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Fight the Power: Culture War

Experience the unstoppable rise of hip hop in the 1990s

  • Christina Zeiders
Chuck D - FIGHT THE POWER: HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD

Chuck D - FIGHT THE POWER: HOW HIP HOP CHANGED THE WORLD

Stream Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World: Culture War for free now through March 15 using the PBS app, or watch it on WITF TV on Tuesday, February 21 at 9pm.

Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World, a four-part series produced in partnership with BBC Music, tells the story of hip hop as an unapologetic expression of experience that empowered communities, spoke truth to power, and informed a nation.

The series includes the personal testimonies of the MCs, DJs, graffiti artists, filmmakers, and politicians who shaped the genre as it grew from an underground movement in the Bronx into the fastest-growing genre in the world. Part three, Culture War, takes us to the 1990s during the Clinton years to witness the unstoppable rise in popularity of hip hop, which became a force attacked by all sides of the political establishment.

As hip hop continued to evolve through the 1980s as a form of social commentary, we see more artists using their music to reflect the harsh social realities faced by disadvantaged communities ravaged by drugs, gangs, and crime. A new genre was born out of this discontent – gangsta rap.

Artists, journalists, and historians delve into the ways a new ‘tough on crime’ bill passed during the Clinton administration adversely affected Black communities. They’ll also explore the rise of women in hip hop as Queen Latifah and Moni Love become pioneers in the genre with the release of Ladies First.

Stream Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World: Culture War for free now through March 15 using the PBS app, or watch it on WITF TV on Tuesday, February 21 at 9pm.

Culture War includes interviews with Warren G, journalists Sway Calloway and Dr. Rosa Alicia Clemente, author Nelson George, historians Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Leah Wright Rigeur, academic Dr. Kaye Whitehead, and many others.

Stream Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World: Culture War on the PBS app now through March 8, or watch its television premiere on Tuesday, February 14 at 9pm on WITF TV.


Black History Month programs on WITF are supported by Mid Penn Bank and GIANT.

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