Hello, first the most amazing breakthrough in bioscience this century Bacteria contradict Darwin New microbial research at the University of Copenhagen suggests that 'survival of the friendliest' outweighs 'survival of the fittest' for groups of bacteria. Bacteria make space for one another and sacrifice properties if it benefits the bacterial community as a whole. The discovery is a major step towards understanding complex bacteria interactions and the development of new treatment models for a wide range of human diseases and new green technologies. Humans are colonized by many microorganisms; the traditional estimate is that the average human body is inhabited by ten times as many non-human cells as human cells, but more recent estimates have lowered that ratio to 3:1 Some microorganisms that colonize humans are commensal, meaning they co-exist without harming humans; others have a mutualistic relationship with their human hosts. Fact is without bacteria we and all other life on earth wouldn't exist, but we are human animals that thinks they know better..winner takes it all. Ah yes it's like the EU vs UK with the latters survival strategy not very promising for most of its inhabitants but then they have been conditioned to worship their winners for a 1000 years.....
Today's Artists are arguably one of the most critically acclaimed and influential groups of all time, they brought their own brand of politics and sonic innovation into hip-hop in the 80s, and some would say, changed it forever.Their first four albums during the late 1980s and early 1990s were all certified either gold or platinum and were, according to music critic Robert Hilburn in 1998, "the most acclaimed body of work ever by a hip hop act ...... N Joy
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Public Enemy rewrote the rules of hip-hop, becoming the most influential and controversial rap group of the late '80s and, for many, the definitive rap group of all time. Building from Run-D.M.C.'s street-oriented beats and Boogie Down Productions' proto-gangsta rhyming, Public Enemy pioneered a variation of hardcore rap that was musically and politically revolutionary. With his powerful, authoritative baritone, lead rapper Chuck D rhymed about all kinds of social problems, particularly those plaguing the black community, often condoning revolutionary tactics and social activism. In the process, he directed hip-hop toward an explicitly self-aware, pro-black consciousness that became the culture's signature throughout the next decade. While Public Enemy's early Def Jam albums, produced with the Bomb Squad, earned them a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they continued to release relevant material up to and beyond their 2013 induction.
Musically, Public Enemy were just as revolutionary, as their production team, the Bomb Squad, created dense soundscapes that relied on avant-garde cut-and-paste techniques, unrecognizable samples, piercing sirens, relentless beats, and deep funk. It was chaotic and invigorating music, made all the more intoxicating by Chuck D's forceful vocals and the absurdist raps of his comic foil, Flavor Flav. With his comic sunglasses and an oversized clock hanging from his neck, Flav became the group's visual focal point, but he never obscured the music. While rap and rock critics embraced the group's late-'80s and early-'90s records, Public Enemy frequently ran into controversy with their militant stance and lyrics, especially after their 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back made them into celebrities. After all the controversy settled in the early '90s, once the group entered a hiatus, it became clear that Public Enemy were the most influential and radical band of their time.
Chuck D (born Carlton Ridenhour, August 1, 1960) formed Public Enemy in 1982, as he was studying graphic design at Adelphi University on Long Island. He had been DJ'ing at the student radio station WBAU, where he met Hank Shocklee and Bill Stephney. All three shared a love of hip-hop and politics, which made them close friends. Shocklee had been assembling hip-hop demo tapes, and Ridenhour rapped over one song, "Public Enemy No. 1," around the same time he began appearing on Stephney's radio show under the Chuckie D pseudonym. Def Jam co-founder and producer Rick Rubin heard a tape of "Public Enemy No. 1" and immediately courted Ridenhour in hopes of signing him to his fledgling label.
Chuck D initially was reluctant, but he eventually developed a concept for a literally revolutionary hip-hop group -- one that would be driven by sonically extreme productions and socially revolutionary politics. Enlisting Shocklee as his chief producer and Stephney as a publicist, Chuck D formed a crew with DJ Terminator X (born Norman Lee Rogers, August 25, 1966) and fellow Nation of Islam member Professor Griff (born Richard Griffin) as the choreographer of the group's backup dancers, the Security of the First World, who performed homages to old Stax and Motown dancers with their martial moves and fake Uzis. He also asked his old friend William Drayton (born March 16, 1959) to join as a fellow rapper. Drayton developed an alter ego called Flavor Flav, who functioned as a court jester to Chuck D's booming voice and somber rhymes in Public Enemy.
