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1990 "Public Enemy" hip hop rap music editorial...
1990 "Public Enemy" hip hop rap music editorial...
Item # 719051
January 16, 1990
THE VILLAGE VOICE (weekly), Greenwich Village, New York City, Jan. 16, 1990
* New-school hip hop - rap music pioneers editorial
* Public Enemy - rappers Chuck D and Flavor Flav
Beginning on page 83 is an editorial by Robert Christgau on hip hop pioneers "Pubic Enemy" with heading: "Jesus, Jews, and the Jackass Theory" and photo. See images for portion of the text.
background: In his January 16, 1990 editorial for The Village Voice titled “Jesus, Jews, and the Jackass Theory: Public Enemy,” Robert Christgau offers a deeply conflicted but intellectually rigorous examination of Public Enemy at a pivotal moment in their career—just ahead of the release of Fear of a Black Planet. Reflecting on a New Year’s Eve performance, Christgau acknowledges the group’s cultural and musical power, praising their innovation, urgency, and ability to electrify a racially diverse crowd with politically charged anthems like “Bring the Noise” and “Don’t Believe the Hype.” Yet the piece is also shadowed by the lingering controversy over Professor Griff’s anti-Semitic remarks, which Christgau confronts head-on, quoting Griff’s unapologetic onstage rhetoric and situating it within a larger discourse on Black-Jewish tensions in American political life. While Christgau refuses to dismiss the group or their message, he expresses unease with their increasingly insular and confrontational tone, particularly in Chuck D’s dense lyrics on “Welcome to the Terrordome,” which he finds poetic but less immediate than their earlier, more anthemic work. Ultimately, Christgau adopts a stance of “vigilantly critical support”—a phrase that encapsulates his admiration for Public Enemy’s revolutionary artistry while maintaining a moral and political scrutiny of the ideologies they flirt with, especially when they threaten to alienate potential allies or echo harmful prejudices.
I suspect this to be an extremely rare item because there was really no reason to save it at the time.
The Village Voice was an American counterculture newspaper known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. It introduced free-form, high-spirited, and passionate journalism into the public discourse - a tradition it maintained throughout its 60+ year history. It is quite common to find great political cartoons, satirical cartoons and articles, thought-provoking editorials, and ads and reviews for both concerts and theater productions - both on and off Broadway. Many iconic writers and musicians credit their appearance in The Village Voice for at least a portion of their success.
Complete with 152 pages, tabloid size, one fold along the center, very nice condition.
Provenance note: This issue comes from The Village Voice's own archives, part of their in-house collection used to create their digital archive. Rare as such.
Alert: Many issues of The Village Voice contain articles and/or photos which some consider offensive, and are certainly inappropriate for children. Please purchase with discretion.
Category: The 20th Century
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