15 Years since their "Yo! bum Rush the Show" debut on Def Jam, and P.E have been pushing the boundaries on accepted music ever since.
Now in 2002, the return with their strongest album since "Apocalypse '91". The lead single "Gotta Give The Peeps What They Need" produced by Johnny 'Juice' Rosado instantly takes you back to the 'Fear of A Black Planet' album, with non-apologetic drum rolls and aggressive scratching handled by Juice as well.
The title track continues this trend with the production of Professor Griff, who has rejoined Public Enemy as one of the most powerful focal points of this album. He showcases his growth both in intellect and in talent on his solo cut "Now A Daze" and his rap/rock fusion track "What Good Is A Bomb" which features his new group The 7th Octave.
Adding fuel to the fire on the album is the use of live tracks from their catalogue and revolutionary fan remixes of their previous hits - "Public Enemy Number 1", "B-Side Wins Again", "By The Time I Get To Arizona" and "Shut Em Down" all of which offer various experimental sounds offered form remixers all over the world Jeronimo Punx, who remixed "Public Enemy Number 1" from Brazil, and "Shut Em Down" remixed by The Functionist from Austria.
Flava Flav continues his unpredictable, yet catchy offerings to the album on his solo "Can A Woman Make A Man Lose His Mind?" which is very reminiscent of "Cold Lampin". Though this is one of Flav's only offerings to the album due to his work on his solo project, he's not as missed as one would think. The removal of all skits, and replacing them with historical 'behind the scenes' footage of events such as P.E's protest of Arizona not celebrating Martin Lurther King Jr's birthday holiday, and "The Making of Burn Hollywood Burn" which has a hilarious interaction between Flav and Big Daddy Kane.
The two gems amongst gems on the album are "Son of A Bush" an intricate vocal boxing combination blow to President Bush Jr. courtesy of Chuck and Griff over an aggressive guitar courtesy of the 7th Octave once more. The knockout on the cut is most definitely the hook of the song "....He's the son of a bad man!" courtesy of Flavor.
The second gem is the remix to "Gotta Give The Peeps What they Need" featuring the one and only PARIS. This collaboration alone will have fans of conscious Hip hop and political activism running for the shelves and scratching at the racks to get their hands on a copy of the album. But on top of that, the even more aggressive scratching courtesy of Johnny 'Juice' Rosado is the icing on the cake of yet another classic album and a welcome return to form for Public Enemy.
written by
Mark 'Eastbase' Thompson of
http://www.nzhiphop.com
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