(Long Island, NY) Legendary Rap Star Chuck D from Public Enemy arrived an hour and half late at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Press Conference to celebrate “Definitive 200” Campaign at J& R Music and Computer World.
My sources revealed that the famous rapper was held up in traffic in a yellow cab because of war protesters protesting outside of J&R Music World against President Bush sending more troops to Iraq yesterday afternoon. Amazing Chuck D looked casual in jeans and a cap as he spoke to press about the Definitive 200.
He is very pleased about one recent nod to American and rap history – the election of one of Public Enemy’s most obvious influences, Furious Five and Grandmaster Flash to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
That opens the door to more rap acts making the Hall of Fame, according to Chuck D. He mentioned Run-D.M.C., the Beastie Boys and another group that will become eligible for election in 2012.
Legendary Rap Star Chuck D from Public Enemy at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Press Conference
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five created the musical revolution known as hip-hop. Their union pioneered the union between one DJ and five rapping MCs. Grandmaster Flash (born Joseph Saddler) not only developed different concepts and various techniques but also designed mixing equipment and turntable. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was established in the South Bronx and was one of the first rap posses, responsible for such masterpieces as “The Message,” “Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel” and “White Lines.” The combination of Grandmaster Flash’s turntable mastery and the Furious Five’s raps, ranging from socially conscious to frivolously fun, made for a series of 12-inch records that forever revolutionized the music industry with rap.
“Public Enemy right now is the greatest show on Earth,” the legendary rap group’s front man said in a recent phone interview from his home in Long Island, N.Y. “It’s a combination of Rage Against the Machine, The Roots and Run-D.M.C., and still being Public Enemy.”
Public Enemy has accomplished a great deal starting with the 1987 debut “Yo! Bum Rush the Show” and hitting its in-your-face creative stride with the group’s next two albums, 1988’s “It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” and, two years later, “Fear of a Black Planet” and hopefully more is on the horizon.
In essence the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Definitive 200 is The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame collaborated together to put together a list of 200 albums that should be in every music collection. As NARM president Jim Donio puts it, they are “albums that have consistently excited record buyers over the years and those that have the potential for continued success based on enduring popularity…. The inevitable debate about the 200 must-own albums will underscore just how much the music and the art form mean to everyone.”
Mayor Blumberg here in New York City has declared March 12th as Definitive 200 Day as part of the Definitive 200 Campaign.
Consumers will become aware of the Definitive 200 promotion through advertising as well as signage and displays in stores and on web sites.
For those who are interested in learning more about the Definitive 200, you can find the complete ranked list of the Definitive 200 and much more information about the albums and artists at www.definitive.com and www.rockhall.com.
