Chuck D

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Chuck D
Chuck D and Flavor Flav performing at the Bilbao Urban Musikaldia, Vista Alegre bullring on October 8, 2006
Chuck D and Flavor Flav performing at the Bilbao Urban Musikaldia, Vista Alegre bullring on October 8, 2006
Background information
Birth name Carlton Douglas Ridenhour
Also known as Mista Chuck
Born August 1, 1960
Origin Roosevelt, New York, New York
Genre(s) Hip hop
Occupation(s) Publisher, lecturer, record producer, rapper
Instrument(s) Rapping
Years active 1985-present
Associated
acts		 Public Enemy, Fine Arts Militia
Website rapstation.com

Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), better known by his stage name "Chuck D," is an American rapper, composer, actor, author, radio personality and producer. Chuck was born in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York, USA. He helped further 1980s political rap music as the controversial and influential lead rapper of Public Enemy.

Contents

[edit] Public Enemy

After graduating from Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School, Chuck went to Adelphi University in Long Island. After hearing the demo track "Public Enemy Number One", fledgling producer/mogul Rick Rubin insisted on signing Ridenhour to his Def Jam label.[1] However, Ridenhour viewed the music business as a step down from the design job he had at the time. Although Rubin would continue calling to the point where he would have his then-girlfriend answer the phone as not to have to deal with him. Eventually, he relented, insisting to Rubin that he also sign his friend William "Flavor Flav" Drayton, explaining to Rubin, "I don't know what he does, but he adds something."

As the lyricist and main vocalist of Public Enemy, he was the focal point of two seminal and controversial rap albums: Fear Of A Black Planet and It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back.

Ridenhour also contributed (as Chuck D) to several episodes of the PBS documentary series The Blues.

In 1990, he appeared in Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing", a song for their album, Goo.

In 1996, he released Autobiography Of Mistachuck on Mercury Records.

In November 1998, he settled out of court with Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G" Wallace's estate over the latter's sampling of Chuck D's voice in the song "Ten Crack Commandments". The specific sampling is Chuck D counting of the numbers 1 to 9 from the track "Shut Em Down".

In September 1999, he launched a multi-format "supersite" on the web, Rapstation.com. A home for the vast global hip hop community, the site boasts a TV and radio station with original programming, many of hip hop's most prominent DJs, celebrity interviews, free MP3 downloads (the first was contributed by multi-platinum rapper Coolio), downloadable ringtones by ToneThis, social commentary, current events, and regular features dedicated to empowering rap artists with the knowledge to turn their craft into a viable living.

Since 2000, he has been one of the most vocal supporters of Internet music file sharing in the music industry.

Chuck has been increasingly involved politically. He co-hosted Unfiltered on Air America Radio, he has testified before Congress about peer-to-peer MP3 sharing, and was involved in a 2004 rap political convention.

He continues to be an activist, publisher, lecturer, and producer. He is the co-writer of the essay book Fight the Power: Rap, Race, and Reality, along with Yusuf Jah (ISBN 0-385-31868-5). Chuck D also founded the record company Slam Jamz.

He also acted as narrator in the short film "Bling: Consequences and Repercussions", shot by Kareem Adouard, which explains how diamonds in bling fashion can be conflict diamonds, fueling wars and killings in Africa.

[edit] "Bin Laden"

On June 5, 2005, Chuck D returned to Air America Radio with a new show, On The Real. Later that year, he participated in the remix of "Bin Laden", a controversial song that blamed the Reagan Doctrine's funding of the mujahideen in Afghanistan and U.S. President George W. Bush for the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In anger at the New Orleans Hurricane Katrina disaster, Public Enemy came back with the song "Hell No We Ain't All Right!" and a new album New Whirl Odor. In 2005, he also released a remix of "Bin Laden" with Immortal Technique and DJ Green Lantern.

He also narrated the recently released documentary Quilombo Country.

[edit] Trivia

  • Narrated and appeared on-camera for the 2005 PBS documentary Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World.
  • Appeared on-camera for the PBS program Independent Lens: Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
  • Chuck D's 18 Reasons Why Tupac Is Alive, This theory was made by Chuck D after a while of showing his sympathy for Tupac's passing then finding weird occurrences.[2][3][4][5]

[edit] TV appearances

[edit] Discography

With Spectrum City

  • Lies (1984)
  • Check Out The Radio (1984)

With Public Enemy

As Chuck D

With Fine Arts Militia

  • Fine Arts Militia (2003)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Hip-hop, you don't stop". The Observer Music Monthly, 18 June 2006.
  2. ^ Chuck D's 18 Reasons Why Tupac Is Alive.
  3. ^ article Chuck D.
  4. ^ Rebel With a Hip-Hop Cause.
  5. ^ http://www.daveyd.com/chuckpac18.html.

[edit] External links


Air America Radio (List of affiliates)
Hosts (past & present): David Bender • Angie Coiro • Chuck D • Steve Earle • Jon Elliott • Laura Flanders • Al Franken • Gia'na Garel • Janeane Garofalo • Thom Hartmann • Kyle Jason • Marty Kaplan • Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. • Katherine Lanpher • Rachel Maddow • Ben Mankiewicz • Marc Maron • Mike Malloy • Mike Papantonio • Jill Pike • Randi Rhodes • Betsy Rosenberg • Mark Riley • Sam Seder • Jerry Springer • Cenk Uygur• Peter Werbe 

Programs (past & present): Air America Mornings • The Al Franken Show • EcoTalk • The Marc Maron Show • The Majority Report • The Mike Malloy Show • On The Real • The Rachel Maddow Show • Radio Nation • The Randi Rhodes Show • The Revolution Starts Now • The Mark Riley Show •Ring of Fire • Springer on the Radio • State of Belief  • The Young Turks

Related articles: Sheldon Drobny • Talk radio • Progressive Talk • Evan Montvel Cohen • Danny Goldberg • Air America-Gloria Wise loan controversy
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