“1989… The number… Another summer… Sounds of the funky drummer…”
On Sunday, June 30th, Spike Lee hosted the 30th anniversary of his Academy Awards nominated film, Do the Right Thing on the actual block that it was shot (a street now named Do the Right Thing Way). While the Oscar-award winning director paraded a cool dozen notables from his cinematic family, it was one live performance that totally encapsulated the spirit of the film. If you were not alive in 1989, seeing Chuck D perform the epic classic “Fight the Power” live would have given you a pretty good sense of what that era was like.
READ MORE: Rosie Perez Tells The World “Spike Lee Changed My Life”
Chuck D started his set by shouting out WLIB.
He noted:
“We know we had the music jumping off, and Frankie Crocker doing his thing and 98Kiss… You know the 80s were the R&B decade (Reagan and Bush), and General Koch in this city… They wanted to forget this borough. This brother right here, set forth culture, wisdom, knowledge and understanding (and overstanding). He would never, ever let this borough or its people be forgotten. There are things that you go to fight for. Put up the peace sign and say ‘peace.’ Say ‘power.’ Say ‘love.’ And we love you right here on the 30th anniversary, on Do the Right Thing Way. This borough is about human beings. Accepts for being human beings. We are not trying to be better than nobody. We know we got to be twice as smart, twice as good and sometimes twice as hardcore. We have to fight for love, fight for peace and fight for power!”
Posted by Nicole Yvonne Duncan-Smith on Sunday, June 30, 2019
