Public Enemy | Artist
Public Enemy is an American hip hop group formed 1985 in Roosevelt, New York, by MC's Chuck D and Flavor Flav. Terminator X (turntables) was a member between 1986-98, Professor Griff (MC) was a member over the period 1986-89, then rejoined in 1994, and DJ Lord (turntables) joined in 1999. Starting out, Carlton Ridenhour (Chuck D) and William Drayton (Flavor Flav), met at Adelphi University on Long Island in the mid-1980s. Developing his talents as an MC with Flav while delivering furniture for his father's business, Chuck D released the record "Check Out the Radio" b/w "Lies", a social commentary which would influence RUSH Productions' Run–D.M.C. and Beastie Boys. Public Enemy first hit the big time as the opening act for the Beastie Boys during the latter's Licensed to Ill popularity, meshing the hard-hitting style of Run DMC with politics that addressed black youth. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as American racism and the American media. Their 1987 debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, was released to critical acclaim, and their second album the following year, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, was the first hip hop album to top The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll. Their third album Fear of a Black Planet was the most successful of any of their albums and, in 2005, was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry. It included the singles "Welcome to the Terrordome", written after the band was criticized by Jews for Professor Griff's anti-semitic comments, "911 Is a Joke", which criticized emergency response units for taking longer to arrive at emergencies in the black community than those in the white community, and "Fight the Power", which is regarded as one of the most popular and influential songs in hip hop history and was the theme song of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. The group's fourth album, Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black, continued this trend, with songs like "Can't Truss It", which addressed the history of slavery and how the black community can fight back against oppression. The group has since released a further nineteen studio albums, including the soundtrack to the 1998 sports-drama film He Got Game, and a collaborative album with Paris, Rebirth of a Nation. Chuck D is also a member of the rock supergroup Prophets of Rage and has released several solo albums. The Source ranked him at No. 12 on its list of the Top 50 Hip-Hop Lyricists of All Time, in recognition of his politically and socially conscious hip hop music. He has been nominated for six Grammys throughout his career, and has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Public Enemy. Flavor Flav, who has a penchant for outsized timepieces and is the owner of several chicken'n'ribs restaurants is also a cousin of rappers Ol' Dirty Bastard, RZA, and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. Flav began teaching himself piano at the age of five and was an accomplished musician playing piano, drums, and guitar at an early age while singing in the youth choir at his church. According to Chuck D, Flav is proficient in playing fifteen instruments. The group name "Public Enemy" was based on "underdog love and their developing politics" and the idea from Def Jam staffer Bill Stephney following the Howard Beach racial incident, Bernhard Goetz, and the death of Michael Stewart: "The Black man is definitely the public enemy."
Artist Website: publicenemy.com
Featured Albums: Public Enemy
Related Artists: Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Prophets of Rage
