Chuck D Talks By the Time I Get to Arizona Art Project
by Rashad Phillips
posted March 14, 2011
www. hiphopdx.com
Political
activist and Public Enemy emcee, Chuck D, draws parallels between the group "s
1991 hit and Arizona "s immigration policy with a new art project.
In 1991, Public Enemy released “By the Time I Get to Arizona,”
an outspoken critique of Arizona Senator John McCain and the state’s decision
to no longer honor the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. The clip featured an
attack on a public figure opposed to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and
was subsequently banned by several media outlets. Nearly 20 years later, Arizona
is making headlines for Senate Bill 1070, which was aimed at identifying, prosecuting
and deporting illegal aliens. The state is also dealing with a violent shooting
attack of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and several innocent bystanders.
Chuck recently collaborated with Ravi Dosaj—the artist responsible for
RZA’s re-imagining of George Washington crossing the Delaware—on
a limited run of commemorative art.
“My song was nominally about finger pointing in Arizona and the hypocrisies
there, but it was as much about Reagan telling Gorbachev to ‘tear down
that wall,’” Chuck explained to Jeff Weiss in the Los Angeles Times’
Pop & Hiss blog. “Really, what’s the difference between anti-immigration
and anti-communism?”
Chuck says he became familiar with Dosaj’s work via the RZA piece. The
Public Enemy front man also pointed to a long history of Arizona residents embracing
a sort of manifest destiny mentality in regards to their territory. While Chuck
was quick to point out all Arizona residents didn’t share that view, he
did encourage more sharing of each other’s cultures.
The full Pop & Hiss interview is available at the Times’ official
site. More information on the By the Time I Get to Arizona artwork, including
an opportunity to pre-order the piece, is available at theartofchuckd.com