Search - Public Enemy :: Rebirth of a Nation

`Rebirth' of Rap Pioneers

Hype Currie | Detroit, Michigan United States | 06/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Artist: Public Enemy

Album: Rebirth of a Nation

Label: Guerrilla Funk



Rebirth of a Nation is Public Enemy's 11th studio album. It is also the first album where frontman Chuck D delegated most of the writing & all of the production duties. Bay Area-based rapper Paris serves as chief lyricist and producer for this project, and it's released on his own Guerrilla Funk label. With his own history as a politically minded rapper, Paris is a sympathetic facilitator for the hard-edged social commentary that Public Enemy is known for. Rebirth follows barely six months after the band's New Whirl Odor release late last year. But Rebirth is decidedly not a bunch of leftover session cuts. Paris manages to bring out the best in Chuck, Flavor Flav and Professor Griff on the LP's 16 tracks. Rebirth's rhythm tracks take cues from Public Enemy's early releases, updated with the decidedly funk-driven soundscapes that Paris is known for. Samples are mostly eschewed for live instruments, adding to the LP's organic feel.



The title track, a play on words from the D.W. Griffith movie, finds Chuck announcing Public Enemy's return to a hip-hop world that has gotten more grim since they first came on the scene: "We come rough with the rhythm and rhymes that pack 'em in/ Bust with the rhythm that shine back once again/ Still ride with releases reaching each/ Still strive to revive and keep the peace.." "Plastic Nation" indicts plastic surgery obsession: "Was all part of the plan to keep her lookin' right/ Figured she could be Janet if she took the knife/ It's not a sin to be thin, she tryin' hard to fit in/ Knowin' soon she'll be a citizen of the plastic nation." "Hell No We Ain't Alright" laments the Hurricane Katrina tragedy: "Shelter? Food? Wasssup, where's the water? No answers from disaster, them masses be hurtin'/ So who... they call, Halliburton? Son of a Bush, how you gonna trust that cat?"



Paris himself takes the spotlight on a handful of tracks, including "Hannibal Lecture": "Same racism profiling each of us all/ Same outsiders where we live enforcing the law/ Gats clappin' on the streets, gunplayin' with heat/ Same prisons full of brothers herded in like sheep." Other guests making their voices known on the LP include N.W.A. alumnus M.C. Ren and former Ice Cube protégé Kam. Flavor Flav's solo talents are highlighted on the whimsical "They Call Me Flavor": "Good morning heartaches and tell me what's new/ Got nothin' else to do but drink brew/ Tryin' to feel the flow, gettin' so low/ Standin' here drinkin' a quart of Old Gold." Flav keeps it professional here, managing to avoid plugging his many reality show stints.



Public Enemy's Bomb Squad produced California rapper Ice Cube's first LP back in 1990. Sixteen years later, Public Enemy finds reinvention in another west-coast colleague and a solid showcase for a veteran hip-hop band.

"

What Happened?

Huey Newton | 05/07/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Public Enemy has always set a high standard for their music and message. They could always be counted on to break down reality, put it in a groove, and drive a message home so hard that it was inspiring and also a call to action on all levels. I know they still have the ability to do that. I see them live regulary in NYC just about everytime they are there. I was there when Chuck D did the guest shot with George Clinon and P-Funk at the Appollo last year. I'm a die hard fan. This album however is very dissapointing.



Public Enemy never condescended to profanity laced tirades. They were always too smart, too intelligent for that. On this latest peice of work there are so many "F's" and "MF's" that, unlike "Bum Rush" "Fear of a Black Planet" "Nation" or "Apocalypse" I won't even share it with my kids or the other young people that I know. I'm a youth counselor and have worked with young people for years. I like to share music with them that has a solid , moral message.



PE has always fit the bill in my book. That, being said, I was really looking forward to this CD based on the reviews I've read here on AMAZON.COM. I feel like I've been hoodwinked! When your vocabulary is deep, you don't need to resort too profanity to make a point. There are plenty of words available with which to communicate. With the addition of PARIS their deleivery has definitely changed. It's not that my ears are so "pure" that I'm offended. It's just that the CD is laced with the stuff. Also, assassinating the President and burning down the White House are not going to get us where we as BLACK people need to be. That's just dumb. We are at WAR and one of the first things the devil tries to control is your tongue. If he can control your tongue, he can control your body and control your world. Unfortunately, on this piece, PE's articulation of the issues has gone into the gutter. Yes, they are still talking about things that need to be said that no other rappers en mass are not doing. There are a few exceptions. My guess is that they are trying to reach the "Thugs" and convert them to polital and social action rather than "Pimpin', ho'in, dealin' and blingin'. I understand the sentiment, but the gutter language tactics turns me off.



One of the things I have always liked about PE is that the delivery was smart, intelligent, and meaningful. This record is profane and mean sprited, not just angry. It makes it hard for me to identify with where they are coming from this time because there is no real HOPE displayed here. Not even a glimmer of PEACE and LOVE. Too negative. It just doesn't make one think about solutions to problems. It just expounds on the problems themseleves.



I don't want our young people to grow up sounding like this. We need a revolution and that starts in the home with the parents or guradians. We need a sense of identity, meaning and morals. If we don't have that, we will end up living and sounding just like the rest of the lost people in this world. Living beneath our God given privledges and always looking for someone or something to blame rather than taking full responsibilty for our own lives. God bless all who read this and have a nice day."

PE still pumpin' out the funk...

Hugo D. Hackenbush | Main Street, USA | 08/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say that PE is one of my all-time favorite hip-hop groups of all time, having made three of the greatest hip-hop albums ever ("It takes a Nation...", "Fear of...", "Apocalypse..."). Still, I have been less than impressed with their output after the "holy trinity". Each album contained at least a few good songs, but what previously made PE so impressive was their ability to make cohesive, exciting and surprising albums as a whole, not just a few good singles. It's been quite some time since PE put out a CD that didn't feel some-what half-baked. Which it's why it's a pleasure to report that for the first time since PE's golden age, they have made an album that hangs together in it's entirety. Paris was a good choice to collaborate with; his sound is definitely old-school, yet it still sounds fresh overall, giving PE a much-needed shot of musical (and lyrical) adrenaline. Still, it does not even comes close to "It Takes A Nation...", "Fear of..." or even "Yo, Bum Rush..." (but what could?), and the overall production suffers at times from an identity crisis that often stems from such collaborations. Still, a fine effort, overall. Now I realize some hip-hop lovers (are you listening, reviewer "Venom"?) are eternally stuck at age 14, and can only enjoy hip-hop for it's oh-so-very tired thug posturing, braggadocio and celebration of materialism; I suppose it goes well with sitting in your bedroom fantasizing about empty empowerment, while self-medicating to some prime chronic. I, for one, am tired of the caricature hip-hop has become (it has sadly followed the same path as rock music did in the late 80's, when rock music became a bloated, empty affair with crap "Hair Metal" bands that crooned about hot chicks, hot cars and lots of cash). Ever since PE's popularity declined, there's been a void in hip-hop that has yet to be properly filled, and I do hope some young gun steps up to the plate. Until then, new PE is always a welcome addition to my MP3 player... even if they now are old farts. Now, if only Chuck D would smack some sense into Flava Flav regarding his horrifically embarrassing television career..."