Rap group Public Enemy have targeted corrupt politicians and gun violence in their latest single, ‘March Madness’.
Chuck D, DJ Lord and Flavor Flav, better known as Public Enemy, have never been ones to shy away from challenging cultural and sociopolitical realities within their music, and their latest offering is no exception. The single, released on Flavor Flav’s own record label, has been described as “a powerful rebuke against crooked politicians and the ongoing crisis of gun violence.”
The New York based group’s outwardly political lyricism and anti-establishment outlook has been at the focal point of their career since their formation in the mid 80s, with songs like ‘Fight The Power’, a brazenly unapologetic protest against authority within the US, being revered as some of their best work.
On this particular occasion, Public Enemy teamed up with a collective of Harvard University students (Anthony Bell, Ollie Marinaccio, Rhiannon Rae Ellis, and rapper Dee-1) to curate the lyrics for ‘March Madness’, whilst also collaborating with Berkley College alumni Sydney DeLeonardis and Ciaran de Chaud, who are producers on the record.
In typical Public Enemy style, all proceeds from this track will be donated to the Black Music Action Coalition Human Rights Fund and Everytown, a non-profit organisation against gun violence, a fitting statement for such a lyrically pungent song.
Flavor Flav, a founding member of the group, stated, “It’s horrible what’s going on right now around the world and especially here. I hate it. But I got a voice and a platform and we are still fighting the power and for positive change all these years later.”
The band are currently in the midst of a world tour, taking them across the globe and stopping off in London next week for a sold out show at the Royal Albert Hall. Read about it here.
