After a five year hiatus, Chuck D & Flavor Flav return to the scene with a new Public Enemy album, bringing their always insightful commentary over rugged and shapeshifting beats. From the opening diagnosis of 'Siick' all the way to the insanity of school shootings during 'March Madness', the red, Black, and green machine is back to clean up the scene.
On Black Sky Over the Projects, Chuck D’s lyrical firepower and the inimitable Flavor Flav fearlessly call out the ills that plague society, politics, corporations and even ourselves while challenging us to do better. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award winners also celebrate the power of music itself, with tracks like “Here Come The Drums,” the ebullient love letter to hip-hop, “Get Down,” and the single, “March Madness.”
“This album is a give-back to all of our fans with gratitude and appreciation,” says Chuck D, “we see and appreciate you.” “We’re bringing our beats to the world with this album,” adds Flavor Flav.
Public Enemy’s classic albums are the soundtrack to hip-hop’s rise as social and political commentary. Their debut record,”Yo! Bum Rush The Show,” was named Album of the Year by NME, with Rolling Stone declaring that the release “heralded hip-hop’s great leap forward” and The New York Times calling Public Enemy “the voice of a community.”
Their sophomore effort, 1988’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back,” is one of the most important records ever made and was named to The New York Times list of 25 Most Significant Albums of the Last Century. “Fear of a Black Planet” featured Public Enemy’s signature song, “Fight The Power,” used by Spike Lee in his film “Do The Right Thing.” The album also included the powerful “911 Is a Joke” and “Welcome To The Terrordome.” “Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Black” carried on the group’s legacy, reaching #4 on the album chart and going platinum. The record included “By the Time I Get To Arizona,” demanding that America confront race relations after the state’s governor refused to recognize the new Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday. In 2012, Public Enemy’s “Harder Than You Think” went to #1 on the UK urban and indie singles chart and to #4 on the official UK singles chart, their tenth Top 40 hit in England and their highest charting single ever.
By 2020, Public Enemy were tapped to open the BET Awards with a remix of “Fight The Power,” where they were joined by Nas, Rapsody, The Roots, YG and Jahi in a fiery protest against the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others at the hands of police officers. The critically acclaimed album, “What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down,” was released that year on Def Jam and featured guest performances by the Beastie Boys’ Mike D and Ad-Rock, George Clinton, Cypress Hill, Ice-T, PMD, Run-DMC and more.
