Richard Griffin, better known by his stage name Professor Griff, is an American rapper, spoken word artist, and lecturer currently residing in Atlanta. He was a member of the hip hop groupPublic Enemy, serving as the group's 'Minister of Information' Griffin was born in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York. Before becoming famous and after serving in the U.S. Army he started a security company called Utility Force to do security at parties. He is best known for his S1W security team dressed in military uniforms who toured with Public Enemy, providing security and doing choreographed military step drills on stage. Today he does lectures on politics, society and the music industry, has an internetradio show on World Star Hit Radio and teaches classes in the Kybalion and The 7 Hermetic Principles for Self-Mastery.
Controversy and departure from Public Enemy
Before the release of It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Professor Griff, in his role as Minister of Information, gave interviews to UK magazines on behalf of Public Enemy, during which he made homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks. In a 1988 issue of Melody Maker he stated, "There's no place for gays. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was for that sort of behaviour" and "If the Palestinians took up arms, went into Israel and killed all the Jews, it'd be all right." However, there was little controversy until May 22, 1989, when Griffin was interviewed by The Washington Times. At the time, Public Enemy enjoyed unprecedented mainstream attention with the single "Fight the Power" from the soundtrack of Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing. During the interview with David Mills, Griffin made numerous statements such as "Jews are responsible for the majority of the wickedness in the world". When the interview was published, a media firestorm emerged, and the band found itself under intense scrutiny. In a series of press conferences, Griffin was either fired, quit, or never left. Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin had already left the label by then; taking his place alongside Russell Simmons was Lyor Cohen, the son of Israeli immigrants who had run Rush Artist Management since 1985. Before the dust settled, Cohen claims to have arranged for a Holocaust Museum to give the band a private tour. In an attempt to defuse the situation, Ridenhour first expressed an apology on his behalf, and fired Griffin soon thereafter. Griffin later rejoined the group, provoking more protests, causing Ridenhour to briefly disband the group. When Public Enemy reformed, due to increasing attention from the press and pressure from Def Jam hierarchy, Griffin was no longer with the band. Griffin later publicly expressed remorse for his statements after a meeting with the National Holocaust Awareness Student Organization in 1990. In his 2009 book, titled Analytixz, Griff once again admitted the faults in his alleged 1989 statement: "To say the Jews are responsible for the majority of wickedness that went on around the globe, I would have to know about the majority of wickedness that went on around the globe, which is impossible...I'm not the best knower—God is. Then, not only knowing that, I would have to know who is at the crux of all of the problems in the world and then blame Jewish people, which is not correct." Griff also said that not only were his words taken out of context, but that the recording was never released to the public for an unbiased listen. In a YouTube interview on August 2, 2018, Professor Griff recalled one of his many long conversations with record executive Lyor Cohen he said he used to have respectful debates about history: "I told him about the history of him and his people about the Ashkenazi, the Ashke-Nazis and when I laid it on him he couldn't handle it and I'm like, all right, which is common knowledge today everybody talking about it, you understand what I'm saying people are making books about it."
Griffin embraces a form of Afrocentrism. After his departure from Public Enemy, Griffin formed his own group, the Last Asiatic Disciples. Griffin's albums were of an Islamic and Afrocentric style, combined with increasingly spoken word lyrics. He was a member of the Nation of Islam, which his lyrics and record titles as a solo artist referenced. Another general theme in his lyrics is New World Order conspiracy. On August 27, 2017, Professor Griff married longtime friend Solé. The couple met 27 years earlier and resumed their relationship after Solé and Ginuwine divorced.
