![]() Cobbled-together compilations that utilize the chronological movement usually make sense as a means of understanding an artist's progression, but as a unit, P.E. Chuck, then 22 and working at Adelphi University's WBAU, initially thought he was too old for the rap game and resisted Rubin's nudging- luckily, Rubin eventually broke him down. 1", a track that spurred then-short-bearded buddy Rick Rubin to encourage Chuck D and the newly formed P.E. Things jump off with their all-business 1982 fight song "Public Enemy No. In particular, Nation of Millions and Black Planet, the band's most revered works, get mined for 10 of the collection's 18 tracks. Culling the bulk of its content from those albums, Power to the People and the Beats doesn't offer much unity rather, it skips chronologically from one chest-thumper to the next. The Enemy Strikes Black are all sweltering documents of a furiously exciting period. Yo! Bumrush the Show, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Fear of a Black Planet, and (to a lesser extent) Apocalypse 91. ![]() If you're serious about 20th century music, P.E.'s first four albums are essential. It was done once before with 2001's pitiful Universal Masters Collection, a poorly constructed quickie cash-in. They are a classic "albums" band, full of songs that crash into each other with force, amelodic glory spilling into James Brown's chopped-up yelps and shouts. Still, there's really no sense in compiling a Public Enemy greatest hits. ![]() canon, it was emotional to discover something from their day that sounded like 2077 A.D. Public Enemy remain one of the few acts that can stand up to the sonic innovations of those dudes- and in most cases still eclipse them. Right now, someone like Grandmaster Flash, while noble and significant, sounds staid. Dre, Pharrell, and Timbaland- mainstream men literally pushing harder than the next to find the most curious, throttling sounds to ground a pop record. We're in the midst of a pop progressives era, thanks to the likes of Just Blaze, Dr.
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