Chuck D on Raging in America: ‘The System Is Broken and We Want an Answer’

Chuck D is a member of the recently formed supergroup Prophets of Rage. The longtime Public Enemy frontman formed the group with members of Rage Against the Machine and B-Real of Cypress Hill; and the Prophets are on the road with their Make America Rage Again Tour encouraging fans to rage against the system.

In an interview with The New York Times, the self-described “raptivist” explains why he’s raging in America, his thoughts on Donald Trump and why the government is corrupt. And Chuck specified that, although Prophets of Rage held a protest concert at the Republican National Convention last month, the group isn't necessarily pro-Hillary Clinton.

"It just means that we think that the system is broken and that we want an answer to it," Chuck D explains. "The fact that the system has two parties in 2016 is an embarrassment, because the two parties have been bought out for so long. We aim to be a voice for the voiceless, a voice that raises people’s consciousness. We are the “Camp Pain” against the campaign."

Speaking of the presidential campaign, it's well known that Chuck D is not a fan of Donald Trump. The P.E. leader sees the current presidential race as a haunted house more than a circus.

"It’s really exhilarating to see a presidential nominee with train wreck coming out of his mouth, and people are astonished and shocked by it, and treat it as if it’s a haunted house," he says of Trump. "You know the haunted house where people are afraid but they go in anyway? That’s what this Donald Trump thing is like."

"It says, 'Stay away!' It says, 'Get out!' And you keep saying: 'Oh, my God. It’s so scary!' while walking into the haunted house," he continues. "Then you see a head roll down the staircase. And you’re like: 'Oh, my God. What’s up them steps? What’s up that staircase?' It’s not about being pro-Hillary. The word is out there that she’ll do anything and say anything to be in that position."

Finally, when asked if he would move to another country if Donald Trump gets elected, Chuck D had a better concept.

"Why would I move into one place? I want the whole world," he says. "I don’t want chains to go around Earth. There should be an Earth passport - Mos Def claims he has one."

"Governments are the cancers of civilization," he adds. "The nerve for a government to say who can’t move around on this planet — I mean, that’s an alien concept. I think it’s absurd for some government to say who and what an immigrant is. It’s a lot of [expletive] up. You can print that."

You can read Chuck D's full New York Times interview at nytimes.com.