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I grew up on Public Enemy. My first Hip Hop concert ever was Will Smith when he was the Fresh Prince and was still giving love to Jazz Jeff. My most memorable concert ever, and believe me when I say I have been to a few, is seeing Public Enemy on tour during the Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Black era. Back then Hip Hop shows were mainly packaged tours so not only did I see Public Enemy but I saw Tribe Called Quest, Leaders of the New School, Queen Latifah, and Naughty By Nature. They all put on good shows but Public Enemy put a time stamp in my memory that will never be replaced, like those car commercials where the buying of a new car replaces a cherished childhood Christmas present. The show was that good. I lived and breath Public Enemy but now here I sit as a grown man who is a conservative democrat, who is a big believer in the hustle and the chase for the dollar. I went from Chuck D to Jay Z and never look back. The inner kid in me wonders what happened?

Real life happened. Seeing the idealistic hippies from the 60’s grow into the capitalist that we have before you now ruining our banking and credit system. For all of their rhetoric and their peace is love ideology protest from the 60’s nothing changed and they grew up and sold out. Even though he was impeached the ideology of Nixon still permeates even stronger to this day with the election of Bush for two terms. The hippies got it wrong, the Civil Rights movement got it right. The Civil Rights movement led to a African American president 40 years later, they fought the battle and won, probably beyond their wildest expectations. Also reading books besides school issued material happened, from “The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley” to “The Modern Banking System“. I read both sides of the coin and started to realize that movements, no matter “Peace” movements or “Global Manifest Destiny” movements, are a struggle to convert believers into their way of thinking. This gives the person who trying to spark this change, power and power is addictive and overwhelming. Communism which was supposed to be an example of Shangri Lah in the modern world turned into an Authoritative society in all of the main places that it was practiced. Capitalism created the Slave trade and have ripped the natural resources from many a country and left them to wither and die. Neither one given to their absolutes in principle is a just way to govern a society and their must be a pull from both sides to create a center that will be fair and allow people to, for the most part, live in comfort and happiness.

This is why I left Public Enemy behind. They taught me well and help shape my world view but after a lot of study I realized that I didn’t agree with a lot of their world vision and philosophy. I felt that their politics was a little too socialist for my taste and my observation of world events. When I say socialist I don’t mean socialist as what the media tried to tag Obama with during the election cycle. Like it or not Obama is a mainstream democrat and will govern that way. There will be no radical changes only subtle one’s that will create a more open and fair government. I find myself as an adult standing on ground where as I am a liberal but also a hardened capitalist. I believe capitalism helps urge people to do for their selves and become the best person that they can be. En grained in that belief is also the belief that leads me away from being a republican is that we should help people. Everyone successful has found help in some way or form, so other people should be afforded a helping hand as well. Public Enemy and other political Hip Hop groups of that time have a more feed everyone less incentive based society in mind. I can’t cosign that, I really can’t. More help and less hand outs should be the philosophy that we live by, “Teach a man to fish,..” type of thinking.

I still hold Chuck D in high regards and he is very smart in his political commentary but in this point of my life I agree with only about 40% of what he has to say, politically. These days I listen to the words of Jay Z’s D’evils
as I check my portfolio and plot on making money on the Internet. That is the 2009 DJ Big Daddy and hopefully Chuck has taught me enough where if I do start to gain enough capital that I don’t forget the people that might still need help that are still in the struggle. “Each one, Teach one”.

P.S. – Oh Yeah Flavor of Love had a lot to do with killing that Public Enemy as well. Thanks Flav.