{"id":114686,"date":"2025-06-21T16:20:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T16:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/114686\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T16:20:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T16:20:30","slug":"public-enemys-new-protest-song-march-madness-arrives-for-juneteenth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/114686\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Enemy’s New Protest Song ‘March Madness’ Arrives for Juneteenth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tPublic Enemy<\/a> has new rhymes designed to fill your mind. The iconic hip-hop group dropped new protest song \u201cMarch Madness\u201d in honor of Juneteenth on Thursday (June 19).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPUBLIC ENEMY IS STILL FIGHTING THE POWER,\u201d Flavor Flav<\/a> wrote in a statement posted to X that day before noting how President Joe Biden signed the national holiday into law on June 19, 2021, and that 160 years have passed since the Confederates surrendered in the Civil War in 1865. \u201cBut it feels like we are on the brink of something similar with ongoing efforts to dismantle diversity equity and inclusion. We don\u2019t want what\u2019s going on in Israel vs Palestine and now Iran. We don\u2019t want what\u2019s going on Ukraine vs Russia,\u201d he continued. \u201cI hate war. I hate what\u2019s going on around the world and in US. We are supposed to be THE UNITED STATES and war ain\u2019t about Unity. We have our rights and can use them while we still have them. I have this platform and will use it will I still have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFlav then went on to share that the song was a collaboration with students from three universities. \u201cIt was an honor to work with the students from Harvard, Berklee, and Howard Universities to create a protest anthem about important issues we are facing as human beings right now,\u201d he wrote before ending with, \u201cMARCH ON,!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe ominous \u201cMarch Madness\u201d kicks off with audio from a 911 call, with the operator asking if the caller is still hearing shots, with a newscaster then reporting, \u201cYou hear the teacher asking for help
As she also tries to keep her students calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNow I\u2019m America\u2019s nightmare\/ A debonaire black millionaire\/ Checking these crooked politicians who ain\u2019t playing fair\/ Shut up! Too much talk\/ We know you don\u2019t care,\u201d Flav begins in verse one before throwing in one of his famous \u201cYeaaaah boys.\u201d He goes on to rhyme: \u201c911 is still a jok\u0435\/ So no, motherf\u2013ka, you ain\u2019t getting my vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tChuck D<\/a> comes in on the second verse with a scathing commentary on the numerous school shootings that have taken place in the United States in recent years. \u201cTrigger happy, hi, I wanna ask a question\/ Does a gun need to be in a school to teach or nones?\/ Kids supposed to have fun, none of this \u2018Run for cover for your life, son,’\u201d he raps before blasting lawmakers for \u201cacting scared off the NRA.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe also addressed the issue in a separate statement. \u201cGun violence is not normal behavior, but it\u2019s been going on for so long that it\u2019s normalized,\u201d Chuck D said. \u201cWe need to treat it like the sickness and the epidemic that it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Grammy-nominated group is currently on a world tour, which kicked off earlier in June in Florence, Italy. Public Enemy will also be the support act for Guns n\u2019 Roses on several of the rock band\u2019s European tour dates this summer. <\/p>\n

\n\tListen to \u201cMarch Madness\u201d and see Flav\u2019s full statement below:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

PUBLIC ENEMY IS STILL FIGHTING THE POWER \u270a\ud83c\udffe<\/p>\n

Today is Juneteenth.<\/p>\n

It became a federally recognized holiday on June 19, 2021 signed into law by The President. This was only 4 years ago and 160 years since the confederation surrendered during the civil war. But it feels like we\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/N9AysjcI2S<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) June 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n