Public Enemy
'Fight the Power' blasted from Radio Raheem's boombox all through Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, and it captured everything Public Enemy stood for: furious politics, Chuck D's booming baritone and Flavor Flav's clowning hype.
Their producers, the Bomb Squad, layered dozens of samples, sirens and squealing horns into a dense wall of noise. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is one of hip-hop's landmark albums, and Fear of a Black Planet kept the pressure on with '911 Is a Joke' and 'Welcome to the Terrordome'.
In 2020, amid a new wave of protests, they remixed 'Fight the Power' with Nas, Rapsody, Black Thought, YG, Jahi and Questlove, and in 2025 surprise-released Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025.
If you like Public Enemy you should check out: Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, James Brown, Rage Against the Machine, Death Grips, Clipping
