Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World
Genre	Documentary
Written by	Chuck D
Directed by	Todd Williams
Produced by	Helen Bart
Narrator	Chuck D
Edited by	Andrew Webber
Production company	PBS
Distributor	PBS BBC Music
Country	United States
Language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	4
Released	January 31, 2023
Runtime	59 minutes

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World is a four-part PBS documentary series that premiered on January 31, 2023. Developed by Chuck D and Lorrie Boula, it examines the historical, social and cultural movement of rap since the 1970s, which speaks to "the emotions, experiences, and expressions" of the Black and Brown community. It features voices from Lupe Fiasco, will.i.am., Ice-T, Fat Joe, Run DMC, and more. Fiasco was quoted in its finale, "Hip-hop is gonna supply you the theme song for the moment."

Synopsis

"Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World" is an incredible narrative of struggle, triumph and resistance that will be brought to life through the lens of an art form that has chronicled the emotions, experiences and expressions of Black and Brown communities: Hip Hop. In the aftermath of America's racial and political reckoning in 2020, the perspectives and stories shared in Hip Hop are key to understanding injustice in the U.S. over the last half-century.

Critical reception

Jack Seale from The Guardian praised, "Some of the greatest pop music ever made gets the respectful, rigorous sociological treatment it deserves—thanks to this documentary series from the Public Enemy star." Financial Times's Dan Einav wrote, "Where the first two episodes celebrate hip-hop as a symbol and product of resistance and ambition, the series' second half broaches rap's reputation for inciting violence as well as reflecting it; for inspiring awareness but also promoting avarice and misogyny. There are efforts to be even-handed—and to give due credit to female trailblazers such as Queen Latifah—but these valid criticisms sometimes get lost amid slightly defensive points about the moral panic rap can provoke." Ed Power of i wrote in his review, "This was a political film rather than one merely about music. It used rap as a starting point to explore the African American experience through years of prejudice and pain. To that end, Chuck D had assembled an impressive line-up of interviewees with first hand knowledge of the power of rap. [...] Fight the Power is off to a gripping start, and with Chuck D overseeing the project, you knew you were getting the story straight from the source."

Episodes

No.	Title
1	"The Foundation"
Public Enemy's Chuck D leads a cast of hip-hop icons and leading African-American and Latino cultural commentators as they chart the factors that led to the birth of the revolutionary art form of hip-hop in 1970s New York, as well as the creation of the seminal hit The Message. They evoke a picture of how, after the turbulence of the 60s and the civil rights struggles, desperate social conditions and the experience of countless dispossessed people of colour living in a city mired in crisis helped give birth to a new art form.
2	"Under Siege"
Chuck D, alongside a host of hip-hop luminaries and cultural commentators, explores the genre's exponential growth in the 1980s as groups like Public Enemy and NWA were formed. It charts how the art form was able to speak truth to power during a period in US history that saw Reaganomics flourish, crack cocaine obliterate inner city communities and the black male body become a symbol of mass incarceration and rising homicide rates.
3	"Culture Wars"
Chuck D, fellow rap stars and cultural commentators explore the meteoric rise of hip hop and gangster rap in the 90s during a tumultuous period in US history. In the years after the Los Angeles riots of 1992, hip hop was accused of promoting violence and misogyny, all while reaching new commercial success and seeing the rise of a wave of confident female emcees.
4	"Still Fighting"
Chuck D, fellow hip hop stars and cultural commentators tell the story of how the rap industry hits extraordinary heights going into the new millennium, using its power and influence to effect change in ways that were unthinkable when the culture was first born - culminating in the global protests for George Floyd.