In an interview with HipHopDX, legendary Queens emcee MC Shan who is responsible for the classic track "The Bridge", compared hip-hop group Public Enemy to minister and human rights activist Malcolm X. MC Shan, who favors social commentary in hip-hop, stresses the imporrtance of a message in rap. He praises Public Enemy for their social commentary as well as being bringing social consciousness to full blast on a record.

"Social commentary was a big thing back then," said Shan. "Giving a message in the music, letting out plight be heard and things like that. Music was our way to get our message to the world, what was going on in the hood because before that, there was no outlets or media that really exposed what was going on in the hood. But when Hip Hop came about, it gave us a voice to express ourselves and express ourselves musically, creatively and we used it to our best advantages. Like, Public Enemy, bringing social consciousness to full blast on a record just the same way that Malcolm X did back in the '60s."

Continuing, MC Shan says, ""...That's what our thing was, we was rebels at whatever we did," MC Shan continues. "Social commentary is not wanted nowadays. Anytime you try and teach somebody something, they don't want to understand. They don't want to listen, especially with the generation that thinks that Hip Hop belongs to them now. They are the worst. They don't respect they mothers, let alone respect their friends, respect their family. Let alone respect their neighbors. These are the same ones talking about, 'I'm going to go kill a mothafucka,' and guess who he just shot? His man that lived across the street from him that grew up with him from Day 1. There's no love, no compassion...But nowadays, it's no respect for no one, anything. Period."

Source: HipHopDX