Public Enemy are easily one of the most important groups in my life, at their thunderous best they managed to serve up absolutely cacophony wrapped around the best political lyrics of their time. They hit all the adrenalin buttons for me I could possibly want, they were clever, cool and irritating; made two of my favourite LPs ever as well. Much as I know they were a group, I was just obsessed with Chuck D, his lyrics, his delivery and his gravitas were all just second to none; especially when I’ve seen them live.
So, when Chuck went solo in 1996, after Public Enemy’s Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age*, I quickly grabbed a promo copy of first single No. It was absolutely everything I wanted it to be too. Musically it was built around a funk sample I didn’t know but, most thrillingly, ‘Foxy Lady’ by Hendrix too – the music loped along in the background, a perfect foundation for Chuck to lay the law down on top of. And lay it down he does. Chuck** surveys the state of his beloved hip-hop in ’96 and like DJ Shadow wanted to know ‘Why Hip Hop Sucks in ’96’. You wanna know what’s wrong, let Mr D spell out what’s not happening here for you:
NO mainstream dreams
NO stress beams NO accusations
Cop chases or court cases
NO rape charges NO sarges NO DeBarges
NO lightweight bouts, up in the air
Shoot outs and NO sellouts
NO negros with egos NO mo shows
Callin women bitches and hoes
NO thoughtless flows NO woes
NO singin voices NO Rolls Royces
NO wack choices
NO killers NO vanilla
NO bigger willies NO Wilmas
NO jail time NO fuckin lil kid rhymes
NO studio terrors NO mirrors
Look ma NO spelling errors
NO absent pops, NO sweatshops
NO pork chops
This is a real bold assertion of what he wants hip-hop to lose, in order to regain its’ soul and take the moral high ground back. Chuck is ALL about the moral high ground. Hell, it’s what I wanted and I guessed I wasn’t alone in that – sadly, people had already worked out that you could never go bust under-estimating the lowest common denominator and the bootys got bigger, the feuds got stupider and the yachts got exclusiver. Sadly like many prophets (of rage?) before him Chuck’s message may have been necessary, righteous and perfect but it was ignored. Don’t worry Chuck, it’s us, not you.
Look what I found stuffed inside my copy of No, a booklet on great lyricists that I’d picked up some time in 2008 with my paper, it’s got all the lyrics to ‘No’ of course, along with a few choice others and a brilliant introduction by Kwame Kwei-Armah, the last bit of which I’m going to steal, as I wish I’d written it:
Chuck and PE had shown us that music was not just meant to anaesthetise our minds to the pains of structural inequalities – but to be used, like the best art can be, as a magnificent catalyst for inspiration, debate and change.
445 Down.
P.S – inspired to dig this little beauty out by Geoff Stephen over at 1001albumsin10years as we’ve yakked about Public Enemy a few times in the last few days.
*appallingly titled as it was, I think it was their last great LP.
**too familiar? Mr D, doesn’t sound quite right.
Public Enemy is THE stuff. Both It Takes… and Fear… are total bombs going off in my stereo.
Best part: “NO pork chops.” Haha. Poor Homer Simpson.
Still never recovered from seeing Flavor Flav on that reality farm show years ago. He didn’t get on with Lionel Blair if I recall correctly. And almost killed himself drinking milk direct from the source.
Apparently Lionel put a really cutting rap about him on his next LP and it might have ended up in a hail of bullets if Orville hadn’t intervened.
Haha Keith Harris was super creepy in that. I think Lionel is a very underrated rapper though. He’d frequently launch into inspired freestyle during episodes of Give Me a Clue.
I’m Lionel Blair
Bitchez dig me for being so MF debonair
Tap danced my way into the best clubs
You betcha I {CENSORED} MF Una Stubbs
I’d join in but I can’t think of anything that rhymes with Michael Aspel.
MF filthy rascal?
Some of my favourite snaps on this post. Excellent stuff.
Thank you, that’s very kind!
Nice find inside your own record there!
Same thing happens to me sometimes, I’ll open a CD and a ticket stub will fall out.
I love doing that, sometimes an article, or an interview, stubs etc. I do it to help my future biographers!
Or archaeologists!
I have a bag here full of newpaper clippings (rock related) that I’m hoping to make use of.
I have The Mighty Scrapbooks Of Rock (4 volumes); I’ll probably leave it all to the Guggenheim when I go.
Can’t say I’ve found a connection point, but enjoyed your enthusiasm!
Thank you Bruce. I think it’s about time they put him on a stamp in the US.
Geoff Stephen inspires us all! 🙂
I really enjoyed this. I have a few cuts of Black Planet on my iPod and find myself yo yo yeah boi in the car on my commute to work.
Not a shite photie in the bunch, sir!
haha, thanks guys!
I was going to say when I saw the title, this is a good week, another chance to discuss PE!
Fear of a Black Planet may still be my favourite rap album (and of course It takes a nation… is no slouch)
In my business classes I always try to find a way to incorporate Flav’s sage advice: Don’t believe the hype, he’s often right!