122 Quotes by Chuck D

What we need is awareness, we can't get careless.You say, What is this?My beloved, let's get down to business.Mental self defensive fitness.Yo, bum rush the show.You gotta fight for what you knowto make everybody see,in order to fight the powers that be.FIGHT THE POWER- Lyrics, Public Enemy

Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps

The United States is like one big jail for Black people, because we're locked into a mentality and a mindset that limits our potential. It has us against us.

Assimilation and melting into the American pot has always been easier [for white people]. It's very hard for blackfolk to melt into the pot. When we melt into the pot we usually become charred crust at the bottom. We have to be able to persevere by different tactics and methods.

Slavery was incredibly prosperous for some people, at that time. It was not a bad business plan, but it was terrible and inhumane. But as a business it worked.

The Internet was a saving grace for promoting and exposing, and even creating. It’s a parallel world to the music industry that already exists, and I’m glad to be a part of it.

If I can’t change the people around me, I change the people around me.

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

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.