The irony of the song and the message of exploitation is lost on some. Here they are excoriating those who would exploit Elvis, while putting out a song about Elvis with less than flattering sentiment (bound to garner attention) thereby actually exploiting Elvis.
The song comes not too long after PE and their statement on Elvis (Chuck D goes on to say it wasn’t so much about Elvis as it was the system that made him famous)
The reality is Elvis never claimed to be anything but a lover of R&B and Gospel. He emulated HIS heroes and wasn’t shy about showing love to the Black community and those who helped form his love for popular music. When you hear James Brown, Solomon Burke, BB King, Jackie Wilson etc etc speak on Elvis, they never felt threatened or felt he stole anything. I’m fact they were happy and grateful that he inadvertently opened doors for Black Music to pour into the mainstream.
The irony of the song and the message of exploitation is lost on some. Here they are excoriating those who would exploit Elvis, while putting out a song about Elvis with less than flattering sentiment (bound to garner attention) thereby actually exploiting Elvis.
The song comes not too long after PE and their statement on Elvis (Chuck D goes on to say it wasn’t so much about Elvis as it was the system that made him famous)
The reality is Elvis never claimed to be anything but a lover of R&B and Gospel. He emulated HIS heroes and wasn’t shy about showing love to the Black community and those who helped form his love for popular music. When you hear James Brown, Solomon Burke, BB King, Jackie Wilson etc etc speak on Elvis, they never felt threatened or felt he stole anything. I’m fact they were happy and grateful that he inadvertently opened doors for Black Music to pour into the mainstream.