[MUSIC] Public Enemy

[rfmcdonald]

I'm rather pleased with my recent acquisition of a Public Enemy greatest hits album. Chuck D's deep and lyrically profound voice finds a nicely manic counterpoint in Flavor Flav's rhymes, and the dense and overlapping sampling from which the group made their songs is pure ear candy. "Fight the Power" is a standout track, as I had been led to respect and as I distantly remembered from the Spike Lee music video, worthy of both a charmingly academic essay by a writer at Salon and a humourous essay from McSweeney's. I don't think that I'm particularly well-positioned to comment upon the controversies associated with the group, but if the songs I've heard are typical any bigotry is peripheral to Public Enemy's project of eminently enjoyable and politically conscious rap music.