One of the first
artists to embrace the possibilities offered by digital music
technology, Chuck D signed a deal with Internet label Atomic
Pop, makes regular posts in the Terrordome section of the
Public Enemy website, and has weekly
Internet radio shows: "When the Shit Hits the Fans" and "Beats
Rhymes and Life" on bringthenoise.com and "Planet of the
Tapes" on rapstation.com.
On the phone from his studio in Atlanta, Chuck D explained
Confrontation Camp's recent exit from
the Warped Tour. "We had eight dates given to us on the West
Coast. It was not feasible at that time to do it with no
record and the amount of money given us to make the West Coast
trip." Of the new record "Objects in the Mirror Are Closer
than They Appear," Chuck D said it's "definitely in the vein
of what Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit try to do. It's like really
aggressive rap and poetry with singing over metal."
In recent years, Chuck D's involvement with the Internet
has elevated him to the role of spokesman for artists who look
to the new technology as a means to obtain fairer contracts
and better interaction with fans. Chuck D began looking for
alternate avenues and forums to get his music to the public
after a much-publicized dispute with his former label Def Jam.
"I got involved with it because of the cost of presenting
music. It got to a point where somebody at the label told me
an album had to have $750,000 behind it to be a hit on the
radio stations. I come from a world where my first record cost
$17,000 and where you try to make art for as little expense as
possible and get it to the public."
The recent proliferation of file-swapping programs such as
Napster and Gnutella have made getting-it-to-the-public
cheaper--much cheaper than some artists are comfortable with.
While some artists view the free trading of their music as
copyright infringement, Chuck D sees the file-trading systems
as the new radio, a shifting paradigm the industry is going to
have to get a grip on.
"File sharing doesn't fit into the old template. By the
year 2002, you're going to see a million artists and a million
labels on the Internet and the old industry rules won't apply.
People say big lawyers are going to take over the Internet.
They can't find everybody. They're not gonna be able to sign
everybody. People are gonna rebel and use this to rebel."
One form that this rebellion is taking is Internet radio,
which allows Chuck D to broadcast his two radio shows from
wherever he happens to be at the time and without having to
water down the content to keep watchdog organizations like the
FCC happy. Under traditional radio format even the title of
"When the Shit Hits the Fans" (a program featuring unsigned
artists) would be unacceptable. And it's equally unlikely that
Chuck D could reach an international audience with his
Saturday hip-hop news show "Beats, Rhymes and Life" using
previous radio formats.
Working outside the major labels means working without the
long marketing arm they provide. But for an established artist
like Chuck D, moving outside the mainstream still works pretty
well. "It's perfect for me. Hip-hop is an underserviced genre
anyway. I've gotten involved with the web because of the lack
of services to hip-hop and rap in the traditional realm."
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