Rare Chuck D interview from Hofstra University P5 Hip-Hop Show (September 1988)

On September 10, 1988 the "Dope Jam 88" hip-hop tour made its way to the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, just a few traffic lights away from Hofstra University.  Eric B & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, Kool Moe Dee, Doug E. Fresh and a few other acts were on the bill that evening.  Unfortunately this particular show is most remembered for a young man being stabbed to death inside of the arena.  Arrests were made, but that did not stop officials from the Coliseum from instituting a ban on rap concerts in the venue (which to my knowledge lasted until Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life" tour, which featured DMX, Method Man & Redman, rolled through in 1999)

One of the advantages of living in Long Island during this time when hip-hop on the radio was mainly relegated to night time slots, was the plethora of shows that could be heard almost on a daily basis.  Friday and Saturday nights, I was able to tune in to the hip-hop radio shows on the big stations from New York City, like 107.5 WBLS (Mr. Magic's Rap Attack) and 98.7 KISS FM (DJ's Red Alert & Chuck Chillout), as well as Adelphi University's WBAU on Monday nights, and Hofstra University on Saturday night.  Hofstra's station was 88.7 FM WRHU and their hip-hop show was called P5 (Post Punk Progressive Pop Party) hosted by Jeff Foss.

I used to record all of these shows on cassette whenever I could.  Some of them were labeled, but too many had no label on them.   Back when recording these shows was part of my regular routine, even if a cassette was unlabeled, I used to know what was on each them, based on the brand of the cassette and how much tape was on either side of the spool.  Having that sort of relationship with my music, gave me that super power.  Through the years that ability has faded, so now a little more work is needed in order to figure out what is on these recordings.

When I find time these days, I pop in the unlabeled cassettes and play them from Side A to Side B, making note of any highlights.  Imagine my surprise when I recently played a tape that had the Hofstra University P5 show on it, but more importantly featured an interview by Jeff Foss of the one and only Chuck D of Public Enemy!

The interview is about ten minutes long, and Chuck used his time to speak about Nassau Coliseum's decision to ban all rap concerts in the aftermath of the Dope Jam concert, saying that the ten thousand people that peacefully attended the concert, should not pay for the action of "ten knuckleheads".  He also discussed giving back to the community, plans for a world tour that Public Enemy was embarking on that November, and how the recently released "It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" had just hit a milestone on the Billboard charts.   I am not 100% sure, but I believe this is from September 24, 1988 for all the history buffs out there.

I have not heard this interview anywhere else online, so if you enjoy it, drop me a line in the comments, and please share!

Link to interview: Chuck D interview from WRHU FM P5 Hip-Hop Show September 1988

And here is a video from Yo MTV Raps that was recorded at the Nassau Coliseum Dope Jam concert with some interviews with Doug E. Fresh, KRS-1, and a few others: