Public Enemy: Classic or Dud?

In what possible way (aside from broadest generalities) is A Tribe Called Quest trying to do what PE does, for example?

There's ATCQ and there's the rest of rap. All the rest are pretenders.

Thank you.

That something = SONIC FURY. Did you ever hear Son of Bazerk?

dumb.

I love Public Enemy. Son of Bazerk is good too!

NWA had SONIC FURY...sometimes! Sonic fury isn't everything though....Special Ed didn't have Sonic Fury, but Youngest in Charge, whoo what a great album!

"Here we go again!"

"Turn it up!"

I went to the beach, the ground was all sandy

(upward shifting saxophone squeal from "The Grunt")

I just bought that JB's album this week! Boy was I surprised when that snippet came through my speakers.

I know! I always figured it was some kind of electronic gear abuse - a soundboard feeding back or some shit.

I went to the beach, the ground was all sandy

Actually, it's "I got to the beach, the ground was all sandy/Girlies on my jock like ants on candy." And so, so unfair that Flav's solo tracks (except for "911 Is A Joke") didn't make the best-of.

the lyric is genius. you can say just about anything, my mind will supply the punchline, and it will still sound good:

I got shot up, the ground was all sandy...
I went to mcdonald's, the ground was all sandy...
your mamma's a bitch, the ground was all sandy...

truly one of the all-time great rap images.

Seriously? No discussion anywhere of the new album?

How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul is possibly their worst album title, which is saying something.

Seriously. If they'd put out one single record with a good title in the last ten years, I'd get all excited and interested and buy it, instead of thinking "another insanely convoluted unfunny pun? oh Chuck." and avoiding.

I did buy the Make Love Fuck War single though.

1. "How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul"
2. "Black is Back"
3. "Harder Than You Think"
4. "Between Hard and a Rock Place"
5. "Sex, Drugs & Violence" (featuring KRS-One)
6. "Amerikan Gangster" (featuring E.Infinite)
7. "Can You Hear Me Now"
8. "Head Wide Shut"
9. "Flavor Man"
10. "The Enemy Battle Hymn of the Public"
11. "Escapism"
12. "Frankenstar"
13. "Col-Leepin"
14. "Radiation of a Radiotvmovie"
15. "See Something, Say Something"
16. "Long and Whining Road"
17. "Bridge of Pain"
18. "Eve of Destruction"
19. "How You Sell Soul (Time is God Refrain)"

generic titles

How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul is possibly their worst album title, which is saying something.

oh, chuck d-paws.

Classic or dud, Chuck D calling his band "Confrontation Camp?"

Great music, too bad about the fluffery of the racist, crackpot Nation of Islam

The best thing Chuck D ever did was Forthright MC.

have not heard this at all!!

I vote "Classic", of course.

"Fear Of A Black Planet" is the best Rap album I've ever heard. I essentially stopped buying Hip-Hop records after that came out, because ... well, what was the point? No one was ever going to top it.

FAKE

How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul is possibly their worst album title, which is saying something.

They will never top Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age, nor will anyone else.

It's bad, but it's not nearly as bad as Revolverlution, which is just stupid.

they were great last night.

god I'd love to see them.
my uncle told me he saw 'em back in like '86 or something in Minneapolis, one of only a few white people there. when the firt beat dropped the entire place jumped to it in unison and knocked the needle off the record. they had to stop and be like, "ummm, we're gonna don this again, and you can all dance, but don't every body jump at once alright?"

*"don this again"

I think they were the only black guys there last night. People were really into it, though, and they claimed they always love playing my town.

WAIT. What does this entire thread MEAN?
Are you going to throw away Public Enemy based on one or two debatably good or bad albums or what? I'm seriously confused. For sure they are classic and not 'everyone likes them' but if you're gonna say oh NWA or Public Enemy which is better, people'd be more likely to say Public Enemy. They may not be all that relevant any more but STILL.

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll303/dangerouslife/jcole03.gif

who cares if their influence hasnt been that pronounced? they made some of the best rap records and were one of the best groups EVER - isnt that enough? people are unfairly cruel/cynical when it comes to PE, like theyre judging all their achievements through the prism of modern hip hop.

PE are heroes, a lot of PE boosters, not so much.

WAIT. What does this entire thread MEAN?
Are you going to throw away Public Enemy based on one or two debatably good or bad albums or what? I'm seriously confused. For sure they are classic and not 'everyone likes them' but if you're gonna say oh NWA or Public Enemy which is better, people'd be more likely to say Public Enemy. They may not be all that relevant any more but STILL.

-- VeronaInTheClub, Monday, 26 May 2008 18:11 (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

http://www.stanford.edu/group/sfs/ssff/2007ssff/sockpuppet2.jpg

Not one of mine.

I entirely resent that picture...but why I'm not sure. I meant to say....Public Enemy are classic, they have been the platform for many, many a rap group and with good reason, they represented consistently and yes may not always have done so effortlessly but you could say that about a lot of classics from Wu Tang Clan to Common the fact remains that they are a seminal rap group and without them...
So why throw them away based on one or two albums? Definite keepers.