Chuck D criticises taunting plays of Public Enemy's ‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ amid LA fires

Public Enemy frontman Chuck D has spoken out against people playing and referencing the track ‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ in a taunting, celebratory fashion amid the fires that are devastating Los Angeles.

The wildfires have caused significant destruction to the city. The official death toll currently stands at 10 people, while tens of thousands of acres of the city have been ravaged, with more than 9,000 structures damaged or destroyed. Five

Some users on social media sites such as TikTok and Twitter have co-opted Public Enemy’s 1990 track in mocking posts that take satisfaction from the disastrous fires, which has been strongly rebuked by Chuck D.

In a post on Instagram, he wrote: “‘Burn Hollywood Burn’ is a protest song extracted from the Watts rebellion, monikered by the Magnificent Montague in 1965 against inequality when he said ‘burn baby burn’ across the air. We made mind revolution songs aimed at a one-sided exploitation by an industry.”

‘Burn Hollywood Burn’, which features guest appearances from Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane, appears on Public Enemy’s 1990 album ‘Fear of a Black Planet’, and hits out at Black stereotypes propagated by the film industry in its lyrics, including depictions of Black people as criminals and slaves.

Its potent lyrical content and collaboration between members of different rap crews, which was unusual at the time and led to multi-label clearance issues, made it a Black empowerment anthem and a symbol of striving together for the same collective goal of fairer representation in the media.

The Watts Rebellion was an uprising in the Watts neighbourhood of LA in August , 1965, which protested the racist oppression and subjugation of its residents at the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Chuck D added that the track “has nothing to do with families losing everything they have in a natural disaster. Learn the history. Godspeed to those in loss.”

In a separate post, Chuck D shared information about the fires burning, alongside the caption: “PRAYERS UP. BE SAFE. EVACUATE.”

At the time of writing, there are five fires burning in LA, impacting the Palisades, Eaton, Kenneth, Hurst and Lida areas.

California fire chief David Acuna has warned that high winds could further spread the fires, with a Red Flag Warning in place across much of LA and in other parts of Southern California

A number of members of the city’s music community have been affected, including Photay and Celia Hollander, who have lost their home, music gear and entire vinyl collections among other treasured possessions, and Empress Of, formerly signed to XL Recordings, whose family home in Altadena burned down. GoFundMe fundraiser have been set up to support Photay, Celia and Empress Of.

A list of resources to aid those affected can be found below.

Register for emergency notifications here.

Maps of fires, evacuation orders, animal shelters, road closures can be found at CalFire and Watch Duty.

A spreadsheet of ways to support the music community.

A spreadsheet of resources from Mutual Aid LA.

GoFundMe for Those Affected by the California Wildfires