Thug Life Army

Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, better known by his hip hop stage name Chuck D, is an American rap artist, composer, actor, author, radio personality and producer. He is known as the Legendary frontman of the hip-hop group Public Enemy, as well as for his solo work and political commentary.

The following is an excerpt from Chuck D’s Terrordome – an article section that the legendary hip hop figure updates when time allows. Follow the link at the bottom of the page to read the full article by Chuck D as he gives his views on hip hop, politics and much more.

“XXL LOSIN MY WAY? Is it me? But I''m wondering sometimes the overall direction of XXL. It's one of the best looking magazines ever in hip hop, but at times I wonder if I can even relate to what it is. I know that its region oriented, but with magazines out in the world like FELONS Jim trying to figure out if there's a nation of college grad journalists who sit in a room and exploit the promoted tastes of gun, jail, and drug culture. I also wonder who buys it? Is it a USA white kids peek into the ghetto? While I dealt with mush of those very same topics as an early artists, I always understood the line of exploitation and tried to tell cats not to f#ck with it. In fact when I was talking jail as in BLACK STEEL, I was talking being jailed for being anti-war, government hypocrisy. Never making light of the prison industrial complex i.e. new slavery. Gun culture was dealt from a militant vs military perspective, and drugs we said no. Although we understood how much of our people were entrapped like gristle. In fact who can explain how black male total USA jail population has gone from 100,000 in 1970 to 1.5 million presently. Either I lost my way, or XXL has taking serious things a bit lightly for their power. If they are claiming to solely reflecting the rapmosphere then they will soon be telling tales from the inevitable crypt the next four years. It's one of the reasons to cast a leery eye on Murderdog Magazine. Simple questions like who publishes this, and who do they look to sell to?”

“NAT GEO MV BILL In Washington DC, National Geographic television has invested much thought, structuring- and yes finance- into the world culture of hip hop. Infusing the documentary discovery goals and principals of the long storied magazine into TV and popular mainstream portals is the look. My friend from BRAZIL The Godfather of Brazilian Rap Music; MV BILL performed and spoke to the people the importance of Hip Hop in making change in the world. He never runs away from the reality or the truth that surrounds his existence. Crime and drugs in the favellas , namely the City Of God where he resides, MV BILL has provided the building of many youth centers with computers, and modern tech tools and books to give young people a great visible alternative. National Geographic has ushered in a cultural program to showcase this expose and others.Our program will feature two new National Geographic Emerging Explorers,Josh Thome and Sol Guy ( Sol manages K''naan ) and MV Bill. Josh and Sol produce a television series called ''4REAL'' and it is a series of half-hour shows hosted by Sol that takes celebrity guests on adventures around the world to connect with young leaders who under extreme circumstances are affecting real change on some of the most pressing issues of our time. It was a fantastic live event featuried short clips from the shows and highlighting the one that features MV Bill and Mos Def .The discussion about the series, their work and the power that music and hip hop has to transcend borders and inspire positive change, was a wonderful highlight for all . MV BILL is one of a kind indeed.”

“REMY MA A tragic example that is staying under the radar but sad as hell is the REMY MA jailing case. After allegedly shooting her friend and a person working for her with a 45. This was again taken lightly as REMY MA got on New York radio and made a mockery of the incident. Then the judge landed a 8 year sentence on her saying that she was ''an angry woman who doesn''t take responsibility for her actions.'' The end result was REMY crying and screaming in court these words that should be promoted in thug infamy; '' I''m not a menace to society- " , the rapper cried, " I''m not a thug" she added " I''m pleading with you to give me a second chance, I apologize, I apologize..." she whined, begging for mercy for the sake of "my little boy" . Now what Jim saying here is the chance that this tragedy will not be on the top of the journalistic pile. Instead we expect to get splashed with more of the promoted cause, while the effect will get the hidden and tucked back pages of hip hop mags, media”

“HOW LONG IS A GENERATION? With slimmer connection between human beings in their communications, It's my opinion remains that it's beneficial for the powers that be to separate and categorize people by this so called term of demographic and constituency. My belief remains that culture brings the human race together for our similarities and knocks the differences aside. Governments are opposed to this. Governments use of technology further distances the people from each other. The fact that now it appears that there's a generation gap between 25 year olds and 30 year olds is troubling. I see people of color being programmed by these powers into volunteered slavery , and it's also sweeping in those on the outside in.”

“Barack Obama is appealing to the nation 50 and under clearly , and Hillary Clinton can''t seem to do that as well. The term ''hating'' is within a context . What happens if MCCAIN chooses Condoleeza Rice as VP? You know she's a made woman. She will have to comply, and it really ain''t up to her The Republicans are the Bill Belichicks of politics, they got for the last minute no huddle strategy. And contrary to how I''ve been misinterpreted, this won''t be to split the so called black vote but to fragment the shaky, unsure vote of the white amerikkkan status quo. Racial excuses will not be in order then, although you cannot remove the word ''race'' from the presidential race. Regardless what these smaller separated generations feel is a change of this pick one or the other, voting choice selection process.”

“CLEVELAND Was in Ohio for a special event talking about bringing the curriculum up in Ohio schools, especially since only 55% of black males graduate. Tragic figure in the Midwest, although 45% in Chicago and 35% in Detroit are the education rates for graduate black males.”

This is just an excerpt from Chuck D’s Terrordome. To read the full post by the Legendary Hip Hop Frontman Chuck D please visit - http://www.publicenemy.com/index.php?page=page3