Public Enemy unleashes on President Trump in “State of the Union [Expletive],” the acclaimed hip-hop act’s newest single out Friday.
The “Fight the Power” group slams Mr. Trump throughout the song, which was released online Friday along with an accompanying music video.
Roughly three-minutes-long, the tune includes lyrical takedowns directed at Mr. Trump presented by each of the long-running group’s co-founding members: Chuck D and Flavor Flav.
Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, whose real name is Carlton Ridenhour, calls Mr. Trump a “dictator” in the first verse, then asks listeners to “vote this joke out or die trying.”
“End this clown show,” Mr. Ridenhour, 59, raps later in the song.
Flavor Flav, the Public Enemy rapper born William Drayton Jr., uses relatively cruder, largely unprintable language during the song’s chorus.
Although neither rapper mentions Mr. Trump in the song by name, they made clear they are ripping on the president over his handling of racial tensions.
The video features brief clips of Mr. Trump, as well as footage showing last month’s racially charged killing of George Floyd and the nationwide unrest it sparked.
Mr. Drayton, 61, says expletives in the song’s chorus while, in the music video, clips are played of the president and Floyd’s killing, as well as other recent instances of police brutality and related protests.
“An unflinching statement about the destruction the current administration has unleashed on the country and its people, ’State of the Union [Expletive]’ speaks truth to power while urging people to fight against racism, injustice and oppression with their vote,” Public Enemy said in a press release touting the new track.
“Our collective voices keep getting louder,” Mr. Ridenhour said in a statement. “The rest of the planet is on our side. But it’s not enough to talk about change. You have to show up and demand change. Folks gotta vote like their lives depend on it, ’cause it does,”
Floyd, a black man, died May 25 while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department in Minnesota. The music video, directed by David C. Snyder, includes footage from that encounter and others, as the widespread demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism erupted across the country following Floyd’s death.
Mr. Ridenhour and Mr. Drayton formed Public Enemy in 1985. The group has since become among a handful of rap acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as a winner of the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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