Hip-hop icon, social justice activist and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Chuck D has been named the recipient of the 2019 Woody Guthrie Prize by the Woody Guthrie Center, in Tulsa, OK. The Public Enemy rapper, born Carlton Charles Ridenhour, was noted for, like the folk legend, holding truth to power and for shining a light on social and political issues, particularly those that impact African Americans. French band Phoenix recall in a new memoir their nearly disastrous appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2009, when Lorne Michaels gave them a backstage lecture about being too boring and their equipment almost conking out right before air time. And David Byrne made a triumphant appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week, beautifully performing a song that appears in his highly acclaimed Broadway show American Utopia, with a young person's choir.
Chuck D Wins Woody Guthrie Prize
Rolling Stone
