Chuck D Speaks Out Against Jay Z and Ja Rule (Gangsta Rap)

Shemia Muhammad
November 7, 2002

The murder of legendary deejay Jam Master Jay cast a pall over a New Jersey hip-hop summit yesterday - an prompted rap superstar Chuck D. to launch a withering verbal attack on gangsta rappers, singling out such names as Jay-Z and Ja Rule.

"I think the industry has allowed a criminal element and criminal attitude into the business structure," said the Public Enemy front man. "Before, the violence was on the streets. Now it's in the business."

Chuck D. gave an electrifying two-hour key-note speech to hundreds of rap fans who packed the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark for a four-day gathering dubbed "Planet Hip-Hop" that concludes today.

After a minute of silence in memory of the slain hip-hop legend, Chuck D. said hip-hop had become poisoned by the gangsta element who only cared about money.

He especially slammed newer artists such as Jay-Z and Ja Rule as being example of this - saying such performers bring violence, but no talent, to the industry.

"They can't tell you the difference between a musical note and a bank note," he said.

He also criticized records labels, including Def Jam, for signing up thug-element young artists who needed extra security.

If they need extra security, he said, why are they being signed up?

Industry insiders at the summit said Jam Master Jay's murder has sent industry executives and the business's best performers scrambling for cover, dodging finger-pointing as the focus on the tragedy shifts to the violent culture that brought the worst lyrics to life.

Big-name artists from Damon Dash to Jay-Z have gone underground, avoiding the media and the possibility that they might next in the firing line.

"All of us have to constantly be on guard," said Ronnie Goodman, vice president of R.J. Records, a gangsta-rap company. "Danger and deception is everywhere in gangster rap. It's our worries. It's what our lyrics represent."

For years, one of the top labels was producer Suge Knight's Death Row label, home to Dr. Dre and the late Tupac Shakur.

Now, the label at the top of the heap is Murder Inc., a name chosen by producer Irving Lorenzo for its shock value.

Lorenzo is better known by his industry name, Irv Gotti, named after the late Gambino crime family boss John Gotti.

With acts such as Ashanti and Ja Rule performing new words over R&B standards, Gotti's label has sold millions of records, but not without butting heads with other execs over talent and contracts.

Gotti, like Jam Master Jay, grew up in Hollis, Queens, spinning records. He later moved to the other side of the turntable as a producer, signing such rappers as DMX and Jay-Z, whose albums went multiplatinum.

Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, had moved to producing, and rumors persist of tension between his outfit and Gotti's.

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