Public Enemy's debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, was released on Def Jam Records in 1987. Its spare beats and powerful rhetoric were acclaimed by hip-hop critics and aficionados, but the record was ignored by the rock and R&B mainstream. However, their second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, was impossible to ignore. Under Shocklee's direction, PE's production team, the Bomb Squad, developed a dense, chaotic mix that relied as much on found sounds and avant-garde noise as it did on old-school funk. Similarly, Chuck D's rhetoric gained focus and Flavor Flav's raps were wilder and funnier. A Nation of Millions was hailed as revolutionary by both rap and rock critics, and it was -- hip-hop had suddenly become a force for social change. As Public Enemy's profile was raised, they opened themselves up to controversy. In a notorious statement, Chuck D claimed that rap was "the black CNN," relating what was happening in the inner city in a way that mainstream media could not project. Public Enemy's lyrics were naturally dissected in the wake of such a statement, and many critics were uncomfortable with the positive endorsement of black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan on "Bring the Noise." "Fight the Power," Public Enemy's theme for Spike Lee's controversial 1989 film Do the Right Thing, also caused an uproar for its attacks on Elvis Presley and John Wayne, but that was considerably overshadowed by an interview Professor Griff gave The Washington Times that summer. Griff had previously said anti-Semitic remarks on-stage, but his quotation that Jews were responsible for "the majority of the wickedness that goes on across the globe" was greeted with shock and outrage, especially by white critics who previously embraced the group. Faced with a major crisis, Chuck D faltered. First he fired Griff, then brought him back, then broke up the group entirely. Griff gave one more interview where he attacked Chuck D and PE, which led to his permanent departure from the group.
Public Enemy spent the remainder of 1989 preparing their third album, releasing "Welcome to the Terrordome" as its first single in early 1990. Again, the hit single caused controversy as its lyrics "still they got me like Jesus" were labeled anti-Semitic by some quarters. Despite all the controversy, Fear of a Black Planet was released to enthusiastic reviews in the spring of 1990, and it shot into the pop Top Ten as the singles "911 Is a Joke," "Brothers Gonna Work It Out," and "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" became Top 40 R&B hits. For their next album, 1991's Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black, the group re-recorded "Bring the Noise" with thrash metal band Anthrax, the first sign that the group was trying to consolidate its white audience. Apocalypse 91 was greeted with overwhelmingly positive reviews upon its fall release, and it debuted at number four on the pop charts, but Public Enemy began to lose momentum in 1992 as they toured with the second leg of U2's Zoo TV tour and Flavor Flav was repeatedly in trouble with the law. In the fall of 1992, they released the remix collection Greatest Misses as an attempt to keep their name viable, but it was greeted to nasty reviews.
Public Enemy were on hiatus during 1993, as Flav attempted to wean himself off drugs, returning in the summer of 1994 with Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. Prior to its release, it was subjected to exceedingly negative reviews in Rolling Stone and The Source, which affected the perception of the album considerably. Muse Sick debuted at number 14, but it quickly fell off the charts as it failed to generate any singles. Chuck D retired Public Enemy from touring in 1995 as he severed ties with Def Jam, developed his own record label and publishing company, and attempted to rethink Public Enemy. In 1996, he released his first debut album, The Autobiography of Mistachuck. As it was released in the fall, he announced that he planned to record a new Public Enemy album the following year.
Before that record was made, Chuck D published an autobiography in the fall of 1997. During 1997, Chuck D reassembled the original Bomb Squad and began work on three albums. In the spring of 1998, Public Enemy kicked off their major comeback with their soundtrack to Spike Lee's He Got Game, which was played more like a proper album than a soundtrack. Upon its April 1998 release, the record received the strongest reviews of any Public Enemy album since Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black. After Def Jam refused to help Chuck D's attempts to bring PE's music straight to the masses via the Internet, he signed the group to the web-savvy independent Atomic Pop. Before the retail release of Public Enemy's seventh LP, There's a Poison Goin' On..., the label made MP3 files of the album available on the Internet. It finally appeared in stores in July 1999.
After a three-year break from recording and a switch to the In the Paint label, Public Enemy released Revolverlution, a mix of new tracks, remixes, and live cuts. The CD/DVD combo It Takes a Nation appeared in 2005. The multimedia package contained an hour-long video of the band live in London in 1987 and a CD with rare remixes. The studio album New Whirl Odor also appeared in 2005. The "special projects" album Rebirth of a Nation -- an album with all rhymes written by Bay Area rapper Paris -- was supposed to be released right along with it, but didn't appear until early the next year. The odds-and-ends collection Beats and Places appeared before the end of 2006.
In 2007, the group released an album entitled How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?. Public Enemy's single from the album was "Harder Than You Think". Four years after How You Sell Soul ... , in January 2011, Public Enemy released the album Beats and Places, a compilation of remixes and "lost" tracks. On July 13, 2012, Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp was released and was exclusively available on iTunes. In July 2012, on UK television an advert for the London 2012 Summer Paralympics featured a short remix of the song "Harder Than You Think". The advert caused the song to reach No. 4[ in the UK Singles Chart on September 2, 2012. On July 30, 2012, Public Enemy performed a free concert with Salt-N-Pepa and Kid 'n Play at Wingate Park in Brooklyn, New York as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series. On August 26, 2012, Public Enemy performed at South West Four music festival in Clapham Common in London. On October 1, 2012 The Evil Empire of Everything was released. On June 29, 2013, they performed at Glastonbury Festival 2013. On September 14, 2013 they performed at Riot Fest & Carnival 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. On September 20, 2013 they performed at Riot Fest & Side Show in Byers, Colorado.
In 2014 Chuck D launched PE 2.0 with Oakland rapper Jahi as a spiritual successor and "next generation" of Public Enemy. Jahi met Chuck D backstage during a soundcheck at the 1999 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and later appeared as a support act on Public Enemy's 20th Anniversary Tour in 2007. PE 2.0's task is twofold, Jahi says, to "take select songs from the PE catalog and cover or revisit them" as well as new material with members of the original Public Enemy including DJ Lord, Davy DMX, Professor Griff and Chuck D. PE 2.0's first album People Get Ready was released on October 7, 2014. InsPirEd PE 2.0's second album and part two of a proposed trilogy was released a year later on October 11, 2015. Man Plans God Laughs, Public Enemy's thirteenth album, was released in July 2015. On June 29, 2017, Public Enemy released their fourteenth album, Nothing Is Quick in the Desert. The album was available for free download through Bandcamp until July 4, 2017
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Sometimes, debut albums present an artist in full bloom, with an assured grasp on their sound and message. Sometimes, debut albums are nothing but promise, pointing toward what the artist could do. Public Enemy's gripping first album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, manages to fill both categories: it's an expert, fully realized record of extraordinary power, but it pales in comparison with what came merely a year later. This is very much a Rick Rubin-directed production, kicking heavy guitars toward the front, honing the loops, rhythms, and samples into a roar with as much in common with rock as rap. The Bomb Squad are apparent, but they're in nascent stage -- certain sounds and ideas that would later become trademarks bubble underneath the surface. And the same thing could be said for Chuck D, whose searing, structured rhymes and revolutionary ideas are still being formed. This is still the sound of a group comfortable rocking the neighborhood, but not yet ready to enter the larger national stage. But, damn if they don't sound like they've already conquered the world! Already, there is a tangible, physical excitement to the music, something that hits the gut with relentless force, as the mind races to keep up with Chuck's relentless rhymes or Flavor Flav's spastic outbursts. And if there doesn't seem to be as many classics here -- "You're Gonna Get Yours," "Miuzi Weighs a Ton," "Public Enemy No. 1" -- that's only in comparison to what came later, since by any other artist an album this furious, visceral, and exciting would unquestionably be heralded as a classic. From Public Enemy, this is simply a shade under classic status.
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show (flac 299mb)
01 You're Gonna Get Yours 4:05
02 Sophisticated Bitch 4:30
03 Miuzi Weighs a Ton 5:44
04 Timebomb 2:55
05 Too Much Posse 2:25
06 Rightstarter (Message to a Black Man) 3:49
07 Public Enemy No. 1 4:41
08 M.P.E. 3:44
09 Yo! Bum Rush the Show 4:26
10 Raise the Roof 5:19
11 Megablast 2:51
12 Terminator X Speaks With His Hands 2:13
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Yo! Bum Rush the Show was an invigorating record, but it looks like child's play compared to its monumental sequel, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, a record that rewrote the rules of what hip-hop could do. That's not to say the album is without precedent, since what's particularly ingenious about the album is how it reconfigures things that came before into a startling, fresh, modern sound. Public Enemy used the template Run-D.M.C. created of a rap crew as a rock band, then brought in elements of free jazz, hard funk, even musique concrète, via their producing team, the Bomb Squad, creating a dense, ferocious sound unlike anything that came before. This coincided with a breakthrough in Chuck D's writing, both in his themes and lyrics. It's not that Chuck D was smarter or more ambitious than his contemporaries -- certainly, KRS-One tackled many similar sociopolitical tracts, while Rakim had a greater flow -- but he marshaled considerable revolutionary force, clear vision, and a boundless vocabulary to create galvanizing, logical arguments that were undeniable in their strength. They only gained strength from Flavor Flav's frenzied jokes, which provided a needed contrast. What's amazing is how the words and music become intertwined, gaining strength from each other. Though this music is certainly a representation of its time, it hasn't dated at all. It set a standard that few could touch then, and even fewer have attempted to meet since. "Don't believe the hype, it's just a sequel". And that's what made Public Enemy such a valuable listen in their early era. It was a group that understood it never mattered what the media said, it was all about the streets and the idea of "being real". Public Enemy was the idea of an MC deconstructing the idea of what rap should be, and a production team deconstructing the idea of what rap could sound like. Ironically, or perhaps appropriately, the factors of media would begin to dilute this group's performance going forward - especially once Flavor Flav and Professor Griff were disseminated from the group, or at least circumcised - but this is an album worth it's own hype (excuse the term) in gold. And that's really all that needs to be said
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back . (flac 404mb)
Side Silver
01 Countdown to Armageddon 1:41
02 Bring the Noise 3:47
03 Don't Believe the Hype 5:20
04 Cold Lampin With Flavor 4:13
