Chuck D Pleads With Fans Not to Use Public Enemy's 'Burn Baby Burn' on Social Media Posts of LA Fires

Chuck D
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Public Enemy member Chuck D is asking his fans to not take one of their songs out of context when it comes to the deadly Los Angeles fires.

The rapper took to his Instagram account on Jan. 9 to slam those that have used the Public Enemy song "Burn Baby Burn" when discussing the devastating fires.

"'Burn Hollywood Burn' is a protest song extracted from the Watts rebellion monikered by the magnificent Montague in 1965 against inequality when he said 'burn baby burn' across the air. We made mind-revolution songs aimed at a one-sided exploitation by an industry," his post said.

"Has nothing to do with families losing everything they have in a natural disaster. Learn the history. Godspeed to those in loss," he concluded.

Across social media, people have been referencing the song in social media posts that share how they feel about the ongoing blazes.

According to CBS, 10 people have died in the ongoing blazes and more than 10,000 buildings and other structures have been destroyed. The largest of the fires is the Palisades Fire and it has gone on to cover more than 31 miles. The smallest of the fires is the Hurst and Lidia fires and those have scorched 771 acres and 394 acres respectively.

Chuck D's words come as several celebrities have either completely lost their homes or have been forced to evacuate. This includes Travis Barker's children, Alabama Barker and Landon Barker. They shared that they would be evacuating the area in separate posts to social media.

"Just evacuated from my home due to wild fires in Los Angeles, please be safe!! They are saying the fires are spreading football field amounts in seconds," Alabama said while her brother expressed prayers for others.

"Just evacuated praying for everyone the fires have [affected]," he posted.

Britney Spears was one of the more recent celebrity evacuations and she shared the news of her fleeing in a post to her Instagram account.

"I hope you are all doing OK !!! I had to evacuate my home and I'm driving 4 hours to a hotel !!! I'm posting these adorable shoes to lift people's spirits !!!" she said.

Tags
Chuck D, Public Enemy
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