Public Enemy's Influence On American Culture

Art has always been a medium to evoke emotion and convey a message to its audience. Music harnesses the power to polarize people, rallying them behind an artist, a genre, or even an important cause. Similarly with rock ‘n’ roll and the Vietnam War, hip-hop became a vessel of social realism of the oppressive conditions going on in urban black communities of American society. One group crucial to the evolution of the genre of hip-hop was Public Enemy which spoke with strong conviction to spread awareness rather than to just spread their marketability. They maintained an imposing and charged style which was received differently across the range of audiences. Public Enemy would never have made such an impact if it was not for their identification with their own roots. …show more content…
Public Enemy was formed in 1982 as a socially conscious hip-hop group. It was initially compromised of Chuck D (Carlton Ridenhour), Flavor Flav (William Drayton), Terminator X (Norman Lee Rogers), and Professor Griff (Richard Griff). These core members first met at Adelphi University through the school’s radio station. They shared common interests for politics, philosophy, and, of course, the musical realm of hip-hop [6]. Each of the members’ upbringing in the suburbs of New York was filled with the influential music by artists such as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Brother D, and James Brown [2]. These pop culture icons provided the social framework for Public Enemy to deliver their assessment of the current issues plaguing the black