The group Public Enemy was formed by Professor Griff, Chuck D, Hank and Keith Shocklee. They went on to become “Public Enemy Number One”.  Professor Griff, the Minister of Information, made statements about the Jews that were deemed anti-Semitic. He made remarks that were similar to what people have heard from many like Jesse Jackson who called New York “Hymy Town” or Minister Farrakhan who called Jews “blood suckers of the poor”.

I felt the pain from Professor Griff when he spoke of the situation and I could hear some remorse by the way he chose to speak his words. “The most interesting thing to me is how Black men feel they have to strike out at a problem before someone will admit that it is a problem. My white friends surprised me when I joined the Nation of Islam.  It was like they understood why I was doing it. I remember when Bruce Willis made the statement that if he, ‘was Black he would be with Minister Farrakhan’.”

I spoke with Professor Griff about who actually formed the group and who kicked him out of the group. “The group was actually formed before Chuck D was a part of the group. Most of the history on Public Enemy starts at Chuck but actually me, Hank and Keith Shocklee started the group as D.J.’s and it was Chuck D who in the end fired me from the group.”

The one thing that impressed me about Professor Griff was that even though physically he would be considered a small man, his intellect and intelligence was so huge and so large you could quickly see why he was the founder of the S1W’S. I asked him, “How did that whole idea of having brothers on stage showcasing a security force come about?” He told me “Whenever parties were being thrown that had a rap element to it, fights and violence broke out. So I decided to create the security team to secure the parties. This, also, was put together before Chuck was joined the group.”

We talked religion, politics and of course I had to ask him about how he felt about Flavor Flav, the world’s greatest hype man. “Were the rumors true that you would have to be stopped from slapping Flavor upside the head from time to time?” He laughed and said “Yeah, it’s true.  I still want to slap him upside the head for setting Black women back a 100 years with all those stupid reality shows.” I thought to myself, you are not alone on that one. How did Flavor Flav become a part of a Black conscious group? How did Flavor Flav fit in with his obvious buffoonery from day one? Professor Griff told me the story. “Chuck D’s father owned a moving company and Flavor Flav worked for him. He asked Chuck to look out for Flavor Flav for him and try to do something with him so he did and Chuck still doing that to this day.”

I asked him about his religious beliefs and he told me he doesn’t practice religion. He said he was more into being spiritual than being religious. We talked about his beginnings as he told me that he was a part of the first resurrection of the Nation of Islam with Elijah Muhammad and when the Nation went to Orthodox Islam, he practiced and studied with the Five Percent Nation. Then when Minister Farrakhan rebuilt the Nation of Islam, he returned to the Nation of Islam and at the moment is still respectable of the organization but prefers to not claim religion at all.

I got to the heart of him when I asked where he was from. “Long Island, Strong Island” he responded. I could tell he still had that New York pride but his mind and mission was now bigger than that. He saw the world in a more global way. They say if you go outside this country you will see the problems we have are way bigger than black and white. He spoke to me about his four children and how he was once married. He is forty-nine years old now and his greatest legacy thus far is what he has said and not what he has done.  He is admired here in Atlanta like a local hero.

 I was sitting in his office and he got a call about participating in the Soul Train Awards with Ludacris and Raheem DeVaughn. They wanted him to come out like he was with the S1W’s and have dancers do a routine and imitate the SW1’S. He declined and explained how that would be disrespectful to the SW1’s. He said it would be like having the Marines or Army paraded around like dancers rather than soldiers.

We started to talk about the fire at his house and he got even more serious. How did the fire start and who started it? “The situation was Atlanta light and gas came out to turn on the gas and some how the house exploded and caught fire.” Professor Griff and his family were not at the house, Thank God. “I went to the hospital to visit the technician and he was nowhere to be found in the hospital and to this day no one can find that technician”.

The big question I had for him was about President Obama and the Obama deception tape put out by Alex Jones. I feel like a white comic who can’t say certain things when I think of Alex Jones. He can say and do anything and no one ever calls him a racist. If I say one little thing in this report I will get a million e-mails. I don’t understand because everybody knows some of my best friends are White. How did you get involved in that project and how do you feel about the President? “I was in a book store and a brother I knew was filming a piece and he asked me some questions. I answered the questions not knowing it would show up on his DVD. That’s why I declined to do a more in depth interview with them.” So how do you feel about the President? “I feel he was put in office as a puppet to distract people from the real wickedness that’s going on. I don’t know where he came from and no one else does. I don’t know anything great he did in Chicago. You from Chicago Shabazz; do you know anybody or anything he did great for Chicago?” I had to admit I didn’t and I only knew of the crooked politics that made him Senator.

Last but not least, I had to ask him how he felt about the State of Hip Hop today. “The term (State of) is of the illuminati and implies history and bloodline. When we look back at our history, we will have to answer to the children and say what we did when this music was being stolen from us. This is our history and that defines character and the respect people have for themselves and the music doesn’t reflect that.” He went into how he was disappointed in the Nation of Islam for giving Kanye West an award. He spoke about his disapproval of Common for making a record demeaning to women called ‘I Poke Her Face’. We talked about how there no conscious rappers are out there running the show anymore. In the end, Professor Griff’s greatest concern are the powers-that-be writing him out of the history of Public Enemy and Hip Hop. I doubt that will ever happen.

True Hip Hop heads will never forget Professor Griff. I remember when Miles Davis performed with his back to the audience. They said that would ruin him. I still to this day love him for taking that stand and the world loves him even more. He is dead and as I told Professor Griff when you die you will be a hero like Malcolm, Martin and all our other leaders who have been pivotal in our struggles. When our leaders are dead they are no longer a threat to the power structure so it’s ok for us to celebrate them. They will water them down like hell so I say while you are living Professor Griff make the kool-aid strong because when you die, they will water it down anyway.

You can find more interviews with Professor Griff in his book ANALYTLXZ. Until truth prevails my eyes will be watching.

Professor Griff's contact info:

www.hdqtrz.com

Professorgriff@gmail.com

Myspace.com/ProfessorGriffofPublicEnemy