Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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PUBLIC ENEMY

Rap group formed at Adelphi U Long Island '84--5 by college DJ Chuck D (b Carlton Ridenhour, '60), crazed accomplice Flavor Flav (William Drayton), DJ Terminator X (Norman Rogers) with the Bomb Squad production team (Ridenhour, brothers Hank and Keith Shockles, Bill Stephney and Eric 'Vietnam' Sadler, the one who knew how to turn the equipment on and off in the beginning), plus numerous spokespeople incl. 'media assassin' James Allen and notorious Professor Griff (Richard Griffin). Signed to Def Jam (see Beastie Boys) and shocked rap out of an apolitical materialism into which it was already falling with dramatic paramilitary image (accompanied on and off stage by 'bodyguards' Security of the First World, toting fake Uzi machine guns), fervent Black Panther-inspired rhetoric and clipped and chaotic music. First albums Yo Bum Rush The Show '87 and It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back '88 were bigger hits in UK than USA; theme 'Fight The Power' for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing was a one-off on Motown, the best-selling 12]im[ single in the label's history. Fear Of A Black Planet '90 incorporated the media frenzy into a musical collage; Griff left the group that year after he said in an interview, 'The Jews are evil. And we can prove this.' He was replaced by Sister Souljah, who promptly got herself into an ugly dispute with president-elect Bill Clinton. They teamed with liberal thrash-metal act Anthrax for hit single 'Bring The Noise' '91, cementing the rap/metal alliance first essayed by Run DMC/Aerosmith '86 (see Rap). Apocalypse '91: The Empire Strikes Back '91 was top ten USA/UK but problems with drugs and the law were destructive (Flav was sentenced to 90 days in jail 26 May '95 for a '93 shooting incident, served 31 days). They split up after top 15 Muse Sick N' Hour Mess Age '95. Chuck D did solo Autobiography Of Mistachuck; they came back with He Got Game '98, a patchy soundtrack for a Spike Lee movie.