In anticipation of the return of iconic hip hop group, Public Enemy, as part of the 2012 installation of Groovin’ The Moo national tour, Music Feeds are excitedly counting down the days until they touch down on our shores for both the festival and their own headline tour.
As a result of this, over the next few weeks we will be counting down our favourite Public Enemy clips. Since they came together in 1982, Public Enemy have been a highly influential group, releasing over 10 albums in their lengthy career.
To start us off, we’re going to take you back to 1989 when the group dropped one of the most recognised tracks, Fight The Power. This single is off their pivotal album, Fear Of A Black Planet. The track was voted Best Single of the year by a huge selection of media authorities.
Watch: Public Enemy – Fight The Power
This week in the countdown of Music Feeds’ Top 5 Public Enemy Tracks we feature the single 911 Is a Joke from the raps duo’s third record the platinum selling Fear of a Black Planet.
The single reached #1 on the Hot Rap Singles in 1990 and the clip features Flavor Flav in an assortment of mind blowing outfits and sunglasses while showing off his unique dance style. Apparently the clock wearing rapper wrote this little diddy whilst he was ripped and it’s not hard to believe he was in a similar condition when filming the music video.
Watch: Public Enemy – 911 (is a joke)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKhscio25M
Straight from Public Enemy’s 1994 studio record Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age comes the single Give It Up. In typical PE fashion Chuck D’s lyric are both clever, “Call me a Hannibal lecture” and aware “I never did represent doing dumb shot, some gangsta’ lying – I’d rather diss Presidents”. As for the clip the footage is a mixture of PE in the flesh and their marionette dobbelgangers. Flava Flav’s string puppet incarnation is particularly amusing as he’s given fingers that rival ET’s. Also be sure to look out for Chuck D reaching into the White House and physically throwing out then president Bill Clinton.
Watch: Public Enemy – Give It Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB8wTs7xA_U
If you like basketball and long movies about basketball then you’re probably a fan of Spike Lee’s film He Got Game. The film’s soundtrack was handled by Public Enemy who released it as their 6th studio record under the film’s name. The title track is a reworking of the classic Buffalo Springfield tune ‘For What Its Worth’ and features some of Chuck D’s best work, “I don’t freestyle much, but I write them as such” – word
Watch: Public Enemy – He Got Game
Don’t Believe the Hype was the second single from Public Enemy’s record It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The single features the immortal line “I’m the epitome – a public enemy” while the record It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back was the follow-up to PE’s debut Yo! Bum Rush the Show and also contains the massive single Bring the Noise.
Watch: Public Enemy – Don’t Believe The Hype
We also recently spoke to hugely iconic political hip hop and band leader Chuck D in the lead-up to their visit next month; you can read the interview here.
Public Enemy Australian Tour 2012
Thursday 10th May the Hi-Fi, Brisbane, Qld
Tickets from: http://www.thehifi.com.au/
Friday 11th May The Metro, Sydney
Tickets from: http://www.metrotheatre.com.au
Thursday 17th May The Esplanade Hotel St Kilda, Melbourne
w/Seth Sentry
Tickets from: http://www.espy.com.au
Groovin The Moo 2012 Dates
Sat 5 May – Prince of Wales Showground, Bendigo
Sun 6 May – Murray Sports Complex, Townsville
Sat 12 May – Maitland Showground, Maitland
Sun 13 May – The Meadows, Canberra
Sat 19 May – Hay Park, Bunbury
