"Fight The Power" by Public Enemy

Birthday wishes go out today to Chuck D, influential rapper and founding member of pioneering hip-hop band Public Enemy, who once upon a time ensured that rap was a revolutionary form, concerning itself with social justice and cultural enfranchisement rather than dissing women and other minorities while engaging in the greedy pursuit of gratuitous bling. Good times...

Fight the Power is the signal anthem of the American black inner-city; it first appeared in 1989, on the soundtrack to Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing, and was later re-released in 1990 on the band's third album Fear of a Black Planet. Lee also directed two videos for the song, one a typical cross-promotional effort featuring scenes from the film and this one, which simulated a political rally and features a cameo by Tawana Brawley, whose perjury threatened to set the entire black community back almost as much as Reverend Al Sharpton's spirited defense of her.

Chuck D's mad skillz here are complemented by the manic energy of Flavor Flav and phat beatz pounded out by The Bomb Squad, who produced the track.
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