PUBLIC ENEMY BIO: 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 selfaware, pro-black consciousness that became the culture's signature throughout the next decade.
Musically, Public Enemy was 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.
Public Enemy formed in Long Island, New York in 1982. They were signed on to the still developing Def Jam label after Rick Rubin heard Chuck D freestyling on a demo. It took the group roughly five years, before their debut, 'Yo! Bum Rush The Show' was released in 1987 to critical acclaim. They went on to release the revolutionary 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' in 1988, which included the hit single "Don't Believe the Hype". A Nation of Millions was hailed as revolutionary by both rap and rock critics, and it was -- hip-hop had suddenly became a force for social change. It became clear that Public Enemy was the most influential and radical band of their time.
Public Enemy’s 1990 release ‘Fear Of A Black Planet’ was the most successful of any of their albums and, in 2005, was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress. It included the powerful singles "Welcome To The Terrodome", "911 is a Joke" and "Fight the Power", which is considered by many to be the group’s premier self-describing anthem. The song is considered to be amongst the most popular and influential in Hip Hop history and was the theme song for Spike Lee’s landmark film ‘Do The Right Thing’.
The group’s next release, 'Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black' featured the hits "Can't Truss It" and "By the Time I Get to Arizona" and the re-recorded "Bring the Noise" with thrash metal band Anthrax.
Public Enemy are to be considered musical pioneers for a broad variety of reasons. For instance, Terminator X elevated DJing to a refined art. Some of his most innovative scratching tricks can be heard on the track ‘Rebel Without A Pause’. PE’s production team, ‘The Bomb Squad’, offered up a web of innovative samples and beats; critic Steven Thomas Earlewine declared that PE “brought in elements of free jazz, hard funk, even musique concrète, via their [production] team, the Bomb Squad, creating a dense, ferocious sound unlike anything that came before.”
PE revolutionized the rap world with their political, social and cultural consciousness. These themes became infused into skilled and poetic rhymes with jazzy backbeats. They are recognised as the first Hip Hop group to make extended world tours, leading to huge popularity and influence within the Hip Hop communities of Europe and Asia. They also changed the Internet’s music distribution capability by being the first group to release MP3 albums, a format virtually unknown at the time.
Public Enemy, in keeping with their ‘pioneer’ status, also helped to form and define the so-called ‘crossover’ genre of music (heavy rock music spliced with hip hop) by collaborating with New York thrash metal outfit Anthrax in 1991. The single ‘Bring The Noise’ was a remarkable potpourri of semi-militant pro-black lyrics, grinding guitars and sporadic humour.
During the seemingly unlikely tour of Anthrax and Public Enemy, Flavor Flav made his famous pronouncement onstage that “They said this tour would never happen” (heard on Anthrax’s Live: The Island Years CD). This has become something of legendry significance in both rock and rap circles. There is some justification for the theory that without this unlikely musical partnership, bands such as Rage Against The Machine and Linkin Park would not have existed, and the genres of rap rock, nu metal and their related offshoots might have never developed.
Public Enemy has given hip hop a consciousness that transcends styles. 'It Takes A Nation Of Millions' and 'Fear Of A Black Planet' are as pertinent today as when they were released.
Public Enemy's last album to date is 'How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???' (2007) featuring the single "Harder Than You Think".
PUBLIC ENEMY DISCOGRAPHY: 1987: Yo! Bum Rush the Show 1988: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back 1990: Fear of a Black Planet 1991: Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black 1992: Greatest Misses 1994: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age 1998: He Got Game 1999: There's a Poison Goin' On 2002: Revolverlution 2005: New Whirl Odor 2006: Rebirth of a Nation 2007: How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?
PUBLIC ENEMY MEMBERS Chuck D (Carlton Douglas Ridenhour) – leader, producer, lyricist, main vocalist, and artwork Flavor Flav (William Jonathan Drayton, Jr.) – lyricist, vocalist, producer, instrumentalist, comic relief Brian Hardgroove – (Guitarist, Band Director and producer) DJ Lord (Lord Aswod) – DJ, producer replacement for Teminator X Terminator X (Norman Rogers) – DJ, producer (former member) DJ Johnny Juice (John Rosado) Studio DJ, Producer Sister Souljah – occasional vocalist, former member, temporary replacement for Professor Griff Professor Griff (Richard Griffin) – head of S1W, liaison between PE and S1W, road manager. Occasional vocalist and producer, plays drums at live shows
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