VH1: Fight the Power is Rap's Best
Channel Ranks Public Enemy's Seminal Black Power Anthem No. 1
Sep 24, 2008
"Fight the Power" earned the list's top slot, according to The Associated Press. VH1 will reveal the entire ranking in a series of programs starting Monday.
Odds are few will argue with this selection. Pundits and fans alike have long considered the song, also known as the theme from Spike Lee's 1989 "Do the Right Thing," to be a classic. It's as energetic as any rap recording, and is universally recognized as the cornerstone of the genre's late '80s-early '90s Afrocentric movement.
VH1 Reveals Top Five Greatest Hip-Hop Songs
Perhaps in an effort to ensure greater viewership, VH1 also told the AP the rest of its top five.
The station ranked Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" No. 5 and Run-DMC's Rock and Roll-tinged "Walk This Way" No. 4. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's 1992 single "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" garnered No. 3 positioning, and the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" finished at No. 2.
VH1 said the Notorious B.I.G., 2pac, Black Sheep, J.J. Fad, Eminem, Jay-Z and Biz Markie would also be included in the list.
Party starters like EPMD's "You Gots to Chill" and Eric B. and Rakim's "Eric B. for President" were notably absent from VH1's top five. Publications like "The Source" typically recognize these songs as the cream of the crop.
Determining the best songs in rap's history remains a favorite pastime for many fans across the globe. The cafeteria, locker room and barbershop are a just few of the settings where the heated debates normally take place.
Much like VH1 has done, listeners use a song's lyrics, beat and impact as the key criteria for deciding which tracks stand out in Hip-Hop's illustrious three-decade history. Taking those characteritics into consideration, it's not surprising "Fight the Power" emerged as champion.
PE's Classic Song
As Crack cocaine and police brutality ravaged African-American communities throughout the nation, Hip-Hop solidified its status as a generation's voice and answer to a political establishment many believed neglected minorities in the decades after the Civil Rights Movement. Public Enemy stood at the forefront of an effort to encourage Blacks to speak out against discrimination and other injustices.
While that mission influenced each and every one of Public Enemy's recordings, "Fight the Power" unequivocally displayed it the best. It pointed out knowledge of self and pride as the absolute keys to letting a muted voice be heard.
The song challenged history books that purposely forgot valuable contributions from Blacks and the notion that the Civil Rights Movement solved America's societal ills.
Like most of PE's revolutionary releases, fans admired "Fight the Power" because Flava Flav's hype performance completely complimented Chuck D.'s social consciousness. The song's final verse is often the most celebrated, as Chuck D. takes the United States Postal Service's stamps to task as an example of the country's tendency to overlook Black heroes.
He does the same to the nation's continual celebration of Elvis Presley as the king of Rock and Roll, despite his known racist comments and behavior. In a shocking and equally powerful move, Chuck D. and Flava Flav verbally admonished John Wayne with a memorable and explicit epithet listeners will remember for a lifetime.
Lee further cemented the song's legend with a classic music video that featured a large crowd marching down Brooklyn streets while shouting the track's three-word refrain. That visual depiction of PE's words let viewers know that the concept was real and tangible.
These factors certainly made VH1 choose "Fight the Power" as Hip-Hop's best example. In some circles, the song has only been considered the best Black Power galvanizer. With the stronghold VH1 and parent company Viacom maintain on the music industry's television programming, Public Enemy will forever carry the well-deserved distinction of composing Hip-Hop's premier recording.
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