Chuck D slams Public Enemy track abuse amid LA fires

Public Enemy frontman Chuck D has sharply criticized the recent misuse of the band’s 1990 song “Burn Hollywood Burn” amid the devastating wildfires ravaging Los Angeles.

As the fires continue to wreak havoc, some social media users have chosen the politically charged anthem to celebrate the fires, prompting Chuck D to urge the public to understand the song’s true meaning and historical context.

The fire forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and destroyed nearly 10,000 buildings. The Palisades Fire is currently considered the most destructive fire in Los Angeles County history, burning more than 17,000 acres, while the Eaton Fire also burned more than 10,000 acres and caused severe damage to surrounding communities.

In response to the wildfires, Chuck D took to Instagram to express his frustration with some people’s use of “Burn Hollywood Burn” to describe the disaster.

The song criticizes Hollywood’s exploitation of black culture and the entertainment industry’s negative portrayal of black people, and was used by some social media users as an anthem to celebrate the destruction.

The hip-hop icon shared a photo on Instagram of a Los Angeles neighborhood engulfed in flames and wrote, “Pray. Stay safe. Evacuate,” along with a list of fires burning in the area.

He clarifies, “Burn Hollywood Burn” – featured on Public Enemy’s groundbreaking show Fear of the black planet — was never intended to reference or glorify natural disasters, but was instead a critique of racial inequality and media representation.

“‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ is a protest song taken from the Watts Rebellion, written by the great Montague in 1965 as he shouted ‘Burn baby burn’ on the air against inequality,” writes Chuck D road. “We make ideologically revolutionary songs for the one-sided exploitation of an industry.” He emphasized that the track was never about glorifying destruction or loss, adding: “This has nothing to do with families who have lost everything in natural disasters. Understand. History. May God bless those who have suffered losses.

“Burning Hollywood Burning” was released at a pivotal moment in hip-hop history. This song appears on Fear of a black planetreleased in 1990, during the golden age of hip-hop. Featuring guest appearances from Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane, “Burn Hollywood Burn” became an anthem of black empowerment and a call for change in the media Wider, more factual reporting.

Several figures from the entertainment industry have since shared harrowing images of the destruction on social media. Paris Hilton reveals she lost her Malibu home in wildfire while Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker’s kids Landon and Alabama Alabama shared on Instagram that they had to evacuate their home, with Landon writing: “Just evacuating, praying for everyone in the fires [affected]”.

Singer Jhené Aiko is one of thousands of people who lost their homes in the devastating fires that raged across Los Angeles this week.

The “Bed Peace” singer revealed on social media on Thursday (January 9) that her home “burned down with all our stuff in it,” but that she and her two-year-old son, who lives with her Noah was not burned. “Lord have mercy🙏Thanksgiving that we still have each other💙start from the beginning. My heart is so heavy💔,” she wrote.

“Lord have mercy🙏Thanksgiving that we still have each other💙start from the beginning. My heart is so heavy💔,” she wrote.

She continued with another slide, “Praying for everyone this morning. Those who have lost their homes, those who have lost their life’s work, those who have lost their lives. Pray for my city. Pray for the wildlife and the lost Pet prayers for the world 💙.