Chuck Philips

Charles Alan Philips (October 15, 1952 – January 2024) was an American writer and journalist.

He moved to Los Angeles at age 19 and worked for the Wasserman Silk Screen Company of Santa Monica, California, while studying at California State University, Long Beach, where he received a B.A. in journalism in 1989.

He was best known for his investigative reporting in the Los Angeles Times on the culture, corruption, and crime in the music industry during the 1990s and 2000s, which garnered both awards and controversy.

Philips spent a majority of his career writing for the LA Times, beginning as a freelance writer in 1990 and joining the staff in 1995.

In 1991, Philips wrote an article exposing rampant sexual harassment in the music industry.

He revealed, "Industry sources say sexual comportment has been a behind-the-scenes factor in certain recent executive shake-ups."

The article details four cases of harassment at a prominent entertainment law firm and three record labels, Geffen Records, RCA Records, and Island Records.

Philips continued relentless coverage and other media outlets followed suit.

A follow-up interview in which a victim graphicly describes her experience led to more women sharing their stories.

In the summer of 1992, Philips provided a platform to the artist who had just released one of the most controversial songs of all time, "Cop Killer."

Ice-T was under fire from police, politicians, and even the President, who called the song "sick."

In his first interview after the controversy broke, the artist defended his role in a culture war.

On the front page of the country's second-largest newspaper, in a Q&A about rock, race, and the 'Cop Killer' furor, Ice-T counterattacked his critics, "Arnold Schwarzenegger blew away dozens of cops as the Terminator. But I don’t hear anybody complaining."

Despite the song being a product of Ice-T's heavy metal band, Body Count, it was ensnared in a campaign to ban gangsta rap.

He complained:

Ice-T had been accused by The Establishment of inciting violence against police officers.

He illuminated Philips and his readers on the message of the song.

It's not anti-police.

It's anti-police brutality:

Anti-censorship advocate Jeff Ayeroff, Rock the Vote co-founder and then Virgin Records executive, called attention to the hypocrisy, "It’s not like the White House expresses any interest in trying to resolve the polarization that this song reflects. They just want to exploit the fear of this potent black artist to their own political advantage."

Philips himself surmised:

Thirty years later, this Ice-T Q&A and accompanying story, "The Uncivil War : The battle between the Establishment and supporters of rap music reopens old wounds of race and class," are part of American history.

It is cited in numerous works related to Hip-hop culture, Black history, and free speech and first amendment rights.

By 1995, all six major record labels had updated their sexual harassment policies.

In 1999, Philips won a Pulitzer Prize, with Michael A. Hiltzik, for their co-authored series exposing corruption in the entertainment industry.

Philips reported extensively in the LA Times on the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry and the murders of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace aka the Notorious B.I.G. and their respective investigations.

In 2002, Philips described Las Vegas' floundered probe into Tupac's murder and put forth his own theory based on a yearlong investigation.

His controversial theory, which alleges the involvement of the late Wallace, has been neither confirmed nor verifiably debunked and continues to be debated.

In a 2008 article, Philips tied industry executives Sean "Puffy" Combs and James Rosemond to the 1994 ambush of Shakur.

In response, both Combs and Rosemond issued scathing statements of denial and received out-of-court settlements from the paper.

Documents sourced by Philips to support his claims were later proven to be fabricated.

Philips stood by his story despite the falsified documents.

The Times ran a retraction along with apologies from Philips and his editors, and parted ways with Philips a few months later.

Philips' reporting is widely cited in media, including trade publications, journals, books, and podcasts.

Critics allege an obsession with unsolved crimes in the Hip-hop community, interference with official investigations, and biased coverage of the Los Angeles Police Department and Death Row Records.

Philips died in January 2024, at the age of 71.

Philips grew up in the Detroit area and attended Franklin High School.

He remained at the Times until being laid off in 2008.

He wrote several investigative pieces and series about the music industry, particularly on controversial business practices, corruption, and crime.

Philips has also written for The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Rolling Stone, Spin, The Village Voice, AllHipHop and The Source.