Beats & Places
Public Enemy has again followed suit in bringing its music, words, imagery and meaning to the world. The highly influential Long Island New Yorkers have been together 20 years and delivered a barrage of classic albums awash with politically-charged lyrics. The group, which still features founding members Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and Professor Griff, has scores of imitators but is regarded by many as the definitive rap group. Beats and Places brings to the foreground some lesser-known Public Enemy tracks along with a DVD of music videos and documentaries. Standard Jewel Case with DVD. After an impressive resurgence in the early 2000s, the group that brought protest to hip-hop keeps things moving with another strong album, Beats And Places. The state of 21st century America is an endless source of outrage for Chuck D--as he puts it on 'Hell No, We Ain't All right,' (a single recorded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina), 'We got more issues to talk about.' From hip-hop's hyper-capitalist mentality, ('Air Conditioning') to mass media mind-control, ('Vidiot') to social injustice and corporate greed run amuck , Public Enemy's lead vocalist has plenty on his plate. And the presidential vocal samples ('Don't mess with George Dubya') on 'Grand Theft Oil' may be the most frighteningly gangsta words heard in some time. '