Direct naar content

Fight the Power: The song that became an anthem of protest

It's 35 years since the release of one of the most provocative songs in music history.

Fight the Power by hip-hop group, Public Enemy, was radical both politically and sonically.

The song was written at the request of filmmaker, Spike Lee, who needed an anthem for his 1989 movie, Do the Right Thing.

The film became a box office smash and - despite controversy surrounding Public Enemy's image - the song soon became an anthem of protest and rebellion all over the world.

Public Enemy frontman, Chuck D, shares his memories of that time with Matt Pintus.

(Photo: Chuck D and Spike Lee pictured in 1989. Credit: Getty Images)

Datum:
Duur:

Meer afleveringen van Witness History

  • Syria's secret library

    A group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and ended in 2024. Braving snipers and bombardment, they rescued thousands of books from...
  • Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial

    In 2008, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, faced a courtroom in the Hague accused of war crimes. His trial would last more than three years at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, and involve witness appearances...
  • The Japanese invasion of Malaya

    On 8 December 1941, Japanese troops landed in northern Malaya marking the start of the second world war in the Pacific. Invasion forces moved quickly down the British colony – which is now called Malaysia - capturing Singapore in just...