You would think that post Obama Public Enemy would take a breather, take a victory lap, do a victory lap for Black Street. But you would be wrong. Chuck D and Flavor Flav are pissed as ever, though if their most resonating complaint is that Rosa Park doesn't appear on stamps, they can't take the stench of petulance away.
Whenever something goes wrong Chuck D has exactly one point of view: yeah, well, it was worse for black. Economically, the country has been in a recession BUT BLACKS HAVE BEEN IN A DEPRESSION. Yes we can? No we can't. All the guy can do is hinge about the black people. I dunno, but it seems to me that Blacks have made great Everyone is bought and sold except Chuck D, "Ain't famous for being famous..," Chuck claims in that pissed declarative voice of hi on "I Shall Not Be Moved" . "All I have is my word and my word is black…" This isn't serious political discourse, Rick Ross brags about his swag, Chuck about his agit prop. What's the difference?
Glad you asked, Stamps is ten times the album God Forgives… I Don't not because the politics,or even the polemical rhymes are better, though sometimes they are, but because PE still sounds great. "Run Till Its Dark", "Catch The Throne", "Get It In", "I Shall Not Be Moved" -most of the rest of the album sounds old school but superb. Scratching and sampling for nearly an hour, the sound is very powerful and never slackens off. All these tracks are PE 101, and maybe a little more.
The band are so unable to change, "I'm at the age where if I can't choose I shouldn't open up my mouth to speak", Chuck claims on "WTF" which boasts a real good sample and Flavor Flav's best rhymes: "Free your mind and your ass will follow, follow Flava Flav to the Apollo". This is the band's 25th Anniversary, and they have weathered more than a few major life changes and is it enough? "Fuck the game if it don't mean nothing," Chuck sang rapped years ago.
But what does it mean? PE rattling the cages of economic disaster should have busted through racial barriers: for once at least, there is no doubt EVERYONE is suffering, but between petulance and stupidity, Chuck see everything in black and white. Really? The problem is 2Pac (a great rapper, but a murderous thug) not being on a stamp? That's what it is???
And Chuck's problems with the real estate market is insane. Why are blacks not as responsible as whites for taking stupid mortgages: there is something belittling in the harangues.
So back to the music. It sounds very very good. I really love PE, I think they are sincere but stupid. I also think they hate white people and I base this upon the time I saw them hang a white man in effigy when opening for Run DMC. Still, nice to hear Cormega, the great Queens rapper.
So, stupid (but not bad) politics, same old same old lyric which fails to make its point about the Black population being hurt more than the majority. AND everything else various degrees of very good.
"Divide and conquer, the oldest trick in the game
Is the war between the people who are really the same
As the rich people get richer, the poor get bitchie
The people keep kissing, the feds don't listen
This recession seen a black depression
Since your wasting in a nation heading for desperation."
Survey saaaaays: A-