Public Enemy's Chuck D is undoubtedly a hip-hop pioneer; his work on Fear Of A Black Planet and It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back has done wonders in increasing awareness to social and racial injustices. Now, the legendary rapper recently sat down with HipHopDX, where he proceeded to speak on the wealth distribution in hip-hop, and more specifically, a playful "who-is-richer" conversation between Jay-Z and Diddy.
"JAY-Z and Puffy arguing about who has the most money — something’s wrong with that. How many jobs have you created?" says Chuck D. "Who are you paying and what are you doing for it? It all came out from the sacrifices we made for you.” He goes on to cite the slept on lyricist Masta Ace, who has been getting by on the strength of his cult following.
"To see JAY-Z and Puffy have a playful argument about who’s going to be the top of Forbes, I look at my peer group and they’re just trying to get by. Look at a guy like Masta Ace who’s just trying to continue his art and feed his family, I just wish the distribution is a little less painful," says Chuck.
It's definitely an interesting angle to the conversation, especially when Jay & Diddy's success is often celebrated by the community at large. Still, Chuck D is a respected figure, and perhaps there's wisdom behind his claims. Still, both Jay-Z and Diddy have been actively working on ways to better the black community, including developing an app that seeks out black-owned-businesses. What do ya'll think?