Public Enemy's Chuck D Says He Wants To 'Change The Face Of Urban Radio' Following Summer Jam 'Fiasco'

Chuck D is still upset over Hot 97's Summer Jam and urban radio as a whole. The Public Enemy front man wants to see some changes or he's taking matters into his own hands.

According to Billboard, Chuck has been exchanging words with the Hot 97 team since the station's Summer Jam concert on June 1. Chuck initiated the war of words when he ridiculed "what a sloppy fiasco (the station) has made of Hip-Hop."

He says his dismay over the concert comes from the prolific use of the N-word and a line-up Chuck felt did not adequately represent the New York hip-hop community.

"My goal by year's end is to change the face and sound of urban radio," Chuck said. "I've been in this s**t 30 years, too long to just sit and let it be. I'm not going to be the grim reaper. I don't want to be the grim reaper. But people have to stand up and we need some change, and it's time."

The controversial rapper says he was particularly taken aback by the fact that the use of the N-word was so readily tolerated by the station and festival organizers.

"That s**t is over," he noted. "If there was a festival and it was filled with anti-Semitic slurs... or racial slurs at anyone but black people, what do you think would happen? Why does there have to be such a double standard?"

Chuck also noted that the lineup didn't include enough local artists.

"It's just a sloppy presentation of the art form, the worst presentation known to man," he explained. "It's negligent. There needs to be a greater representation of the culture and the community on that radio station...I just want to see artists be able to have fair game."

Tags

Chuck D, Public Enemy, Summer Jam, Hot 97