Public Enemy

Top 10 Most Notable Career Suicide Albums

Top 10 Most Notable Career Suicide Albums

Career suicide albums fall into two camps: those that were released ahead of their time, and those that set new standards in awful. The best thing that could be said about the later category is that these albums are oftentimes just as fascinating as an artist's best work.

20 Music Videos of the ’80s That Have Aged Well

20 Music Videos of the ’80s That Have Aged Well

In this second installment of the retrospective of music videos from the 1980s, we focus on 20 promos that have, remarkably, stood the test of time.

Public Enemy Ask ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’

Public Enemy Ask ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’

Unlikely purveyors of comfort music, Public Enemy offer a balm for an ominous future on What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?.

What Old-School Hip-Hop Has to Say About Our Political Moment

What Old-School Hip-Hop Has to Say About Our Political Moment

Beyond NWA and Public Enemy: rappers have been sounding the alarm about police brutality since the birth of hip-hop. It’s time we listened to old-school hip-hop.

The 20 Most Memorable Songs of 1991

The 20 Most Memorable Songs of 1991

So much remarkable music was released in 1991 that it's difficult to choose just 20 memorable songs without a few omissions.

Counterbalance 17: Public Enemy – ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’

Counterbalance 17: Public Enemy – ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’

Hip-hop makes its debut on the Big List with Public Enemy’s meaty, beaty manifesto, and all the jealous punks can’t stop the dunk. Counterbalance’s Klinger and Mendelsohn give it a listen.

A Slapdash History of the Hip-hop Megamix

A Slapdash History of the Hip-hop Megamix

The megamix is a variegated mural, with flashes of color – neon pink, chartreuse, head-gash red – popping off chipped concrete, an amalgamation of flavor so fresh it strains the vision, so vivid it glows.

Privilege vs Detriment: ‘Copyright Criminals’ Has a Good Defense

Privilege vs Detriment: ‘Copyright Criminals’ Has a Good Defense

Why would the generation that covered Bob Dylan over and over get so bent out of shape of having seconds of audio copied and pasted in a new way in a rap song?

Say It Loud! 100 Great Protest Songs: Part 4 – Dead Kennedys to Steve Earle

Say It Loud! 100 Great Protest Songs: Part 4 – Dead Kennedys to Steve Earle

PopMatters has scoured the musical spectrum for the best examples of the protest song form, including anthems of great popularity and obscurity alike. Stay tuned all week as we unveil the top 100.

Chuck D on the Early Days of Sampling

Chuck D on the Early Days of Sampling

In those early, free-wheeling days of hip-hop, the artists were waaaay ahead of the lawyers.

Public Enemy – “No Sympathy From the Devil” (Singles Going Steady)

Public Enemy – “No Sympathy From the Devil” (Singles Going Steady)

Public Enemy has just released a video for "No Sympathy From the Devil" from their 13th album, Man Plans, God Laughs. Our writers weigh in.
Chuck D: The Black in Man

Chuck D: The Black in Man

Chuck D unleashes a brief but vital onslaught of old-school fury; it just might be the gutpunch today's scene desperately needs.

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