Entry · catalog no. 9215
fight the power
/ /ˈfaɪt ðə ˈpaʊəɹ/ /FITE thuh POW-er
verb phrase · Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn (1989); earlier Isley Brothers (1975) · 1970s
✓ Verified
1.
To resist the people and systems in control, especially racist institutions.
“The whole song is about how to fight the power.”
Origin & Attribution
The Isley Brothers released 'Fight the Power (Parts 1 & 2)' in 1975. Public Enemy took the title and theme for 'Fight the Power', released 4 July 1989 on Motown for Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing. Chuck D wrote most of it on a flight over Italy during a 1988 tour. Lee directed the video in Bedford-Stuyvesant on 22 April 1989, mixing footage of the 1963 March on Washington with a staged rally. The phrase was in the language of Black protest before the songs, but these two records fixed it.
1975
The Isley Brothers release 'Fight the Power'
1989
Public Enemy release 'Fight the Power' for Do the Right Thing
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn (1989); earlier Isley Brothers (1975) · 1970s
Spoken by
Black artists and activists; hip-hop listeners
$FIGHTTThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady14 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1975
in the culture
Recorded here
2026
point of first record
Mainstream crossover
1989
search interest spikes
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
The Isley Brothers, 'Fight the Power (Parts 1 & 2)' (1975)
recording
■
Public Enemy, 'Fight the Power' (1989)
recording
■
+ Cite a sourceSpike Lee, Do the Right Thing (1989)
film
See also