Chuck D recently got slammed by MTV for his video 'Give The People What They Want'. The network says they won't air the video until he removes both audio and visual references to Mumia Abul Jamal. Here's what Chuck wrote to us when explaining the current situation.

The aftermath of the MTV Video Awards carries a business as usual stench across the ever influenced cultural uh, black planet. The new power elite in america the selection board of MTV. If I closed my eyes and ears and went back in time it would've been an oily Rockefeller gathering in the 20s,or a scotch and politic driven Kennedy gathering in the 40s. The new power breed of selectors who govern images to feed to the world youth, invisibly anonymous to most, while being the choosers of who, what, when, why, and how.

In the words of my friend Kyle Jason we've ( black people on screen ) been reduced to comedy. As an artist Iıve been fighting all my career in a genre that has been hijacked by 'culture bandits', simply cats who've used rap music and hip hop as a personal whatever without putting anything back where they've got it from in the first place. Thatıs the ongoing complaint by the figureheads that started this thing and I don't blame them. The lack of image balance is killing us.

Cutting to the chase, in this so called business I've overstood the bullsh#t, navigating the lunacy as much as possible to the masses and cats within. But here's the deal, MTV standards ( whoever this roundtable of culture caretakers are all I got was a cat by the name of Tom Calderone who waffled so much on the issue I swore he was swimming in syrup.) has clarified to my people both at KOCH and SLAMjamz records that the 'Gotta Give The Peeps What They Need' video would have to delete all affixed logos (a policy to not promote gear, although I've long thought this to be ridiculous..but whatever I've conceded that this is their little thing to keep situations from making the money they make) and the thing that has myself going to war..and that's to vanish ALL AUDIO AND VISUAL references to Mumia Abu Jamal..the Free Mumia lyric. This is serious. In a climate where they're playing the hell out of Nelly and Khia dumbing american kids (17 and under..like who else is gonna be fanatical about adult life requesting videos?) down to 'its so hot imma take my clothes off' down from 'my neck to the crack of my ass' with a 'shot of courvosier' .No offense to the prior two artists, because I really don't think they know any better. I'm pulling the race card here because MTV has admittingly reduced black faces to blackface.

This time the control factor is the intangible grip over a designed generation, 3 generations across since the MTV span since my 21st birthday in 1981. Well you have designer clothes, designer cars, designer drugs, and designer mentality for a designer generation. MTV has successfully tailored a generation through the thread of popular culture ,to pied piper itself to detach itself from a past while blurring a future, thus dumbing them to the american way of weighing people based on quantity as opposed to quality.

Quantity is the measurement needed for the almighty bottom line ala the corporate dollar. Blackface at its dumbest makes a lotta money for VIACOM. On also owned BET peeps know BRUCE BRUCE more than newsman ED GORDON, reducing us as blackfolk to comedy where we think americas laughing along with us in reality theyıre laughing at us. It's the same reason I left DEF JAM ..we start off rebelling against the one sided control ways of the establishment, only to find that it eventually becomes a worse establishment itself. A joke in the shadows of making money 'holla!

Really it ain't about playing the Public Enemy video. So be it. I do art and songs to provoke and not be a joke. It would've been simple as hell for them to rather say they didn't like the video. But as a black M-A-N it's the NERVE of them judging what's acceptable coming out of a blackface. If they think having a political viewpoint in music is irrelevant, it's because they've taken the nazi approach in censoring it themselves. Deep down.. rap to these standard people is disposable romper room sh#t that will never resonate to the LED ZEPs, BEATLES, NIRVANAS,AEROSMITHs, FLEETWOOD MACS,BON JOVI status they still uphold in their hearts and minds. But based on the ridiculous yet influential decisions they make while in bed with their big business partners (major labels) is unacceptable as far as my community is concerned. Judging that anonymous circle of people in the standard department I feel, think and ultimately know they would rather reduce us into a screen of swinging monkeys, and retreat to their tri-state bridge and tunnel confines.

Thus it always seems I exist in a twist of paradox. I refuse to edit out the MUMIA audio AND visual, that's crazy and they must be out of their f#cking mind. And since then eMpTy V has recended a bit by saying that the visual images can stay in and the names but the word FREE would have to be removed. It's getting funnier by the week ,that's something to never say to a black person (maybe why they would never understand DEAD PREZ's Lets Get Free

This is 2002, so much insanity swirling around Manhattan itself its ridiculous NOT to make a statement about things like this. The paradox is..that the fight completely vanishes the visibility. The edit allows the video to be seen, but compromised and weakened, which music is supposed to hurdle anyway. They didn't mention the H RAP BROWN part which befuddles me for he's accused of the same thing. Maybe they're so unfamiliar and dumb that they donıt know WHO he is and think I'm talking about some Brown rappin cat or something. I play the race card for real in this case. The charge of VIACOM/ MTV reducing us to comedy through images forces me to flip that card out. Would MTV News cover this story ,especially one in which they're guilty within?