Quotes by Chuck D

About Chuck D:

Carlton Douglas Ridenhour is an American emcee, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious hip hop music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy. About.com ranked him at No. 9 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time, while The Source ranked him at No. 12 on their list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Lyricists of All Time.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Music and art and culture is escapism, and escapism sometimes is healthy for people to get away from reality. The problem is when they stay there.

Chuck D

I grew up as a sports fan, and I know that a hall of fame is very different than an award for being the best of the year. It's a nod to the longevity of our accomplishment.

Chuck D

I spread the message of hope and of unity. That's what gets me up in the morning. I can tell you what is wrong, but I can't tell you how to fix it. I'm a raptivist, not a politician. I deal in hope.

Chuck D

When you travel the world, you have to watch and you have to listen. We're not going to come in to Ireland without an understanding that there's a history that's very sensitive.

Chuck D

You have to wait for people to program you. The only difference is the amount of people that you're going to reach but that's going to even out in the next two or three years anyway. Computers are being bought faster than televisions right now.

Chuck D

Government and culture are two diametrically opposed forces - the one blinds and oppresses, the other uplifts and unites.

Chuck D

You should be a person inside the world with knowledge of your terrain. And if you lock yourself into the 2,000-by-3,000-square-mile, lower-48 box of the United States, you're going to be frustrated by its limitations. You gotta think outside the box...

Chuck D

A lot of times black folks look for love in all the wrong places. You're always looking for somebody to love you, be accepted, and there's the insecurities that are even transmitted through rap. Everyone is trying to aim to please too much.

Chuck D

Rappers should just be able to perform what they create and satisfy the people that like and love them.

Chuck D

I came from a mother and father who always made me secure in my beliefs, and that's where the love came from.

Chuck D

I'd rather have a hundred thousand or a million people saying I'm nuts and I'm crazy for my musical choices and what I've said lyrically, than a million people all raising their hand on the first day.

Chuck D

There are too many leaders anointed because they have a public voice - television, radio, or record, or whatever. That even includes myself. In the past, I'd say, 'Don't anoint me when you can anoint yourself.'

Chuck D

Of course voting is useful. But then again, I don't put a big glow to it. Voting is about as essential as washing yourself. It's something you're supposed to do. Now, you can't go around bragging, expecting to get props because you voted. That's stup...

Chuck D

I think governments are the cancer of civilization.

Chuck D

Real people do real things. A collective of a whole bunch of people who do things in their own locale, in their own neighborhoods - the sum is bigger than the parts, and the parts will grow.

Chuck D

I'm a multi-tasker. I was down with that stuff before they invented the term.

Chuck D

The Illuminati is just the evil, 'nameless' people who are behind governments.

Chuck D

Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and when people start getting it confused, that means they need to sit down with some real people.

Chuck D

My mother went to university, my father didn't. But they are very educated, very wise people. My father went to the military, so he's worldly.

Chuck D

I believe that, artistically and culturally, the free radio air should be able to support local artists of whatever genre. Play 40 percent of your local artists; don't suck up to major labels to the point where you neglect your own locale.

Chuck D

Author Bio

  • NameChuck D
  • DescriptionAmerican rapper and producer
  • BornAugust 1, 1960
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionRadio Host; Rapper; Musician