"Burn Hollywood Burn" v. "12 Years A Slave"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6MlwT1lBk0

Nestled midway on “Fear of a Black Planet,” Public Enemy’s 1990 platinum album — and one of the greatest musical releases of all time — comes “Burn Hollywood Burn.” (Halfway between “911 Is A Joke” and “Fight the Power”! I mean!)

The track is notable not just for rhyming “burn” TERM and “perm” (important correction!) but for the collaboration with Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane — the only guest stars on the album. “Butlers and maids,” slaves and hoes” is how Kane describes available Hollywood roles for black people.

Here we are in the future, 24 years later! How did the fellas take last night’s best picture win for 12 Years A Slave, in a year in which The Butler was the top-earning black film, at an Oscars where 42 barely made it into a montage?

@Seeds_ONE Seeds whatever fight you’re fighting keep on, but keep your focus in reality too.Screaming at speeding trains ranks with crazy

— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) March 3, 2014

Chuck D. spent the night arguing with some troll who accused him of being a sell-out. Didn’t mention the Oscars.

Rocking late night with bigdaddykane at the Urban Gardens inside the Ritz!!! #trueskoolset #ruffneck… http://t.co/fIcquKEdeM

— MC Lyte (@mclyte) March 2, 2014

Big Daddy Kane spent the day recovering from Saturday’s show with MC Lyte in Charlotte, NC. He’s on tour! Didn’t mention the Oscars.

Once again, thanks for supporting the movie RIDE ALONG all over the world! Let me know the city and country where you saw it.

— Ice Cube (@icecube) March 1, 2014

Ice Cube’s most recent tweet is thanking people for seeing the moving Ride Along, the year’s 304th Kevin Hart vehicle. The cop-buddy-comedy has 17% on Rotten Tomatoes but is crushing at the box office. Didn’t mention the Oscars.

Me and my son Gibran Trujillo Ranked no.2 in the state of navada highschool football y’all Git on it Um proud of him pic.twitter.com/Cqvq2yKqhe

— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) January 17, 2014

Finally, Flavor Flav has been down in Perth? But before he left, he tweeted this picture of himself with his son. (Though Flavor has seven children of his own, this fellow is his girlfriend’s son.) Damn. Gibran’s Instagram is private. The more you know! Anyway, life goes on.