As wildfires continue to rage across Los Angeles county, legendary Public Enemy front man Chuck D is asking social media users not to use the group’s 1990 protest song “Burn Hollywood Burn” to celebrate those who have lost their homes in the devastation.
“Burn Hollywood Burn is a protest song,” the rapper wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday, explaining that the phrase, uttered by KGFJ Los Angeles DJ Magnificent Montague, dates back to 1965.
“[It was] extracted from the Watts Rebellion monikered by Magnificent Montague in 1965 against inequality when he said ‘burn baby burn’ across the air,” he wrote. “We made mind revolution songs aimed at a one sided exploitation by an industry. Has nothing to do with families, losing everything they have in a natural disaster. Learn the history. Godspeed to those in loss.”
He added in the comments, “Please don’t use our song on your reels and pictures of this horrifying natural disaster.”
Another Instagram user commented, “It’s sad that this even needed to be explained. The history was and is obvious, at least to us anyway.”
The sentiment was echoed by the Hollywood Horror Museum, who wrote on X, “We have seen some horrible comments by some people regarding the California fires. Saying rich people get what they deserve, let it burn and other disgusting comments. People and animals are dying, people’s homes and livelihoods have burned to the ground. Try to be human.”
“Burn Hollywood Burn,” from 1990’s “Fear of a Black Planet,” blasts the racism of Hollywood, particularly the lack of stories about Black people that weren’t rooted in stereotypes or tragedies, and the lack of non-stereotypical roles for Black actors. Along side Chuck D, the track also features verses from Ice Cube, then just and Big Daddy Kane
Public Enemy, who have been called “the most influential and radical band of their time,” were inducted into the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.
Their best-known songs include “Fight the Power”— which Spike Lee used as the anthem for his 1989 film “Do the Right Thing,” “Don’t Believe the Hype” and “911 Is a Joke.”
