ||
| 2009 | Money | N.A.S.A. | The Spirit of Apollo | |
| Brothers and Sisters | Brother Ali | Us | ||
| 2010 | Civil War | Immortal Technique, Killer Mike, Brother Ali | The Matyr | |
| 2011 | The Good God Is a Woman and She Don't Like Ugly | Meat Loaf | Hell in a Handbasket | |
| 2013 | Pyramid Scheme | Mat Zo | Damage Control | |
| Whaddup | LL Cool J, Tom Morello, Z-Trip, Travis Barker | Authentic | ||
| 2014 | The People | De La Soul | Single | |
| Fight | Ed O.G. | After All These Years | ||
| 2016 | Lazy Eye | Aesop Rock | The Impossible Kid | |
| Y.B.I. | Masta Ace | The Falling Season | ||
| Beautiful People | ASAP Ferg, Mama Ferg | Always Strive and Prosper | ||
| 2017 | Illusions | Bootsy Collins, Buckethead, Blvckseeds | World Wide Funk | |
| Comin' Like a Rhino | DMC | Back from the Dead | ||
| America | Logic, Big Lenbo, No I.D., Black Thought | Everybody | ||
| 2019 | Story of Everything | Sheryl Crow, Adra Day, Gary Clark Jr. | Threads | |
| 2020 | Malice of Mammon | R.A. the Rugged Man | All My Heroes Are Dead | |
| A Riot in My Mind | Common, Lenny Kravitz | A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 1 | ||
| 2022 | Man in Black | Bob Log III | JR Vol 3: A Tribute to Johnny Cash | |
| Power | Chill Rob G | Empires Crumble | ||
| 2022 | Miracle | Betty Boo | Boomerang | |
| 2023 | Hip Hop Saves Lives | Arrested Development | Single |