PBS Taps Chuck D to 'Tell the Story of Hip-Hop'

Kim Metso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Public Enemy frontman and co-founder Chuck D will be telling the story of hip-hop and its role in shaping America over the last 40 years in a four-part series for PBS.

The network, along with its partner BBC Studios, announced the series today on the first day of the virtual Television Critics Association winter press tour.

The series’ — developed by Chuck D and his manager Lorrie Boula — working title is “The Story of Hip-Hop with Chuck D.” Currently slated for a fall 2022 premier, it promises to “trace the story of this globally influential art form over the past 40 years up to today” and will feature some of the arts most influential names including: Run DMC, LL Cool J and Queen Latifah.

“PBS is excited to join with Chuck D, Lorrie Boula and BBC Studios to bring this illuminating project to audiences across our platforms,” said Bill Gardner, Vice President of Multiplatform Programming and Head of Development for PBS, in a statement about the release. “Hip-hop is one of the most influential artistic genres and cultural movements of our time, and we’re thrilled to tell a deep and unflinching story with one of its originators and most powerful voices.”

Through first-hand accounts from some of rap’s most integral players, the series aims to deconstruct the origins of rap, show the roots of the art as a cultural phenomenon and illustrate its importance in giving a voice to marginalized communities.

“The hip-hop community has, from the start, been doing what the rest of media is only now catching up to,” added Chuck D. “Long before any conglomerate realized it was time to wake up, hip-hop had been speaking out and telling truths. Working with PBS and BBC is an opportunity to deliver these messages through new ways and help explain hip hop’s place in history and hopefully inspire us all to take it further.”

Prince’s Estate Valued at $156.4 Million

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In the 1980s, the rivalry between Michael Jackson and Prince was legendary as they both vied for the pop music throne.

At one point, things got so heated between The Purple One and the King of Pop that Prince tried to run over Jackson and some family members in his limo, according to music icon Quincy Jones.

“He waited in the limousine to try and run over him and [Jackson’s sister] La Toya and his mother,” the renowned producer told GQ in 2018, noting that things spiraled out of control between the two when Prince threatened to kill Jackson following an embarrassing exit by His Royal Badness from a James Brown concert (see video below).

So, it is fair to say that Prince — who bullied, mocked and belittled Jackson throughout their feud — might have taken some perverse pleasure from this past Friday’s news.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that after nearly six years of legal battles, parties to Prince's estate have finally agreed on its value: $156.4 million. The new total dwarfs the initial appraisal of $82.3 million by the estate’s administrator, Comerica Bank & Trust.

More importantly for Prince purists, fans of one-upmanship and those who got a kick out of the back-and-forth nature of the sometimes-friendly struggle for superiority from the duo, it exceeds the adjusted value of Jackson’s estate.

After his death in 2009, the IRS appraised Jackson’s wealth at $1.1 billion before adjusting that figure to $482 million. That lofty number wouldn’t last long, however, as a U.S. Tax Court judge finally settled the matter, valuing Jackson's estate at $111 million last spring.

The settlement means that the process of distributing the musician's, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, wealth could begin in February. The estate will be almost evenly divided between Primary Wave, a well-funded New York music company, and the three oldest of Prince's six heirs or their families.

In all seriousness, it is a hollow victory. Author and friend Tavis Smiley told Extra Jackson’s death hit Prince hard:

I've never said it publicly… when the news came that Michael had died, Prince was in rehearsal at Paisley Park… Prince cancels rehearsals, sent the band home, and for days locked himself in his bedroom and wouldn't come out and really didn't talk to people.

Jay-Z and Kanye West Among 2021's Highest Paid Musicians

Photo credit: Tyler Cummings 

When former constant collaborators Jay-Z and Kanye West reunited for the first time in five years in 2021 for Ye’s album “Donda,” it would have been hard to imagine the dynamic duo having their names attached to a more impressive feat at the end of the year.

Jay-Z’s verse on “Jail” ended years of semi-public and subtle feuding between the mentor and his former protégée and generated excitement that they might resume their creative relationship, which contributed to many of the artists' biggest hits as well as the quintuple platinum album “Watch the Throne.” 

The 2011 joint project topped the Billboard charts in 12 countries and was the catalyst behind the highest-grossing hip-hop concert tour in history.

The reunion between the Businessman and the Bipolar Billionaire has been overshadowed, however, by the latest report from Rolling Stone. The seminal music publication counted Jay-Z and West among 2021’s top-earning musicians.

In a list compiled by Zach O’Malley Greenburg, the two were the only Black faces on the very white and very male list. Jay-Z took the No. 2 spot with $470 million in earnings and West was fourth with $250 million.

Their high rankings were made more impressive by the fact that the rappers, along with West’s one-time nemesis Taylor Swift (No. 10 with $80 million), were the only ones to make the cut without selling the rights to their musical catalogs.

For, example, Bruce Springsteen, who topped the list, earned $590 million. He sold his publishing copyrights and master recordings to Sony in December for $550 million in a record-setting deal for a solo musician’s catalog.

“These are almost like pieces of art — there’s a finite number of real, super-high-quality hit songs from the past — and there’s this sort of all-out grab to own those rights,” Josh Gruss, CEO of Round Hill Music, which has dropped $1.3 billion on music copyrights in the last 10 years, told Rolling Stone. “It’s a very steady stream of revenue that’s there, and that makes it very attractive for investment.”

Jay-Z and West both had significant earnings outside of music.

The sale of half of his Armand de Brignac champagne to LVMH for $300 million and a portion of Tidal to Square contributed heavily to Jay-Z’s ranking, while West, who also profited from the release of “Donda,” earned most of his green from his Yeezy footwear brand as well as a collaboration with The Gap.

The remainder of the Top 10, according to Rolling Stone, included Blake Shelton (No. 9, $83 million), Mötley Crüe (No. 8 $95 million), Lindsey Buckingham (No. 7, $100 million), Red Hot Chili Peppers (No. 6 $140 million), Ryan Tedder (No. 5, $200 million) and Paul Simon (No. 3, $260 million).

Check out the full report here.