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LI Music Hall of Fame recognizes local talent

BY GLENN GAMBOA | glenn.gamboa@newsday.com

October 26, 2008

It's probably no surprise that Chuck D refused to be bullied when he was a fledgling rapper and a student at Adelphi University.

"People used to come from the Bronx and from Brooklyn with a chip on their shoulders, thinking that just because rap started there that they'd be better," the Public Enemy leader says, with a laugh. "I destroyed them, man. I would tell people when they were coming into Adelphi, from the Bronx or from Brooklyn or other parts of New York City, 'The vibe is in the Bronx and Manhattan, but you ain't got the vibe. You ain't fly with all the jive. Don't come here thinking you're all this.' They definitely called me 'country bumpkin,' but I was gonna bust their --. They're not gonna sound louder or stronger. That's just not gonna happen."

That sort of defiance helped Chuck D and Public Enemy become one of hip-hop's most important groups, a fact solidified by the naming of the group's "Fight the Power" as hip-hop's best song of all time last month by VH1. It's also the kind of civic pride that the Long Island Music Hall of Fame - which will induct its second class of inductees, including Public Enemy, on Thursday at the Garden City Hotel - wants to rekindle among area musicians and fans alike.

'A very special place'

"That's the mission of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame: to let people know that this is a very special place with a lot of music history," says the hall's chairman, Allan Varela. "It's all part of handing down the history as the musical styles change. We want people to walk away with a sense of connection to that history."

"And we want people to be proud to be from here," adds Jim Faith, the hall's vice chairman. "It's also a way to say thank you to all these people who come from Long Island. They have a different perspective. They come from different genres. But they share Long Island."

The music varies

Like the first induction class in 2006, this year's inductees - from Aaron Copland to Mariah Carey, from Guy Lombardo to Pat Benatar - show how varied the area's musical history really is. (The hall considers Long Island as the geographical whole that includes Brooklyn and Queens.)

This year's class - which includes Public Enemy and LL Cool J - shows how important Long Island was to the development of hip-hop, an influence that was also celebrated last month at VH1's Hip-Hop Honors, which paid tribute to Amityville's De La Soul and others with performances from Roosevelt's Public Enemy, Brentwood's EPMD and Uniondale's Busta Rhymes.

Chuck D says Long Island's hip-hop influence came from its artists' unique take on the world and a confidence to express it.

"There are a lot of places that ask for people to love them," he says. "We've always had a feeling, especially in my crew, of 'take it or leave it.' I think a lot of cats from Brooklyn and Queens or the Bronx were looking for acceptance. What we tried to instill on Long Island, back in the day, was 'If you don't like what we got, you can go to hell.'"

It's an attitude that Chuck D says is disappearing, if it hasn't gone all together. "I think that Long Island - instead of the confidence that it once had, the confidence that we tried to bring to the table - in the latter years, it just looked to be accepted by New York," he says. "From De La Soul to Public Enemy to Rakim, we all had the attitude that was pretty positive. We were quick to tell New York, 'We got our own thing. We don't need your approval. ...' I think that's what went missing in the '90s that everyone was trying to kiss New York's --, and I never did that."

For Public Enemy, this year's induction is special because in addition to their own music, they plan to perform with DMC - of Run-DMC, who were inducted in 2006. Not only did Run-DMC help convince Public Enemy to sign with Def Jam Records, they inspired them to see how powerful hip-hop could become.

Chuck D says getting inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an honor, but it's one that he has to share with others who were responsible. "I should really just hand my award over to [Public Enemy chief beat-maker and producer] Hank Shocklee," he says. "Then I should take another one and drive it over to [producer and music exec] Bill Stephney. They really never get enough credit."

It was Stephney and Shocklee's radio show at Adelphi's now-defunct radio station WBAU where Chuck D got his start and that helped him get attention from Def Jam Records. Their show also became a pipeline of hip-hop to Long Island listeners.

Letting people know about that part of music history and introducing people to some Long Islanders who don't get enough attention are the main things that Chuck D hopes the Long Island Music Hall of Fame can accomplish.

"I would like to tip my glass to the power of Rakim, De La Soul and EPMD, who are the greatest, and who never get talked about," he says. "I love [EPMD's] Erick Sermon and Parrish [Smith] and [DJ] Scratch, who, to me, is probably the most underrated rap powerhouse."

Chuck D says he is honored to be recognized in the same company as inductees Louis Armstrong, Barbra Streisand, Aaron Copland and Blue Öyster Cult. "One thing I learned early on from Hank Shocklee is that you had to have a respect for all those artists who do what they do well," he says. "You have to respect all genres, and this honor shows that they respect ours as well."

It's also a matter of pride for Public Enemy to be acknowledged in its own area.

"My mother and father came from 151st Street in Harlem," Chuck D explains. "But different from my brother and sister, I never liked staying on the stoop rather than running in the grass and the trees. I took pride in Long Island. We bragged about the fact that we were from Long Island, which isn't something a lot of artists did back then, except Billy Joel ... It's important to recognize the greatness in your own backyard."