In the midst of the current movement to end racism in the justice system, many artists have been speaking out through song, even though they might not be able to put on shows for their fans due to the global pandemic. Public Enemy, the band that includes both Chuck D and Flava Flav, who had a falling out earlier this year which Chuck D claimed to be a publicity stunt, are back together for their new song “State of the Union (STFU).” Due to a rift regarding a Bernie Sanders rally earlier this year in early March, Flava Flav was fired from the band.

Apparently, the band has come back together to release a new song with a music video that is their personal statement about the current state of what is going on with the Black Lives Matter movement surrounding politics. Chuck D says,“Our collective voices keep getting louder. The rest of the planet is on our side. But it’s not enough to talk about change. You have to show up and demand change.”

The new song is very reminiscent of early 90s hip hop during the riots that broke out because of the Rodney King case at the time. The song is very direct in calling out the current president.

The lyrics in the song say, “Vote this joke out/Or die tryin’/Unprecedented/Demented/Many prisoned/Nazi Gestapo dictator.” The lyrics tell the story about how they will not be silenced, and that they do not want the current president in the white house for another four years.

The video includes clips of well known cases of police brutality including a picture of the police officer involved in George Floyd’s killing with his eyes taken out of the picture.

Photo Credit: Marv Watson