05 Terminator X to the Edge of Panic 4:30
06 Mind Terrorist 1:18
07 Louder Than a Bomb 3:37
08 Caught, Can We Get a Witness? 5:03
Side Black
09 Show Em Whatcha Got 1:57
10 She Watch Channel Zero?! 3:50
11 Night of the Living Baseheads 3:16
12 Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos 6:25
13 Security of the First World 1:22
14 Rebel Without a Pause 5:05
15 Prophets of Rage 3:15
16 Party for Your Right to Fight 3:27
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At the time of its release in March 1990 -- just a mere two years after It Takes a Nation of Millions -- nearly all of the attention spent on Public Enemy's third album, Fear of a Black Planet, was concentrated on the dying controversy over Professor Griff's anti-Semitic statements of 1989, and how leader Chuck D bungled the public relations regarding his dismissal. References to the controversy are scattered throughout the album -- and it fueled the incendiary lead single, "Welcome to the Terrordome" -- but years later, after the furor has died down, what remains is a remarkable piece of modern art, a record that ushered in the '90s in a hail of multiculturalism and kaleidoscopic confusion. It also easily stands as the Bomb Squad's finest musical moment. Where Millions was all about aggression -- layered aggression, but aggression nonetheless -- Fear of a Black Planet encompasses everything, touching on seductive grooves, relentless beats, hard funk, and dub reggae without blinking an eye. All the more impressive is that this is one of the records made during the golden age of sampling, before legal limits were set on sampling, so this is a wild, endlessly layered record filled with familiar sounds you can't place; it's nearly as heady as the Beastie Boys' magnum opus, Paul's Boutique, in how it pulls from anonymous and familiar sources to create something totally original and modern. While the Bomb Squad were casting a wider net, Chuck D's writing was tighter than ever, with each track tackling a specific topic (apart from the aforementioned "Welcome to the Terrordome," whose careening rhymes and paranoid confusion are all the more effective when surrounded by such detailed arguments), a sentiment that spills over to Flavor Flav, who delivers the pungent black humor of "911 Is a Joke," perhaps the best-known song here. Chuck gets himself into trouble here and there -- most notoriously on "Meet the G That Killed Me," where he skirts with homophobia -- but by and large, he's never been so eloquent, angry, or persuasive as he is here. This isn't as revolutionary or as potent as Millions, but it holds together better, and as a piece of music, this is the best hip-hop has ever had to offer.
Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet (flac 394mb)
01 Contract on the World Love Jam 1:49
02 Brothers Gonna Work It Out 5:03
03 911 Is a Joke 3:17
04 Incident at 66.6 FM 1:37
05 Welcome to the Terrordome 5:25
06 Meet the G That Killed Me 0:44
07 Pollywanacraka 4:13
08 Anti-Nigger Machine 2:39
09 Burn Hollywood Burn 3:04
10 Power to the People 3:48
11 Who Stole the Soul? 3:52
12 Fear of a Black Planet 3:42
13 Revolutionary Generation 5:43
14 Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man 2:46
15 Reggie Jax 1:35
16 Leave This Off Your Fuckin Charts 2:31
17 B. Side Wins Again 3:45
18 War at 33 1/3 2:07
19 Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned 0:48
20 Fight the Power 4:42
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Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black has traditionally been Public Enemy's under-rated classic, the one that the fans love but nobody ever talks about. It's a weird situation, because there is no reason why this shouldn't be famous - it comes straight after two classics, Professor Griff's sacking gives it a backstory worthy of both tabloid scandal and broadsheet debate, it sold well, and it's got at least one song, in the Anthrax-featuring reworking of "Bring tha Noize", that has enjoyed regular airplay and exposure since release. If there is an explanation, it's that Apocalypse 91 is a different beast to either Fear of a Black Planet or It Take a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The production has changed hands, with The Bomb Squad moving into an executive role and newcomers The Imperial Grand Ministers of Funk handling the bulk of the work - their sound is less dense and less harsh than The Bomb Squad's, moving instead to something more basic and more obviously indebted to soul and funk. That means that the one thing that was most obviously special and unique about P.E. is gone; the music on Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black, while pretty great, is music that could concievably have been made by any number of producers. No matter, though - Chuck makes up for it by bringing his usual fire, while even Flava Flav sounds pissed off. Public Enemy were always an angry group, but Apocalypse 91 may well be the album where they were most direct about it, raging at racist language ("I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo Nigga"), slavery ("Can't Truss It"), the media's hypocrisy when it comes to alcoholism ("1 Million Bottlebags"), and even finding time to take potshots at targets as seemingly harmless as De La Soul ('that nigger over there, who try to keep it yesteryear, the good old days - the same old ways that kept us dying? Yes you, "My Myself & I" indeed, what you need is a nosebleed'). The song that last lyric comes from, "By the Time I Get to Arizona", is the greatest song they ever released - it's an absolute monster.
Public Enemy - Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (flac 381mb)
01 Lost at Birth 3:49
02 Rebirth 0:59
03 Nighttrain 3:27
04 Can't Truss It 5:21
05 I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo Niga 4:23
06 How to Kill a Radio Consultant 3:09
07 By the Time I Get to Arizona 4:48
08 Move! feat. Sister Souljah 4:59
09 1 Million Bottlebags 4:06
10 More News at 11 2:39
11 Shut Em Down 5:04
12 A Letter to the New York Post 2:45
13 Get the Fuck Outta Dodge feat. True Mathematics 2:38
14 Bring Tha Noize with Anthrax 3:47
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Today's Artists are arguably one of the most critically acclaimed and influential groups of all time, they brought their own brand of politics and sonic innovation into hip-hop in the 80s, and some would say, changed it forever.Their first four albums during the late 1980s and early 1990s were all certified either gold or platinum and were, according to music critic Robert Hilburn in 1998, "the most acclaimed body of work ever by a hip hop act ...... N Joy
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Public Enemy rewrote the rules of hip-hop, becoming the most influential and controversial rap group of the late '80s and, for many, the definitive rap group of all time. Building from Run-D.M.C.'s street-oriented beats and Boogie Down Productions' proto-gangsta rhyming, Public Enemy pioneered a variation of hardcore rap that was musically and politically revolutionary. With his powerful, authoritative baritone, lead rapper Chuck D rhymed about all kinds of social problems, particularly those plaguing the black community, often condoning revolutionary tactics and social activism. In the process, he directed hip-hop toward an explicitly self-aware, pro-black consciousness that became the culture's signature throughout the next decade. While Public Enemy's early Def Jam albums, produced with the Bomb Squad, earned them a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they continued to release relevant material up to and beyond their 2013 induction.
Musically, Public Enemy were just as revolutionary, as their production team, the Bomb Squad, created dense soundscapes that relied on avant-garde cut-and-paste techniques, unrecognizable samples, piercing sirens, relentless beats, and deep funk. It was chaotic and invigorating music, made all the more intoxicating by Chuck D's forceful vocals and the absurdist raps of his comic foil, Flavor Flav. With his comic sunglasses and an oversized clock hanging from his neck, Flav became the group's visual focal point, but he never obscured the music. While rap and rock critics embraced the group's late-'80s and early-'90s records, Public Enemy frequently ran into controversy with their militant stance and lyrics, especially after their 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back made them into celebrities. After all the controversy settled in the early '90s, once the group entered a hiatus, it became clear that Public Enemy were the most influential and radical band of their time.
Chuck D (born Carlton Ridenhour, August 1, 1960) formed Public Enemy in 1982, as he was studying graphic design at Adelphi University on Long Island. He had been DJ'ing at the student radio station WBAU, where he met Hank Shocklee and Bill Stephney. All three shared a love of hip-hop and politics, which made them close friends. Shocklee had been assembling hip-hop demo tapes, and Ridenhour rapped over one song, "Public Enemy No. 1," around the same time he began appearing on Stephney's radio show under the Chuckie D pseudonym. Def Jam co-founder and producer Rick Rubin heard a tape of "Public Enemy No. 1" and immediately courted Ridenhour in hopes of signing him to his fledgling label.
Chuck D initially was reluctant, but he eventually developed a concept for a literally revolutionary hip-hop group -- one that would be driven by sonically extreme productions and socially revolutionary politics. Enlisting Shocklee as his chief producer and Stephney as a publicist, Chuck D formed a crew with DJ Terminator X (born Norman Lee Rogers, August 25, 1966) and fellow Nation of Islam member Professor Griff (born Richard Griffin) as the choreographer of the group's backup dancers, the Security of the First World, who performed homages to old Stax and Motown dancers with their martial moves and fake Uzis. He also asked his old friend William Drayton (born March 16, 1959) to join as a fellow rapper. Drayton developed an alter ego called Flavor Flav, who functioned as a court jester to Chuck D's booming voice and somber rhymes in Public Enemy.
Public Enemy's debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, was released on Def Jam Records in 1987. Its spare beats and powerful rhetoric were acclaimed by hip-hop critics and aficionados, but the record was ignored by the rock and R&B mainstream. However, their second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, was impossible to ignore. Under Shocklee's direction, PE's production team, the Bomb Squad, developed a dense, chaotic mix that relied as much on found sounds and avant-garde noise as it did on old-school funk. Similarly, Chuck D's rhetoric gained focus and Flavor Flav's raps were wilder and funnier. A Nation of Millions was hailed as revolutionary by both rap and rock critics, and it was -- hip-hop had suddenly become a force for social change. As Public Enemy's profile was raised, they opened themselves up to controversy. In a notorious statement, Chuck D claimed that rap was "the black CNN," relating what was happening in the inner city in a way that mainstream media could not project. Public Enemy's lyrics were naturally dissected in the wake of such a statement, and many critics were uncomfortable with the positive endorsement of black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan on "Bring the Noise." "Fight the Power," Public Enemy's theme for Spike Lee's controversial 1989 film Do the Right Thing, also caused an uproar for its attacks on Elvis Presley and John Wayne, but that was considerably overshadowed by an interview Professor Griff gave The Washington Times that summer. Griff had previously said anti-Semitic remarks on-stage, but his quotation that Jews were responsible for "the majority of the wickedness that goes on across the globe" was greeted with shock and outrage, especially by white critics who previously embraced the group. Faced with a major crisis, Chuck D faltered. First he fired Griff, then brought him back, then broke up the group entirely. Griff gave one more interview where he attacked Chuck D and PE, which led to his permanent departure from the group.
