Public Enemy's Fight The Power

“Fight the power. We’ve got to fight the powers that be.” These potent lyrics make up the hook of Public Enemy’s hit track, Fight the Power. As soon as the song begins, an excerpt from a civil rights activist is introduced, setting the mood for the uplifting and empowering message that follows—making references to several black icons such as James Brown, Malcom X, and many more. Fight the Power, as one can tell from just the title, is a candid song filled with resistance and defiance. Public Enemy created a pro-black anthem that contains a blunt message for the African-American community: push back the status quo, and one could also argue—literally—the leadership that has oppressed the black community for centuries. The social message behind

While during the phonograph era, racism was more public and apparent, blacks have had to continuously deal with the systematic oppression of their culture. It is from this oppression that a sense of resistance against the norms of musical ownership formed, beginning with Harry Pace and continuing today with Hip Hop. Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” is the perfect culmination of this trend, combining lyrics that speak to the oppression of African Americans and a multitude of samples. It is Public Enemy’s heavy use of samples that highlights its challenge to musical ownership. By sampling other songs, Public enemy continued the trend of redefining musical possession, pushing the boundaries on what it meant to “own” music. Hip Hop opened a gate for possibilities that were once never imagined. Black artists in the late twentieth century did no play by the rules; the tactics they used were unprecedented: “whether it was cassette decks, turntables, or—later—digital samplers, hip-hop artists made their electronic equipment do things for which the equipment was not originally intended, opening up new creative possibilities” Beginning with technology, Hip Hop artists challenged the status quo and continued doing so when they applied these technologies to their music. By inventing new ways to create music, Public Enemy and other artists within Hip Hop helped redefined black music and the meaning behind owning music. As Hip Hop today makes up a significant portion of popular culture, it will be interesting to see how Hip Hop will continue to push both musical and societal boundaries. What will its next step