Zack: Much to most people’s surprise, I’ve never really liked Public Enemy. Some of that stems from the fact that the first Public Enemy song I ever heard was Fight the Power, and I disagree with Chuck D’s assessment of Elvis Presley. I’m not really an Elvis fan, and Flavor Flav’s 1000% right about John Wayne, and I get that his larger point is that Elvis benefited from the advancements made by black musicians in a way that none of the people who influenced him ever did. But I just always found that one line to so aggressively discard contextual facts in the pursuit of an incendiary claim that I never really got over the frustration. Plus, the song was made for a Spike Lee movie, and I’ve seen enough of his bullshit antics at Knicks games to dislike him. I know that it’s stupid of me to focus so intensely on a single line in an entire sea of lyrical production and it’s completely unfair of me to have made up my mind about a band without really diving too far into their catalogue. In my defense, the rest of my disdain comes from thinking that Flavor Flav is annoying. Anyway, I promised myself that I would be more open minded when it came to their three albums on the list, and I’m trying. For instance, I intentionally made sure that the first album we listened to wasn’t Fear of a Black Planet (the album that song is actually on). I promise you’ll get the unabridged complaint about Fight the Power in that review (“Oh God there’s more?!” you all exclaimed with terror). In the meantime, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back was definitely a step in the right direction. I’ve never denied Chuck D’s talent when it comes to actually rapping, and he is definitely a smart dude. His songs back a huge punch, especially once you get over Flavor Flav buzzing around like a goddamn mosquito in the backing vocals. There isn’t much flashy about the production, but there doesn’t really need to be. The point is to emphasize Chuck D, and that goal is certainly achieved.
Favorite Tracks: Party for Your Right to Fight; Black Steel in the First World; Don’t Believe the Hype
Emily: Perhaps not surprisingly, my only exposure to Public Enemy is through the ongoing legacy of Flavor Flav and his seemingly dozens of reality shows. I don't even think I watched any of them (or perhaps one - I think he was on Couples Therapy with some lady who was not a Flavor of Love girl), but the clips were ubiquitous on various pop culture clip shows of the early and mid-2000s that were a regular part of my teenage TV viewing. So my impression of Flav is that he's a ridiculous person wearing Viking horns and a giant clock who yells and gets a lot of bitches. On a Public Enemy album, he's pretty much just doing the yelling part. Luckily, he's not the focus of things. Flavor Flav essentially acts as part of the beat, making way for Chuck D's angry, issue-driven raps. The words really drive this album, and combined with the sparse, erratic beats and samples, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is an album that really makes you sit up and take notice.
Favorite Tracks: Party for Your Right to Fight; Caught, Can We Get a Witness?; She Watch Channel Zero?!
No comments:
Post a Comment