Public Enemy has never been the kind of group to shy away from social controversy, and after 25 years of bringing the noise, the Long Island crew isn’t planing on keep quiet now. This Sunday January 15, PE will be in full effect hosting a special concert in Los Angele’s Skid Row to benefit the area’s impoverished residents.
According to Billboard, Public Enemy will be hosting and performing at their Operation: Skid Row street festival. The concert, which will also feature performances from the X-Clan and the Freestyle Fellowship, will benefit Los Angeles Community Action Network, an organization that aids the area’s homeless and provides low-income families with housing.
Chuck D spoke about why he felt compelled to bring the issue of Skid Row to the forefront of Hip Hop’s attention. He explained that most Los Angeles residents and public officials turn a blind eye to the plight of Skid Row’s residents, and it’s time that Hip Hop did something to help.
“Skid Row has been called ‘the dirty secret of L.A.’ for, like, forever,” he explained. “And so, I’m gonna be loud about it…[Outsiders] look at rap music and artists in Hip Hop as being as elitist as the power structures that keep them down. You’ve got organizations in your city that are trying to say and do the right thing – who are practically invisible – fighting for some media time. What other place do I have? My place in Hip Hop is not to be a tycoon, making trillions with a yacht. That’s not my place. My place is maybe bringing people together and me being able to identify and illuminate a cause, and we’ll make it comfortable for them to be themselves but say what they’ve really been wanting to say all along, you know, with my protection.”
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This isn’t the only big news that PE has in store for fans. The controversial group also announced that they’ll be dropping two new LPs this year with long-time collaborator Gary G-Wiz, June’s Most of My Heroes Still Don’t Appear on No Stamp and September’s The Evil Empire of Everything. DX will keep you updated as more info about the albums come to light.
RELATED: Chuck D Promises New Public Enemy Album By Next Year
