Chuck D has been an ambassador of thought, speech, and sound since he burst on the scene as the frontman for Public Enemy in the 1980s. Now, in 2022, he continues his leadership with a new movement – Audible Original “Songs That Shook the Planet.” (Click here to hear it.)
In the audio series, he discusses the songs that helped shape the way we think and live. He also explains why Too Short is political and revolutionary in his own way. In an interview with Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur, he delves deep with the prolific rhymer about why he picked the songs and artists as well.
This journey is a lengthy examination of “conscious” music, both politically and socially. Songs That Shook the Planet peers into the backstories of Marvin Gaye, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, Too Short, and more like Bob Marley. The series has another layer – Chuck D. As an elder statesman, he shares his personal stories as well and adds his twist, views, and opinions growing up to these songs.
Songs That Shook the Planet will have some recollecting a time when music could actually change minds for the better, alter legal policy, and even promote sustained social progress. And others, typically the youth, will be educated on a time when music truly spoke truth to power and created an atmosphere for uprising among disenfranchised people.
Chuck D and Lorrie Boula created Songs That Shook the Planet as a part of Audible’s Words + Music franchise.