Fight the Power (Public Enemy song)
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| "Fight the Power" | |
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- For The Isley Brothers song, see Fight the Power Pts. 1 & 2
"Fight the Power" was a 1989 song by the hip-hop group Public Enemy. Rosie Perez dances to the song during the opening credits to the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing, and it is heard at numerous points throughout the movie as the character Radio Raheem plays it nonstop through Brooklyn, New York on his boombox. First released on the Do the Right Thing soundtrack, an extended version was released in 1990 on Public Enemy's album Fear of a Black Planet. The song has largely served as the political statement of purpose for the group, and is the group's biggest single.
The opening quotation, "Yet our best trained, best educated, best equipped, best prepared troops refuse to fight! Matter of fact, it's safe to say that they would rather switch than fight!" is a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Another version is featured in the Chuck D Presents: Louder than a Bomb compilation, featuring a saxophone solo by Branford Marsalis.
Music videos
Spike Lee produced and directed two music videos for this song. The first featured clips of various scenes from Do the Right Thing. In the second video, Lee used hundreds of extras to simulate a massive political rally in Brooklyn. Tawana Brawley made a cameo appearance. Brawley gained national notoriety in 1987 when, at the age of 15, she accused several police officers and public officials from Wappingers Falls, New York of raping her.
Honors
It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, #322 on The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, #40 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs, and #288 on Songs of the Century.
"Fight the Power" was voted "Best Single" by the "Pazz & Jop" critics poll of 1989.
Covers
"Fight the Power" was covered, tongue-in-cheek, by Barenaked Ladies for the soundtrack for the 1993 movie Coneheads. It was also covered by Korn with Xzibit on the XXX: State of the Union soundtrack.
In film and television
"Fight the Power" can also be heard in the background as Marines celebrate the end of the Gulf War in the movie Jarhead, not long after the lead character complains about music from a passing helicopter being Vietnam era Doors music... "can't we get our own music?"
"Fight the Power" was featured in Sacha Baron Cohen character Ali G's feature length film Ali G Indahouse.
Controversy
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A verse of "Fight the Power" accuses Elvis Presley and John Wayne of being racists. The remarks about Elvis aroused some controversy in the white communities. Many black commentators used the controversy to bring up the racial issues raised by Elvis's career as a white superstar, who copied black musical styles.
The lyric goes "Elvis was a hero to most but he never ment shit to me" (then flava flav comes in and says) 'Yea fuck him and john wayne or aternatly president bush.
References
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External links
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