RE: (313) UR/PE

[James Hurlbut]

I think Public Enemy were strongly influenced by Malcolm X and the Nation 
of Islam's program of Black Nationalism which was essentially about the 
self-determination of black people to control the resources of their 
communities, and also by the Black Power movement which was perhaps best 
exemplified by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton's Ten Point Program for the 
Black Panther Party. I think UR picked up on their militant vibe and fused 
it with Mad Mike's own US military background to create a strange influence 
of both revolutionary resistance and imperial conquest (an example of the 
latter being the record where they each assumed the role of a military 
superpower). Of course for UR it is mostly a marketing approach whereas 
Chuck D is an accomplished lecturer and activist of sorts.


>Well certainly revolutionary as it calls for reform...had the
>check the dictionary for the meaning of iconoclastic..
>"One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular
>ideas or institutions" So yes.

Yeah agreed, s'what I meant.

>But I would still say afrocentric point of view as PE's message is
>mostly the view of the world thru african american eyes...yep here.

Again agreed.

>I don't know how 'afrocentric' (again in quotes) UR's music is but
>it I would say it is iconoclastic.

Agreed again. I don't know the extent we could say 'Afrocentric' either. I
can't speak for UR, but I would guess that to the extent that forms of
'Afrocentrism' (sic?) and in fact any self-deterministic, guiding
principles, help achieve revolutionary aims, that would be part of the UR
ethos. But hey, who am I to say.

k