public enemy's fourth album, including 'don't believe the hype' and 'bring the noise'

public enemy

"i had worked in new york for a while when i was 18, this was 1987 and hip-hop was becoming huge everywhere - thanks, i guess, to the first rock/rap crossover hits from beastie boys and run dmc. ll cool j was a big star then. it was really exciting.

"of course the tabloids had to attack it and the beasties especially, while i was away my sister went to the liverpool royal court gig where there were riots and one of the band was arrested.

"consonant with all of this kind of thing it seems really dated and not very shocking but it was exciting at the time and if the tabloids hated it you knew it was going to change things forever.

"in 1989 'nation of millions' didn't come out of nowhere, it wasn't their first album but it was the one that had me trawling through the bookshops of liverpool looking for franz fanon, marcus garvey and huey p newton.

"this was chuck d at his rhymin', spittin' best. the lyrics are funny, educational and inspirational. the music sounded like the end of the world back then, very heavy."

back