Shawn Setaro
[Producer Keith Shocklee, a member of the legendary collective The Bomb Squad (Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Slick Rick) recently sat down with hip-hop personality and SOHH correspondent Shawn Setaro on his popular “The Cipher” podcast. Listen to the full interview and check out five gems Keith dropped during the Q&A.]
On why early mobile DJs loved playing in his hometown of Roosevelt, Long Island:
“The Brooklyn and Queens DJs loved to come out to Long Island because we didn’t have the amount of drama that they had.”
On the early days of hip-hop culture:
“I give the Bronx credit for naming the culture and giving it direction, but the culture’s always been there.”
On the reaction to Public Enemy’s debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show:
“They hadn’t heard lyrics like that coming from anyone who was so conscience-driven and community-driven and focused on the young black youth as being targets.”
On Public Enemy’s relationship with the streets:
“Being from Long Island, yes, we had street knowledge. We knew all the street cats. But we just didn’t want to do that. That’s not us. We’ve got sense and knowledge.
On how Public Enemy decided on its mission:
“We need to uplift the male black youth, because we’re going through turmoil. We’re coming from Adelphi (University), and we’re getting treated like we just robbed somebody.”
