Word: griff
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...familiar in American political discourse. Here's how it works: 1) a semi-obscure black figure says something outrageous or anti-Semitic; 2) pundits pontificate, word processors whirr; 3) one by one, black leaders are forced to condemn the offending words and the offensive speaker. It happened to Professor Griff, formerly of the politically charged rap group Public Enemy. It also happened to Farrakhan, when he called Judaism a "gutter religion." Now Muhammad's words have put him -- and the Nation of Islam -- in the cross hairs...
...doesn't rap seem to glorify the worst aspects of ghetto culture? Not necessarily, says Simmons. He dissociates himself from the misogynistic and racist statements his rappers make. The president of his company is a woman. During the uproar three years ago over anti-Semitic statements made by Professor Griff, then a member of Public Enemy (later severed), Simmons condemned Griff. Nevertheless, he steadfastly defends the right of his performers to have their say and to say it however they want. "I let the rappers be what they are," he says. "I try to choose the most acceptable part...
That was also when Public Enemy got burned by its own flame. A nonperforming member of the band, Professor Griff, used a newspaper interview to vent some unsavory racial theories (among them: that Jews are responsible for "the majority of wickedness that goes on across the globe"), which caused enough criticism for Chuck D to fire Professor Griff and disband the group. The Professor, Chuck D remarked later, "almost burned down the house." When the group re-formed two months later, its leader was careful to say, "We are not anti-Jewish. We are not anti-anyone...
...alarmed last spring when Richard Griffin, then the group's "Minister of Information" and head of the S1W squad, told the Washington Times that Jews were responsible for "the majority of wickedness going on across the globe." Ridenhour promptly condemned the statement and said that Griffin, known as Professor Griff, would leave the group. A few days later executives at Public Enemy's record label, Def Jam, announced that the group would disband. In the end, however, the group stayed together and Griffin stayed on, albeit in a demoted position. Griffin, a devoted follower of Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan...
...Griff isn't flashy," Lux said. "He's a strong, aggressive, middle linebacker-type player, kind of blue-collar. He came through big against Penn...