Pubic Enemy recreated her classic “Fight the Power” video with footage of George Floyd’s protests to open the BET 2020 Awards. The iconic rap group joined a star-studded lineup of artists to help update the song with timely verses. .
Chuck D and Flavor Flav reunited for the show, acting as a link between the song’s additional verses. Nas, Rapsody, YG, The Roots’ Black Thought and Public Enemy Radio’s Questlove and Jahi are among the all-star team of legends and newcomers to add new lyrics related to the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests that have been going on across the country for weeks in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and other black victims killed by police officers.
“They say suicide when corpses sway / cowards are hunting black men, that’s what I’m seeing,” rhymes Nas, while Rapsody invokes the stories behind the Floyd, Taylor and Rayshard Brooks murders.
Public Enemy was publicly fought this year by Bernie Sanders. Flavor Flav was allegedly fired from the group after a disagreement over Chuck D’s appearance at the Sanders rally under the name Public Enemy. Chuck D later tried to claim that the split was a hoax to “highlight the media bias in reporting bad news about hip-hop.” The dubious claim was further denied when Flavor Flav released his own statement denying these claims and adding “I am not part of his deception.”
