Hip-Hop Legend Chuck D Speaks to CCBC Essex Students

Founding member of  hip-hop supergroup Public Enemy Chuck D had a simple message for CCBC Essex students gathered to hear him speak on Wednesday.

“Don't f&*# around,”said the hip-hop trailblazer, who spoke on "Race, Rap and Reality" as one of a series of guest speakers spotlighting Black History Month at the college. “You have to treat your college education as a business. You can't mix the street and college. You have to get it in, put in the work and get everything you can out of this experience.”

Chuck D recounted his early college experiences at Adelphi University in Long Island, NY. In his first semester he cut classes, failed to turn in assignments, received incompletes in all his classes and was untimely suspended. He spoke about the dean who gave him a second chance.

“He told me that I would have to get permission from my professors to sit in on their classes and complete them,” Chuck D said. “It took me a year and a half to make up for that one semester.”

He went on to compare the cost of a college education in today's day and age to a cost of a blue Lamborghini, in excess of $200,000.

“If you got a hoopty GPA and you are spending Lambo money on your education, you got a problem,” he said. “After you graduate, you are going to be begging for a job at Best Buy. That's going to be your job in the music business.”

Chuck D talked about the death of the big studios and the emergence of software such as iTunes that allows virtually anyone to record, mix and distribute their own music. Long an innovator on the technology side of music, Chuck D launched rapstation.com in 1999, allowing MCs and DJs to upload their sets for anyone to see and hear.

“Now you can literally cut a record in your bedroom and sell it on iTunes," he said. "You can cut Puffy, Russell and Suge out of the equation. Be your own label.”

Chuck D also spoke about Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav.

“Everybody in here has an uncle just like him,” Chuck D said. “Some of you have two of them. He crazy, but you love him though. He can sleep in the basement near the furnace.”

Then, Chuck D talked about the plight of the uninsured D.J. Kool Herc, considered by many as the Father of Hip-Hop. He spoke on the injustice of the music industry and the lack of medical insurance in most musicians' contracts.

“Hip-hop is a billion-dollar industry,” he said. “It doesn't make sense why one of the founding fathers doesn't have health insurance. How big can an industry be when you can have one of the founders destitute?”

Essex student Mike Smith took what Chuck D had to say to heart.

“It was an inspiring speech that made me think about college in a different way,” Smith said.

CCBC's Black History month speaker series continues throughout February.

President’s Distinguished African-American Lecture Series
11 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 17
CCBC Essex, B Building, Theatre
CCBC President Sandra Kurtinitis welcomes award-winning filmmaker and anti-sexist activist as the guest lecturer. Hurt will discuss “Using Media to Effect Positive Change in the World.” The event is free but tickets are required from the Box Office. Call 443-840-ARTS for tickets.

Tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen
5 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 17
CCBC Catonsville, Q Building, Lounge
Join the school for a movie presentation and hear from some of the Tuskegee Airmen as well. This event is sponsored by the Aviation Management program, the History Club and the Black Student Union.

The Writings on the Wall
11 a.m.–2 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 24
CCBC Essex, B Building, 2nd Floor Lobby
Join the school for a visual arts exhibit featuring the works of artist Aniekan Udofia, whose works include images of hip-hop icons such as Tupac Shakur, Lauryn Hill and the Notorious B.I.G. Udofia will be on hand to discuss his work.

Open Mic Night
5–7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 25
CCBC Dundalk, K Building, Student Lounge
Share your talent for poetry and rhyme at this event hosted by the Multicultural Affairs Office and Student Life.