Fight the Power Lyrics

[Chorus: Chuck D & Flavor Flav + Chuck D + Flavor Flav]
Fight the power!
Fight the power!


Fight the power!
Fight the power!
We've got to fight the powers that be


[Post-Chorus instrumental]

[Bridge: Chuck D & Flavor Flav + Chuck D + Flavor Flav]
What we got to say?
Fight the power!
What we got to say?
Fight the power! C'mon!
What we got to say?
Fight the power!
What we got to say?
Fight the power! C'mon!


[Outro: Flavor Flav + ? + Chuck D]
Yo, check this out, man
Ok, talk to me about the future of Public Enemy
The future of Public Enemy got a—

[Produced by The Bomb Squad]

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About

Genius Annotation

This anthem, originally from the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s classic movie Do the Right Thing and later on PE’s seminal album Fear of a Black Planet, is perhaps the group’s best-known song. Peace to Radio Raheem.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Public Enemy say about "Fight the Power"?
Genius Answer

Chuck D said the inspiration for the song came to him as he was flying over Italy during Public Enemy’s Run’s House tour:

I wanted to have sorta like the same theme as the original ‘Fight the Power" by the Isley Brothers and fill it in with some kind of modernist views of what our surroundings were at that particular time.

He told Keyboard magazine in 1990:

‘Fight the Power’ has, like, 17 samples in the first 10 seconds. For example, there’s three different drum loops that make one big drum loop: One is a standard Funkadelic thing, another is a Sly [Stone] thing, and I think the third is the Jacksons.

Credits
Produced By
Release Date
June 1, 1989
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