Is Hip-Hop the Voice That Can Determine America’s Future?

Chuck D famously rapped “our freedom of speech is freedom or death” on Public Enemy’s 1989 single “Fight the Power,” one of hip-hop’s most powerful anthems. Thirty-five years later, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee is still using his voice to mobilize people into enacting change—and this time, he has some assistance from three of his fellow hip-hop legends.  On “Project 2025,” KRS-One and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s Melle Mel and Scorpio join Chuck D for a politically motivated call-to-action. The song poses arguably the most important question of the year: “Hip-hop, where is your voice?”  With the exception of Lil Baby’s “The Bigger Picture,” written in the wake of the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, YG’s rallying cry “FDT (Fuck Donald Trump),” and Macklemore’s more recent “Hinds Hall” and its sequel, rap’s younger generation seems to have been arguably more silent about important issues impacting the United States. “Project 2025” challenges the status quo at a time when every vote is critical to the outcome of the upcoming presidential election.  “This is a pivotal year that holds the world in balance,” Chuck D tells SPIN. “This song is a plea for peace and for...