Release and Reception
On May 22, 1989, Professor Griff, the group's "Minister of Information", was interview by the Washington Times and made anti-Semitic comments, calling Jews "wicked" and blaming them for "the majority of wickedness that goes on across the globe", including financing the Atlantic slave trade and being responsible for South African apartheid. The comments drew attention from the Jewish Defense Organization (JDO), which announced a boycott of Public Enemy and publicized the issue to record executives and retailers. Consequently, the song's inclusion in Do the Right Thing led to pickets at the film's screenings from the JDO. Griff's interview was also outcried by media outlets. In response, Chuck D sent mixed messages to the media for a month, including reports of the group disbanding, not disbanding, boycotting the music industry, and dismissing Griff from the group. In June, Griff was dismissed from the group, and "Fight the Power" was released on a one-off deal with Motown Records. Public Enemy subsequently went on a self-imposed break from the public in order to take pressure off of Lee and his film. Their next single for Fear of a Black Planet, "Welcome to the Terrordome", featured lyrics defending the group and attacking their critics during the controversy, and stirred more controversy for them over race and antisemitism.
During their self-imposed inactivity, "Fight the Power" climbed the Billboard charts. It was released as a 7-inch single in the United States and the United Kingdom, while the song's extended soundtrack version was released on a 12-inch and a CD maxi single.
"Fight the Power" was well-received by music critics upon its release. Greg Sandow of Entertainment Weekly wrote that it is "perhaps the strongest pop single of 1989". "Fight the Power" was named the best single of 1989 by the The Village Voice in their annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll.
Read more about this topic: Fight The Power
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