Since 1987 Public Enemy has been the pulse of the Hip-Hop protest body politic. Chuck-D was made for times like these. For that matter he was made for times when conscious and conscience coincide. With “Bum Rush the Show,” Public Enemy burst on to the seen in 1987, with Chuck-D’s booming voice and Flavor Flav hittin us with his joker commentary. Remember “Public Enemy No. 1” from that album– the track that hit you with groundbreaking Hip-Hop production and the energy that would mark Public Enemy’s persona? It was dope then, and it’s dope in it’s reincarnation “Public Enemy Number Won”, especially when you add in Mike D and Adrock (“Beasties Boys”) and RUN-DMC. This reincarnated track is so layered that we’re going to dive deeper into it when we do our review of the just released album “What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down.” For our Artist of the Week purposes, we want to help reignite the Public Enemy flame that was the soundtrack of the late 80’s and early 90’s when “conscious Hip-Hop” was the sound of Hip Hop. As our country teeters on the precipice of doom and gloom with a global pandemic and a racial awakening, could it be that we need the reappearance or the reincarnation of the coincidence of consciousness and conscience? I say so. We need Chuck-D and Flavor Flav to help energize, educate and engage us during these times. Here are my Top 5 from Public Enemy to help us to that:
1. Fight the Power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmo3HFa2vjg
2020 version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=nNUl8bAKdi4&app=desktop
2. Rebel Without a Pause: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fN5RX15Zhw
3. Bring the Noise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_Jeyif7bB4
4. Welcome to the Terrordome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BBgOlfSLQI
5.Shut Em Down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wOcOBjB3uU
