Public Enemy

Public Enemy is nothing less than THE quintessential hardcore rap group, defining the genre at its earliest days, and inspiring generations of performers. Even today, the effects of Public Enemy's ground breaking techniques and challenging themes display the capacity that rap music holds not only as musical insight into a cultural landscape, but as a social tool for empowerment and activism. Formed by legendary producer/performer Chuck D, Public Enemy brought together a serious and committed group of rap and DJ artists such as the militarized looking Professor Griff, turntablist DJ Terminator X, and the wild-eyed, amiable Flava Flav. With songs that explored serious social injustices and inequalities, Public Enemy took the world by storm in the late ‘80s with a string of hit records, almost universal critical praise, and heaps of controversy. Often misunderstood by the public and maligned by the media, the band persevered and came to inspire countless other artists to take up the torch and ask the hard questions. Now, 20 years later, the group is still as committed as ever to “Fight the Power.” CHARLIE SWANSON