Occasionally, I like to share an episode of a podcast I find particularly compelling. Feel free to click "reply" and let me know what podcasts to keep an eye on in the future.

"Hip Hop Raised Me" is the brand new podcast from DJ Semtex, a complement to his 2016 book of the same name. The podcast takes the form of a series of interviews with "artists that define the culture."

The inaugural episode, released earlier this week, features an interview with Public Enemy co-founder Chuck D. Check out the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred platform. The show is produced by Nikita Chauhan in association with 4th Floor Creative, a division of Sony Music U.K.

Major Quotes

"I've always been busy with this 'make the most out of your time' and 'never let a second go without creating.'" (5:10)

"We've seen music go from something that's audible, what you hear, to something that you experience in sight, sound, story, and style." (10:00)

"There was no way somebody had my story, to come in doing what I wanted to do, because I realized that the importance of hip hop was more than popularity." (20:00)

"We kind of need to be taught how to be net-literate. We kind of need social media classes to know how to fight off the radiation that permeates out of these things." (32:05)

"I'm a firm believer that government and authorities should have a retirement age of 65." (38:35)

The influence of Public Enemy

DJ Semtex is an incredibly enthusiastic host and this becomes apparent right from the beginning of his introduction. He has an intense passion for hip hop and appears genuinely excited to be kicking off his podcast interviewing Chuck D.

The guest himself needs almost no introduction. Public Enemy is one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time, with major contributions in both musical and lyrical experimentation. Their albums "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" and "Fear of a Black Planet" remain classics of the genre.

That being said, DJ Semtex really emphasizes how ubiquitous the influence of Public Enemy and Chuck D are in hip-hop culture. He even points out a number of films and TV shows to feature Public Enemy songs or characters wearing their t-shirts, including "American Gangster," "Terminator 2," and Amazon's "The Boys."

What's exciting about "Hip Hop Raised Me" is the opportunity to hear a legend like Chuck D talk about our current moment, in politics and music, through his own lens. Plenty of podcasts already exist to gush over a TV show or band to an enthusiastic fanbase, but "Hip Hop Raised Me" feels like the rare fan podcast that can get access to top performers of the genre.

Chuck D discusses the 2020 remix of "Fight The Power," championed by Questlove. He says he was initially resistant, but ultimately put his trust in Questlove's process, and valued that so many artists considered Public Enemy's 1989 song a symbolic statement for the moment. The remix features footage from last summer's social justice protests and updated lyrics from Nas, Rhapsody, Black Thought, Jahi, and YG.

Chuck D talks about how things have changed from 1990 to now, both politically and culturally. He speaks specifically about change in the music industry, as "story and style and experiences have all gotta be added to the mix." He suggests that "everybody's a recording artist right now" with the advent of gadgets and social media.

Looking Back

It's illuminating to hear someone like Chuck D talk about our current political moment, but the real draw of "Hip Hop Raised Me" is the chance to hear stories from the old days, how Rick Rubin had to convince Public Enemy to sign to Def Jam records, how the sound of the classic albums developed.

Fans of old school hip hop should love how DJ Semtex steps back and lets a legend weave his story as he sees it. (I assume newer artists will also be represented in upcoming episodes.) The drawback to this is that the guest (Chuck D, at least) can jump from subject to subject on his own, almost like a stream of consciousness of their own history. DJ Semtex doesn't interject or guide the direction as often as a Terry Gross or Howard Stern. It's a style choice, and not necessarily a bad one, but one that listeners might chafe at if they expected a focused conversation.

Part of this may be due to the limitations of conducting an interview through Zoom instead of face-to-face. It makes me hopeful for the post-pandemic wave of interview podcasts where guests can join the hosts in person again!

Looking Forward

Chuck D goes off on a bit of a tangent when asked about the future of hip hop and the pressure facing modern hip-hop artists, but he brings it back around to the need to have some sort of verifiable truth, to believe in something. He says he based "Don't Believe The Hype," a song that pushes back against negative and inflammatory press, on the work of Noam Chomsky. But, he cautions against dismissing everything out-of-hand, a caution about our current world. This kind of nihilism about truth, he believes, is what leads to fascism.

"You gotta believe something," Chuck D says. "Once you say 'I don't believe anything,' then you will take what sticks to you real quick if it appeals to you, which might be the furthest thing from the truth."