UB Spotlight: ‘Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed The World’

“Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed The World” is a four-part docuseries will premiere on January 31st, 2023 on PBS. Developed by Chuck D and his producing partner Lorrie Boula, this series tells the story of hip hop as a political tool for speaking truth to power.

Featuring firsthand accounts from some of rap’s most integral players, “Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed The World” recounts the origins of this bold and revolutionary art form through the voices of those who were there at the beginning, creating an anthology of how hip hop became a cultural phenomenon against the backdrop of American history. Weaving together interconnected moments via intimate interviews and archival footage, the docuseries will explore how hip hop quickly created a provocative narrative of America.

“The hip hop community has, from the start, been doing what the rest of media is only now catching up to,” stated Chuck D. “Long before any conglomerate realized it was time to wake up, hip hop had been speaking out and telling truths. Working with PBS and BBC is an opportunity to deliver these messages through new ways and help explain hip hop’s place in history and hopefully inspire us all to take it further.”

“We brought the project to PBS and BBC Music because they are unparalleled at creating great documentaries. Chuck D and I look forward to working with them to take this account of such an important movement to the world,” said Lorrie Boula. “People are finally open to hearing and learning about the history of all Americans, and we want to deliver authentic, compelling and truthful stories to them.”

The series features insightful interviews with hip hop luminaries including, Chuck D, Grandmaster Caz, Ice-T, Abiodun Oyewole (The Last Poets), Roxanne Shante, Run DMC, John Forté, will.i.am, MC Lyte, B-Real (Cypress Hill), Melle Mel, Fat Joe, Lupe Fiasco and more.

Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chuck D was at the vanguard of how this art form became a platform for political expression and a vessel toward social justice. As co-founder of Public Enemy, his music dispatched lessons in Black history and consciousness while striving to dismantle racial constructs. “Fight the Power,” Public Enemy’s groundbreaking single released in 1989, became an anthem that called for unity against oppression and continues to resonate to this day.

It is often called the most important hip hop song of all time, is in the Library of Congress and was named the #2 Greatest Song of All Time in 2021 by Rolling Stone.