Chuck D: ‘We are in the war of art, not the art of war’

American rapper Chuck D Photo: Krijn van Noordwijk In the late ’80s, legendary hip-hop group Public Enemy blasted onto the world stage with fierce anthems like ‘Fight the Power’. Ahead of their Auckland show this October, founding member Chuck D chats to Music 101 about illustration, the future of hip-hop and the power of pilates. This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions. With support from local rapper MELODOWNZ, Public Enemy bring their On The Grid 35th Anniversary Tour to Auckland’s Trust Arena on 15 October. Chuck D credits pilates workouts – which he’s done for about 12 years – for his ability to still belt out rap songs at 63. “Public Enemy songs are like training for a decathlon – they’re high pitched, they’re punkish. We have a mantra that either you do the songs or the songs do you, so you have to be in top shape to go about it.” A lot of men don’t understand how stretching out the core helps build strength, he says. “They think they gotta beat their bodies up. And, you know, go to fitness gyms and stuff like that but after 50, you have to take a new approach and...