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Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World

Rap icon Chuck D explores four decades of hip hop history in this four-part series

  • Christina Zeiders

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World tells the story of hip hop as an organic expression of experience that is fierce, unapologetic and empowering as it speaks truth to power and informs a nation through a different lens.

Watch the premiere episode on WITF TV on January 31 at 9pm, or stream it on demand for free using the PBS Video app until March 1. Part two premieres on WITF TV February 14 at 9pm, with parts three and four debuting on February 21 at 9pm and 10pm, respectively.

Chuck D of Public Enemy explores hip-hop’s political awakening over the last 50 years.

The four-part docuseries features firsthand accounts from some of rap’s most integral players and recounts the origins of this bold and revolutionary art form through the voices of those who were there at the beginning.

“The hip hop community has, from the start, been doing what the rest of media is only now catching up to,” said Chuck D. “Long before any conglomerate realized it was time to wake up, hip hop had been speaking out and telling truths. Working with PBS and BBC is an opportunity to deliver these messages through new ways and help explain hip hop’s place in history and hopefully inspire us all to take it further.”

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World weaves together interconnected moments through intimate interviews and archival footage to explore how hip hop quickly became a cultural phenomenon and created a provocative narrative of America.

Watch the premiere of Fight the Power on WITF TV on January 31. Part two airs on February 14 at 9pm, and parts three and four on February 21 at 9pm and 10pm. Stream the series starting February 1 using the PBS Video app. Each episode is available to stream for free for four weeks following its premiere on the app.

The series features insightful interviews with some of rap’s most integral players, including Chuck D, Grandmaster Caz, Ice-T, Lupe Fiasco, Run DMC, will.i.am, Fat Joe, B-Real (Cypress Hill), Abiodun Oyewole (The Last Poets), Roxanne Shanté, John Forté, MC Lyte, Melle Mel and more.

Watch the premiere of Fight the Power on WITF TV on January 31. Part two premieres on WITF TV on February 14 at 9pm, and parts three and four on February 21 at 9pm and 10pm.

Stream the series on demand starting February 1 using the PBS Video app. Each episode is available to stream for free for four weeks following its premiere on the app. Get more time to stream by becoming a WITF Passport member today!

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