April 20, 2004
'An evening with Chuck D' set for Saturday, April 24
ARBONDALE, Ill. -- Chuck D, hip-hop artist, author and mastermind behind the rap group Public Enemy, comes to Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Saturday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m. at Shryock Auditorium.
His lecture, "Rap, Race, Reality and Technology: An evening with Chuck D," is free and open to the public. The Student Programming Council, which is sponsoring his visit, cautions that the event may not be suitable for all audiences. Those attending may not photograph or record his appearance.
Chuck D's latest project finds him on air at the new, liberal radio network, Air America Radio. His show, "Unfiltered," which first aired this month in five markets, teams the rapper with comedian Lizz Winstead and radio veteran Rachel Maddow in a three-hour format that promises to examine the state of U.S. politics and culture.
"I was weaned as a young adult on black talk radio. It should never have disappeared from the landscape. So when Air America talked to me, I thought this could be the spark for more talk about the black situation," he said in an interview at the New York studios of Air America.
Chuck D redefined rap music and hip hop culture with the release of Public Enemy's debut album, Yo Bum Rush The Show, in 1987. His messages addressed weighty issues about race, rap, rage, reality and inequality. His many accomplishments include The New York Times naming Public Enemy's music to its list of the "25 Most Significant Albums of the Last Century" in 1999, and winning the 2003 Rock The Nation Award at the 10th Annual Rock The Vote Patrick Lippert Awards. The latter award honors recording artists who help create political and social change.
For more information, contact Abdul King, director of SPC Lectures, at 618/536-3393 or http://www.lectures@spc4fun.com.