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In Focus: Public Enemy

New York, 21.10.22

Focus on Public Enemy

"Rap music is the invisible TV station that Black America never had" - Chuck D

From the start, hip hop was inherently political. Providing literal microphones, speakers, and a line of communication for a historically deprived US black urban working class, they created a vital new art form through unfiltered social commentary. It was Public Enemy, led by the irrepressible Chuck D, who made these politics too explicit to ignore.

Referencing the politically charged and rhythmically bombastic funk and soul of the early '70s, Chuck D, Flavor Flav and production wing Da Bomb Squad lit the US Reaganite monoculture on fire. Their sophomore album "It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" was a huge success, unleashing a blustering, militantly political, and sonically avant-garde new sound into middle America. Opening a door that has never since closed, Public Enemy proved that hip hop could be a powerful force for social change.

Selected and mixed by LDLDN

Tracklist