3 Dope Songs from Public Enemy: The Hard Rhymer Never Lets Up

As we celebrate Public Enemy being inducted into the Hall of Fame tonight.. We wanted to remind people of some of their work.. What they have on deck is impressive.. These were some of the songs I really dug.. Enjoy..

So Whatcha Gonna Do Now This is one of my favorite songs from Public Enemy.. It was off the Muse Sick in Our Message album and sadly was overlooked by a lot of folks..  This song spawned one of  the first videos to show a Black President…15 years before Obama takes office..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhKqsIe283c

You can’t really talk about Public Enemy without making mention of this classic song ‘By the Time I get to Arizona‘. The video to this song sent shock waves throughout the country as the group depicted themselves killing two Senators and Governor  who opposed the Martin Luther King Holiday in Arizona.. The resulting controversy had critics calling rap and Public Enemy violent and a bad influence on kids.. Others said Dr King wouldn’t have like the video.. Those of us who tired of Arizona’s out right racism cheered the group on…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrFOb_f7ubw

Burn Hollywood Burn brought together 3 legends, Big Daddy Kane, Ice Cube and Chuck D who killed in both subject matter (Black stereotypical images in Hollywood and their performance.. This is a must for anyone who is a student of Hip Hop… It’s what made the so called Golden Era so powerful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhQGH6CbKhw

I know I said 3 Dope Songs, but I’m gonna toss this bonus cut in from Terminator X‘s album called Buck Whyling. Although known throughout New York for her activism.. Lisa Williamson became known to us as Sister Souljah and is the star of this video..She later went on to do her own album with production from the Bomb Squad … I wish PE and Souljah had done more songs together.. She was and still is a force to be reckoned with and her voice was able to cut through the noise like Chucks.. I don’t think America and maybe even the group itself was ready for that pairing..

On another note Terminator X’s album was butter.. he had a number of dope songs and was the first to pay tribute to Hip Hop pioneer Kool herc by actually having him do a song for the album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHBwwdegvSc

Lastly what y’all know about this song and rarely seen video? I’ll let it speak for itself.. I remember when the group performed this outside the GOP convention..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFj7ypDfXQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am9BqZ6eA5c

A must see is this documentary about Public Enemy Prophets of Rage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fM_VXPZqBg

We Salute: Public Enemy Inducted Into Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame Today…

Today April 18th 2013 is Public Enemy Day… Yep that’s right.. Today we celebrate the landmark group that has been together for almost 30 years.. They are deemed Hip Hop Royalty and tonight they get inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame.

Last night they performed at House of Blues in LA and absolutely killed.. DJ Terminator X who retired from the group several years ago to do some ostrich farming.. returned to the fold to help celebrate.. Also on hand at HOB was Kool Moe Dee and the Treacherous Three, DMC, Doug E Fresh, Method Man, Whodini, JJ Fad and many more..  It was a testament to the love and respect folks have for Public Enemy..

I first met Chuck D back in summer of ’88 at the New Music Seminar when the group was just starting to make noise.. They had already released their album Yo Bum Rush the Show..But it was Nation of Millions and the singles like Rebel Without a Pause that came off that album that forever define the musicality of the group.

Chuck D along with fellow group members, Professor Griff, Flava and S1Ws willingness to sit down and build with folks for hours at a time would forever define the group as stand up individuals who would garner life long friendships and relationships with folks all over the world.. I know for myself, I would hang with Chuck for hours after a show building on all sorts of stuff related to politics and Hip Hop in general. It was he , who got me to abandon my fear of flying , get a passport and see the world, a move I have never regretted. thousands of folks have stories about uplifting interactions with the group..

In any case, as we celebrate their induction, i went digging through my archives and found an old cassette from an interview/press conference Chuck and I believe Brother Roger or James from the S1Ws did on after one of their early concerts in Oakland. It was at the Kaiser Convention Center in 1989.. EMPD was on the ticket..  I never played the interview on air, because at the time, my tape recorder had run out of batteries and the sound was all messed up.. I finally transferred it over to my digital docks and cleaned it up somewhat and am now happy to share.. What Chuck is talking about in 1989 is why so many at the time were drawn to the group. The honesty, the fearlessness, the intelligence..

In this interview, Chuck’s main theme was dealing with outsides points of view trying to dictate terms and regulate on folks.. Chuck also takes issue with famed writer Greg Tate who trashed the group in a column he penned for the Village Voice. Chuck noted Tate was an ‘outsider’.. I started recording just as someone was asking about violence in Hip Hop.

Chuck D

Chuck D pt1

Chuck D pt2

Below is a great documentary on Public Enemy called Prophets of Rage…Definitely worth watching

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmw7kw_public-enemy-prophets-of-rage-bbc-special-2011_music#.UW_t24JAuEU

 

Chuck D & Brother Ali Come Together & Tell us to Get Up, Stand Up!

Far too often when people do collabs, its done for marketing purposes, more than it is for genuine chemistry.. Such was not the case when Chuck D of Public Enemy tapped Brother Ali of the Rhymesayers Collective to join him on the track … This is a fierce track.. Its energetic and each rhyme is hittin’ especially Ali who goes all the way in.. enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cogepHX5uTU