Public Enemy
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Year:
2013
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Inducted by:
Spike Lee & Harry Belafonte
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Category:
Performers
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Chuck D -
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Flavor Flav -
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Professor Griff -
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Terminator X
Introduction
Music with a message.
Whether we’re talking hip hop or politics, Public Enemy was revolutionary. Their blend of politics, philosophy and rap changed the game for the better.
Spike Lee and Harry Belafonte Induct Public Enemy
Spike Lee and Harry Belafonte Induct Public Enemy at the 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony-
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Spike Lee and Harry Belafonte Induct Public Enemy00:07:59 -
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Public Enemy Acceptance Speeches00:05:01 -
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"Fight the Power"00:03:42 -
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"Bring the Noise"00:01:33
Hall of Fame Essay
2013
RUN-DMC had a more revolutionary impact on the way records are made. N.W. A spawned more imitators. The Death Row and Bad Boy juggernauts sold more albums. Jay-Z has topped the charts for many more years. But no act in the history of hip-hop ever felt more important than Public Enemy.
At the top of its game, PE redefined not just what a rap group could accomplish, but also the very role pop musicians could play in contemporary culture. Lyrically, sonically, politically, onstage, on the news - never before had musicians been considered “radical” across so many different platforms.
Radical, revolutionary, change agents.
