Public Enemy : Theres A Poison Going On - Released May 1999

This album has controversy surrounding it since its initial inception, because it is PE's first album since they decided to wage war on the record industry. Having split from their label DefJam and made themselves posterboys for the MP3 revolution, this album has represented much more than what it can offer musically. So this being one of the first primarily-internet releases (with a retail release a month later), this album is receiving it's fair share of hype. But PE were the first to say, don't believe the hype. So let's not. Let's look at this album musically - ignoring all the internet / MP3 hysteria that has built up around it.

With that in mind, it's safe to say that this album kicks ass. There are some people who won't like it, simply because it doesn't sound like Fear of a Black Planet or Nation of Millions. But that's their loss. This album is not like PE's earlier albums. It doesnt have the panic-driven siren sounds of Nations. Nor does it have the smooth sound of He Got Game. It's totally different. The only way I can think of to describe it is sort of a dark - end of the millenia - cross between Method Man and Pink Floyd. The CD opens up with a traditional PE soundscape of news samples, flutes, BASS, and record scratching. Then we slide into the first single, Do You Wanna Go My Way. This song comes out of no where, backed by a nice beat with crazy noise. Sounds like someone rapping on top of a garbage compactor full of bikes. But it works nicely. Tracks like LSD and CRASH show the better side of the album, with dark beats providing a platform for Chuck D's flow. Flavor Flav is at the top of his form on his two tracks on the album, 41:19 (talking about the NYPD shooting of a man 41 times) and WhatWhat! Songs like Last Mass Of The Caballeros and Crayola show a whole new side to PE proving once again that they can flip styles and still come out raw. And of course, most of you will have heard Swindlers Lust by now: PE's personal letter bomm aimed at the record industry.

The only two dissapointing songs, I thought were Kevorkian and World Tour Sessions. The lyrics of Kevorkian just don't seem to match with the beat, just end up crashing into each other. And World Tour Sessions was just a little too slow for me. It's the only melodic, smooth song on the album, and while they do a good job of it - it just doesn't do anything for me. Anyways, if you're looking for an album thats different from what the rest of the hiphop community is doing, then check out this album. The lyrics and message are their and the beats are right on.