Public Enemy spent the remainder of 1989 preparing their third album, releasing "Welcome to the Terrordome" as its first single in early 1990. Again, the hit single caused controversy as its lyrics "still they got me like Jesus" were labeled anti-Semitic by some quarters. Despite all the controversy, Fear of a Black Planet was released to enthusiastic reviews in the spring of 1990, and it shot into the pop Top Ten as the singles "911 Is a Joke," "Brothers Gonna Work It Out," and "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" became Top 40 R&B hits. For their next album, 1991's Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black, the group re-recorded "Bring the Noise" with thrash metal band Anthrax, the first sign that the group was trying to consolidate its white audience. Apocalypse 91 was greeted with overwhelmingly positive reviews upon its fall release, and it debuted at number four on the pop charts, but Public Enemy began to lose momentum in 1992 as they toured with the second leg of U2's Zoo TV tour and Flavor Flav was repeatedly in trouble with the law. In the fall of 1992, they released the remix collection Greatest Misses as an attempt to keep their name viable, but it was greeted to nasty reviews.
Public Enemy were on hiatus during 1993, as Flav attempted to wean himself off drugs, returning in the summer of 1994 with Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. Prior to its release, it was subjected to exceedingly negative reviews in Rolling Stone and The Source, which affected the perception of the album considerably. Muse Sick debuted at number 14, but it quickly fell off the charts as it failed to generate any singles. Chuck D retired Public Enemy from touring in 1995 as he severed ties with Def Jam, developed his own record label and publishing company, and attempted to rethink Public Enemy. In 1996, he released his first debut album, The Autobiography of Mistachuck. As it was released in the fall, he announced that he planned to record a new Public Enemy album the following year.
Before that record was made, Chuck D published an autobiography in the fall of 1997. During 1997, Chuck D reassembled the original Bomb Squad and began work on three albums. In the spring of 1998, Public Enemy kicked off their major comeback with their soundtrack to Spike Lee's He Got Game, which was played more like a proper album than a soundtrack. Upon its April 1998 release, the record received the strongest reviews of any Public Enemy album since Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black. After Def Jam refused to help Chuck D's attempts to bring PE's music straight to the masses via the Internet, he signed the group to the web-savvy independent Atomic Pop. Before the retail release of Public Enemy's seventh LP, There's a Poison Goin' On..., the label made MP3 files of the album available on the Internet. It finally appeared in stores in July 1999.
After a three-year break from recording and a switch to the In the Paint label, Public Enemy released Revolverlution, a mix of new tracks, remixes, and live cuts. The CD/DVD combo It Takes a Nation appeared in 2005. The multimedia package contained an hour-long video of the band live in London in 1987 and a CD with rare remixes. The studio album New Whirl Odor also appeared in 2005. The "special projects" album Rebirth of a Nation -- an album with all rhymes written by Bay Area rapper Paris -- was supposed to be released right along with it, but didn't appear until early the next year. The odds-and-ends collection Beats and Places appeared before the end of 2006.
In 2007, the group released an album entitled How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?. Public Enemy's single from the album was "Harder Than You Think". Four years after How You Sell Soul ... , in January 2011, Public Enemy released the album Beats and Places, a compilation of remixes and "lost" tracks. On July 13, 2012, Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp was released and was exclusively available on iTunes. In July 2012, on UK television an advert for the London 2012 Summer Paralympics featured a short remix of the song "Harder Than You Think". The advert caused the song to reach No. 4[ in the UK Singles Chart on September 2, 2012. On July 30, 2012, Public Enemy performed a free concert with Salt-N-Pepa and Kid 'n Play at Wingate Park in Brooklyn, New York as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series. On August 26, 2012, Public Enemy performed at South West Four music festival in Clapham Common in London. On October 1, 2012 The Evil Empire of Everything was released. On June 29, 2013, they performed at Glastonbury Festival 2013. On September 14, 2013 they performed at Riot Fest & Carnival 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. On September 20, 2013 they performed at Riot Fest & Side Show in Byers, Colorado.
In 2014 Chuck D launched PE 2.0 with Oakland rapper Jahi as a spiritual successor and "next generation" of Public Enemy. Jahi met Chuck D backstage during a soundcheck at the 1999 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and later appeared as a support act on Public Enemy's 20th Anniversary Tour in 2007. PE 2.0's task is twofold, Jahi says, to "take select songs from the PE catalog and cover or revisit them" as well as new material with members of the original Public Enemy including DJ Lord, Davy DMX, Professor Griff and Chuck D. PE 2.0's first album People Get Ready was released on October 7, 2014. InsPirEd PE 2.0's second album and part two of a proposed trilogy was released a year later on October 11, 2015. Man Plans God Laughs, Public Enemy's thirteenth album, was released in July 2015. On June 29, 2017, Public Enemy released their fourteenth album, Nothing Is Quick in the Desert. The album was available for free download through Bandcamp until July 4, 2017
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Sometimes, debut albums present an artist in full bloom, with an assured grasp on their sound and message. Sometimes, debut albums are nothing but promise, pointing toward what the artist could do. Public Enemy's gripping first album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, manages to fill both categories: it's an expert, fully realized record of extraordinary power, but it pales in comparison with what came merely a year later. This is very much a Rick Rubin-directed production, kicking heavy guitars toward the front, honing the loops, rhythms, and samples into a roar with as much in common with rock as rap. The Bomb Squad are apparent, but they're in nascent stage -- certain sounds and ideas that would later become trademarks bubble underneath the surface. And the same thing could be said for Chuck D, whose searing, structured rhymes and revolutionary ideas are still being formed. This is still the sound of a group comfortable rocking the neighborhood, but not yet ready to enter the larger national stage. But, damn if they don't sound like they've already conquered the world! Already, there is a tangible, physical excitement to the music, something that hits the gut with relentless force, as the mind races to keep up with Chuck's relentless rhymes or Flavor Flav's spastic outbursts. And if there doesn't seem to be as many classics here -- "You're Gonna Get Yours," "Miuzi Weighs a Ton," "Public Enemy No. 1" -- that's only in comparison to what came later, since by any other artist an album this furious, visceral, and exciting would unquestionably be heralded as a classic. From Public Enemy, this is simply a shade under classic status.
Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush The Show (flac 299mb)
01 You're Gonna Get Yours 4:05
02 Sophisticated Bitch 4:30
03 Miuzi Weighs a Ton 5:44
04 Timebomb 2:55
05 Too Much Posse 2:25
06 Rightstarter (Message to a Black Man) 3:49
07 Public Enemy No. 1 4:41
08 M.P.E. 3:44
09 Yo! Bum Rush the Show 4:26
10 Raise the Roof 5:19
11 Megablast 2:51
12 Terminator X Speaks With His Hands 2:13
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Yo! Bum Rush the Show was an invigorating record, but it looks like child's play compared to its monumental sequel, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, a record that rewrote the rules of what hip-hop could do. That's not to say the album is without precedent, since what's particularly ingenious about the album is how it reconfigures things that came before into a startling, fresh, modern sound. Public Enemy used the template Run-D.M.C. created of a rap crew as a rock band, then brought in elements of free jazz, hard funk, even musique concrète, via their producing team, the Bomb Squad, creating a dense, ferocious sound unlike anything that came before. This coincided with a breakthrough in Chuck D's writing, both in his themes and lyrics. It's not that Chuck D was smarter or more ambitious than his contemporaries -- certainly, KRS-One tackled many similar sociopolitical tracts, while Rakim had a greater flow -- but he marshaled considerable revolutionary force, clear vision, and a boundless vocabulary to create galvanizing, logical arguments that were undeniable in their strength. They only gained strength from Flavor Flav's frenzied jokes, which provided a needed contrast. What's amazing is how the words and music become intertwined, gaining strength from each other. Though this music is certainly a representation of its time, it hasn't dated at all. It set a standard that few could touch then, and even fewer have attempted to meet since. "Don't believe the hype, it's just a sequel". And that's what made Public Enemy such a valuable listen in their early era. It was a group that understood it never mattered what the media said, it was all about the streets and the idea of "being real". Public Enemy was the idea of an MC deconstructing the idea of what rap should be, and a production team deconstructing the idea of what rap could sound like. Ironically, or perhaps appropriately, the factors of media would begin to dilute this group's performance going forward - especially once Flavor Flav and Professor Griff were disseminated from the group, or at least circumcised - but this is an album worth it's own hype (excuse the term) in gold. And that's really all that needs to be said
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back . (flac 404mb)
Side Silver
01 Countdown to Armageddon 1:41
02 Bring the Noise 3:47
03 Don't Believe the Hype 5:20
04 Cold Lampin With Flavor 4:13
05 Terminator X to the Edge of Panic 4:30
06 Mind Terrorist 1:18
07 Louder Than a Bomb 3:37
08 Caught, Can We Get a Witness? 5:03
Side Black
09 Show Em Whatcha Got 1:57
10 She Watch Channel Zero?! 3:50
11 Night of the Living Baseheads 3:16
12 Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos 6:25
13 Security of the First World 1:22
14 Rebel Without a Pause 5:05
15 Prophets of Rage 3:15
16 Party for Your Right to Fight 3:27
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At the time of its release in March 1990 -- just a mere two years after It Takes a Nation of Millions -- nearly all of the attention spent on Public Enemy's third album, Fear of a Black Planet, was concentrated on the dying controversy over Professor Griff's anti-Semitic statements of 1989, and how leader Chuck D bungled the public relations regarding his dismissal. References to the controversy are scattered throughout the album -- and it fueled the incendiary lead single, "Welcome to the Terrordome" -- but years later, after the furor has died down, what remains is a remarkable piece of modern art, a record that ushered in the '90s in a hail of multiculturalism and kaleidoscopic confusion. It also easily stands as the Bomb Squad's finest musical moment. Where Millions was all about aggression -- layered aggression, but aggression nonetheless -- Fear of a Black Planet encompasses everything, touching on seductive grooves, relentless beats, hard funk, and dub reggae without blinking an eye. All the more impressive is that this is one of the records made during the golden age of sampling, before legal limits were set on sampling, so this is a wild, endlessly layered record filled with familiar sounds you can't place; it's nearly as heady as the Beastie Boys' magnum opus, Paul's Boutique, in how it pulls from anonymous and familiar sources to create something totally original and modern. While the Bomb Squad were casting a wider net, Chuck D's writing was tighter than ever, with each track tackling a specific topic (apart from the aforementioned "Welcome to the Terrordome," whose careening rhymes and paranoid confusion are all the more effective when surrounded by such detailed arguments), a sentiment that spills over to Flavor Flav, who delivers the pungent black humor of "911 Is a Joke," perhaps the best-known song here. Chuck gets himself into trouble here and there -- most notoriously on "Meet the G That Killed Me," where he skirts with homophobia -- but by and large, he's never been so eloquent, angry, or persuasive as he is here. This isn't as revolutionary or as potent as Millions, but it holds together better, and as a piece of music, this is the best hip-hop has ever had to offer.
Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet (flac 394mb)
01 Contract on the World Love Jam 1:49
02 Brothers Gonna Work It Out 5:03
03 911 Is a Joke 3:17
04 Incident at 66.6 FM 1:37
05 Welcome to the Terrordome 5:25
06 Meet the G That Killed Me 0:44
07 Pollywanacraka 4:13
08 Anti-Nigger Machine 2:39
09 Burn Hollywood Burn 3:04
10 Power to the People 3:48
11 Who Stole the Soul? 3:52
12 Fear of a Black Planet 3:42
13 Revolutionary Generation 5:43
14 Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man 2:46
15 Reggie Jax 1:35
16 Leave This Off Your Fuckin Charts 2:31
17 B. Side Wins Again 3:45
18 War at 33 1/3 2:07
19 Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned 0:48
20 Fight the Power 4:42
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Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black has traditionally been Public Enemy's under-rated classic, the one that the fans love but nobody ever talks about. It's a weird situation, because there is no reason why this shouldn't be famous - it comes straight after two classics, Professor Griff's sacking gives it a backstory worthy of both tabloid scandal and broadsheet debate, it sold well, and it's got at least one song, in the Anthrax-featuring reworking of "Bring tha Noize", that has enjoyed regular airplay and exposure since release. If there is an explanation, it's that Apocalypse 91 is a different beast to either Fear of a Black Planet or It Take a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The production has changed hands, with The Bomb Squad moving into an executive role and newcomers The Imperial Grand Ministers of Funk handling the bulk of the work - their sound is less dense and less harsh than The Bomb Squad's, moving instead to something more basic and more obviously indebted to soul and funk. That means that the one thing that was most obviously special and unique about P.E. is gone; the music on Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black, while pretty great, is music that could concievably have been made by any number of producers. No matter, though - Chuck makes up for it by bringing his usual fire, while even Flava Flav sounds pissed off. Public Enemy were always an angry group, but Apocalypse 91 may well be the album where they were most direct about it, raging at racist language ("I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo Nigga"), slavery ("Can't Truss It"), the media's hypocrisy when it comes to alcoholism ("1 Million Bottlebags"), and even finding time to take potshots at targets as seemingly harmless as De La Soul ('that nigger over there, who try to keep it yesteryear, the good old days - the same old ways that kept us dying? Yes you, "My Myself & I" indeed, what you need is a nosebleed'). The song that last lyric comes from, "By the Time I Get to Arizona", is the greatest song they ever released - it's an absolute monster.
Public Enemy - Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (flac 381mb)
01 Lost at Birth 3:49
02 Rebirth 0:59
03 Nighttrain 3:27
04 Can't Truss It 5:21
05 I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo Niga 4:23
06 How to Kill a Radio Consultant 3:09
07 By the Time I Get to Arizona 4:48
08 Move! feat. Sister Souljah 4:59
09 1 Million Bottlebags 4:06
10 More News at 11 2:39
11 Shut Em Down 5:04
12 A Letter to the New York Post 2:45
13 Get the Fuck Outta Dodge feat. True Mathematics 2:38
14 Bring Tha Noize with Anthrax 3:47
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3 comments:
I believe you are correct about a change in production being a factor in the "Apocalypse 91" album's lack of attention (or infamy?) compared to the previous two releases. Aside from "Can't Truss It" they seemed to remix the songs for single release during this era. Perhaps they weren't even sure what the definitive versions or statements should have been at the time.
I was a fan back in the day and for me A91 is easily equal to (not better than) the previous 2. When they were released I picked all of them up on vinyl and ITANOM is a double as is A91 and they sounded great but FOABP (which is over an hour long and is longer than the other 2) is a single disc and sounded like shit by comparison. Why it was never released as a double is a mystery. On CD the balance is redressed.
Hello Mick, pressing 1 hour long quality vinyl was expensive but releasing FOABP as a double album at the time totally out of the question and considering cd's where the way to go at the time.... Personally i bought Yo! when it came out, 2 years later i was among 1500 blacks when PE gave a concert in Amsterdam, weird experience for one of the few white guys there- who knew all the lyrics too, oh well those were the days....
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