Chuck D of Public Enemy on LeBron, Ali, ... and Pilates?

Edge of Sports

Dave Zirin / The Nation

News, Sports News, Sports, History, Politics

4.8 • 616 Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2015

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The all-new Edge of Sports podcast is here, and our host Dave Zirin calls on the Hard Rhymer himself, the legendary Chuck D of Public Enemy, to bless the first show. As it turns out, this activist lion of hip-hop actually had boyhood dreams of becoming a sportscaster. Chuck tells the story of Public Enemy’s national breakthrough on Soul Train, revels in the greatness of Ali, praises LeBron James as a modern-day thought leader, and then…Chuck D bigs up his pilates instructor. Also in the studio is Christian Dotson-Pierson, a PhD candidate at Howard University. Her focus is media advocacy of concussion awareness, handy expertise for a reading of Dave’s latest column in The Nation magazine, entitled: “Why Does Anybody Play Football Anymore?” Finally, the ‘Just Stand Up’ award goes to Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha for defending himself in court against the NYPD, and winning. Tweet Dave at http://twitter.com/edgeofsports, our in-studio guest Christian Dotson-Pierson at http://twitter.com/profcdp and let producer Dan Bloom know what you liked - and what you didn’t at http://twitter.com/danbloomsports. You can also write us at [email protected] Music credits: Public Enemy on Soul Train, Public Enemy - Rebel Without a Pause, Public Enemy - Harder Than You Think (instrumental), Public Enemy - He Got Game ft. Stephen Stills, Public Enemy - Fight The Power, Alexander Lewis & Brasstracks - Distant Memories (courtesy, Trapdoor Records) http://soundcloud.com/alexanderjlewis http://soundcloud.com/brasstracks http://soundcloud.com/trap-door-official Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm from Long Island, New York. Let's welcome a very serious rap combination. It's her latest single on the Def Jam label entitled Rebel Without a Pause. How about a gang for Public Enemy?
0:16.0	Welcome to Edge of Sports, the podcast, where sports and politics collide.
0:21.6	I'm Dave Ziren.
0:22.9	We got a hell of a show for you this week.
0:24.5	We are going to speak to the one, the only Chuck D from Public Enemy.
0:28.8	It is Chuck D like you have never heard him before.
0:31.9	Did you know that Chuck D always wanted to be a sportscaster?
0:35.1	Well, he did.
0:36.1	But frankly, it shouldn't surprise us.
0:38.5	If you remember this line on Charles Barkley,
0:40.9	the round mound of rebound himself on Rebel without a pause.
0:58.7	The one, the only, the legend, Chuck D.
1:03.4	I came to Public Enemy first as a big sports fan.
1:08.7	I don't remember anybody before you integrating sports in that way.
1:20.3	Of course, you had basketball by Curtis Blow, but not like integrating it into political raps, like using Barclay as metaphor. Do you see public enemies the first people to do that?
1:33.7	Well, I wanted to be a sportscaster, and I was obsessed with being that guy that was either going to be Omar Valbert or Brian Gumble before today or somebody, somebody, you know.
1:36.0	It wasn't unnatural to me at all.
1:43.9	So to actually make a sports reference, keep it hip-hop, make it sound fly, and then make it political. I mean, that comes from, you know,
1:46.3	John Carlos, Tommy Smith, the 68 boycott of the Olympics, Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell saying,
1:54.3	no, I'm, you know, I'm still live here in Boston, hang on like it, you know, Jackie Robinson,
1:59.7	who further, as we get far away from 1946,
2:04.7	and the reason I say 1946, because Jackie Robinson breaking through in another country
	...

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