PUBLIC ENEMY

There are numerous debates as to the genuine artistic merits of hip-hop as a genre. No other genre comes even close to valuing style over content to such an extent and few albums are ever hailed as veritable masterpieces, with most commentators viewing the artists, like their soul forefathers, as good only for singles. If that is the rule (and I'm not sure if it is) then Public Enemy are the exception. No other mainstream hip-hop band comes as close to being as articulate, intelligent, and authentic as Public Enemy. Despite the risque political polemics (particularly those that swerve dangerously close to anti-semitism) Chuck D has emerged as the most important spokesperson for the genre and it is to his eternal regret that black rap artists have gone on to ignore him and compromise their race and roots in chase of the almighty dollar (his views on the talentless and utterly exploitative 50 Cent are bitterly salient). Of course, one might retort that it is the people who do not need money that are able to value principles higher and it is noticeable that Chuck actually originated from the middle-class suburbs and took to the mic with a college education behind him. In that way, it is perhaps unsurprising that he might appeal as much to the white liberals than to his black 'brothers' in the ghetto. One thing that both parties can appreciate, though, is his undiluted rage, with a deep and diverse number of targets being put straight by his ferocious baritone vocals. Rather than overload the roster of rappers Chuck partners up only with the infamous crackhead Flavor Flav, whose whiny comical dialogues are the perfect foil for Chuck's heavier (in both senses) vocal assaults. Of course, the musical palette of the band is far wider than most of their peers and it is this, rather than the polemical lyrics, that really set the group apart. Hip-hop was still a relatively fresh and unexplored genre in the late eighties and, although the spirit of James Brown is never far away, the band, assisted by the famed Bomb Squad production team, manage to put out a uniquely focused and coherent album, that still manages to draw upon too many influences to even count. The band are even forward-thinking enough to ditch the funk altogether for the explosive rap-rock assault of "She Watch Channel Zero?!", thereby creating a genre that was to extend its much-maligned rule for most of the next two decades. (It is amusing, though, that the most ferocious song on the album should deal with the flimsiest subject matter - essentially berating a woman for not letting Flavor Flav watch the Superbowl.) The album kicks off with its two most famous tracks, "Bring the Noise" and "Don't Believe the Hype", with both becoming milestones of the genre on account of their inescapably funky rhythms and relentless vocal assaults. This album was, of course, released before the lawyers caught up with the reliance on sampling other people's music and although "Caught, Can We Get a Witness?" presents a solid case in favour of free sampling it is not particularly through its lyrics but the pulsating funk of the rhythm track. And, although the musical soundscapes crafted are far cleverer and more creative than any other rap band, the vocals and lyrics still represent the peak of the genre, particularly with the anti-authoritarian narrative "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" ('I'm a black man and I could never be a veteran'). Indeed, although PE got even more polished and experimental on future releases they never again captured such an intense political and social rage and articulated it so well within such a consistent set of material. Even if this is the greatest height hip-hop ever reached it is enough on its own to put any debates over the genre's artistic worth conclusively to bed.

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Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk