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Artist: Public Enemy

Album: He Got Game

Genre: East Coast Political Skills Hip-Hop.

Producers: The "Complete Expanded" Bomb Squad, including Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee, and Gary G-Wiz. Yea!!! Also: D.R. Period, Abnes (Abnormal) Dubose, Minnesota, Danny Saber, and Jack Dangers. Executive Soundtrack Producers: Spike Lee, Hank Shocklee, Kathy Nelson, and Chuck D.

Tracks: 13 tracks (one outro skit) clocking in at 48 minutes and 9 seconds.

Label: Def Jam Music Group. Just like their last 6 albums.

Year of Release: 1998

Date of Review: July 11, 1998

LYRICS: 9

FLOW: 9

MESSAGE: 10

BEATS: 7

ORIGINALITY: 6

HYPE: 7

CONSISTENCY: 8

SCORE: 79%

Information on my ratings system.

PUBLIC ENEMY!!!!! You all know them, right? If you don't, proceed directly to my Catch up review of their first six albums.

Done yet? Okay. . . so, that's Public Enemy. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that they're BY FAR the greatest rap group of all time. Nobody can touch them as far as quality, importance, fonkeness, intelligence, and anything else that a rap group should have goes. They sorta slipped a bit on their last two releases, but (my apologies to KRS), they're still #1.

Well, the guys split up not too long after the release of Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. Chuck D claimed to be "disillusioned" with the then-current state of Hip-Hop, and PE went their seperate ways. Chuck released a solid and above-average, yet not ground-breaking, and certainly not marketable solo album in 1995, and stayed in touch with the world, becoming a father-figure of sorts to the Hip-Hop Nation, but other than some media appearances, the rest of the group was nowhere to be found. A reunion seemed unlikely.

But just as EPMD went back into business, and Rakim showed that the 18th letter was forever, Public Enemy are back, proving they've still got game.

What made them come back? Could it be the recent interest in anything dealing with Old School Hip-Hop? I mean, seeing how old school beats are taking a key spot in new Hip-Hop songs and breakdancing is showing up in Rap videos and High School dances everywhere, PE could see this as the perfect time to come back. Could it be the recent innovations in electronic music by artists such as DJ Shadow, The Prodigy, and Chemical Brothers? It's a fact that Public Enemy pretty much started this sort of electronic music that's so popular nowadays, and seeing where it's been taken, maybe they want a piece of the excitement. Or, could it just be that their good friend and biggest fan, Spike Lee, convinced them to record a soundtrack for his new movie?

That's right. The innovators of sampling and politics in Hip-Hop have returned, this time with the soundtrack to Spike Lee's film, He Got Game. Excellent film, by the way. But I'm not here to review movies. So, let me get back to the album. What's refreshing about this soundtrack is that it isn't the average soundtrack. What's the typical soundtrack like? You all know that. Get a bunch of popular artists, as well as a few not-so-popular ones, try to make some big hits, only half of which actually appear in the movie, and pray it goes platinum. Now, let me tell you, I'm not a big fan of listening to the radio. And listening to a typical soundtrack is a lot like listening to the radio, with all kinds of artists all over it. Except a lot of the songs aren't even good enough to get played on the radio.

Not so, here. Go back to the time when a soundtrack featured one artist, and the songs were meant to tell the story of the movie. Like Isaac Hayes's Shaft or Curtis Mayfield's Superfly. That's obviously what Spike Lee wanted for his new film. And that's what he got. Public Enemy does all the songs, many of which deal directly with the plot of the film He Got Game.

All the familiar faces are here: Chuck D blesses the mic with his hardcore wisdom, Flav returns with his antics, Terminator X still only speaks with his hands, and even Professor Griff, who was kicked out of the group in 1990 for anti-semetic comments he said to the media, is back again so that he can. . . damn, what the hell DOES that guy do?

Whatever. PE are united once again. And the results are beautiful. What may surprise, even disappoint you, about this album is that the beats bear almost no similarity to the Public Enemy of the past. Gone is the noise of their classic first three albums. The funk they were heading towards with Apocalypse 91? Nowhere to be found. Well, what does it sound like? Listen to some Wu-Tang or Gang Starr, because these beats are VERY similar to those of RZA and DJ Premier. Sparse, tight sounding, very East Coast Hip-Hop. Hard to believe, isn't it? Public Enemy following the trends instead of setting them? Well. . . they have been gone for years. Obviously, the producers have been influenced by more recent masters, and what would it be like if they tried to return to the old noise? WACK. Just like Muse Sick was. That was the old Public Enemy. Trying to reproduce that sound would only result in embarassment, not to mention depressing the fans. All of the greatest groups in the history of music have changed and evolved as time went on. And so has Public Enemy.

Let's put the CD in. It starts with "Resurrection."

"Damn, back again
 Uh, on track again
 2 G around the bend
 Some of y'all black again"

From the beginning, everyone should be able to tell that this is a new PE. Listen to the beat. I've never heard a Public Enemy song that sounds anything like this. It's that underground East Coast sound. It's surprising at first, but the more I listen the more dope it seems. The Bomb Squad does it well.

		"No more disses,
		 Repeated hook-lines, and choruses"

	"Put my soul in it
	 Care less about the gold in it"

PE even has a different message here.

			"Boom the shottie,
			 Got em runnin from the papparazzi
			 Lodi Dodi, when the feds come and doom your party
		   	 Cracker in the back, don't you know it's Illuminati?"

   "Star spelled backwards is rats"

		"Behold, the one man million man march"

Masta Killa from Wu-Tang Clan shows up at the end to drop some knowledge with his sllloooowwww, methodical (but dope) flow.

			   	   "Those who label the Gods as anti-social
 				    Choose not to apply the third-eye
 				    I travel at the speed of thought, but what will enable
 				    A man to levitate"

Dope. I think Masta Killa added a nice amount of flava here.

Now, you've all heard "He Got Game." It's the track that samples "For What It's Worth," written by Stephen Stills. Now. . . you all know how I feel about this kind of sampling. That's why when I first heard this track, I was scared to death that PE had went the way of the dollar and decided to sell out. Well. . . luckily, that's not so. The original artist does a guest spot here, making it seem a little less dirty. And at least this sample makes sense, as it almost enhances the original song. That's more than I can say about some folks, who'll take a song about stalking and turn it into a supposed ode to a dead friend, or take an old school rap hit about social protest and transform it into a modern, materialistic nightmare. Doesn't it seem like I have to dis Puff at least once every review? Anyway. . . Chuck comes with BRILLIANT lyrics here.

 "If man is the father, the son is the center of the Earth
  In the middle of the universe
  Then why is this verse comin six times rehearsed?
  I don't freestyle much, but I write 'em like such"

	"What does it all mean?
         All this sh*t I'm seein
	 Human beings, screamin vocal javelins
	 Sign of the local nigga unravellin
	 My wanderin got my ass wonderin
	 Where Christ is in all this crisis"

I know, that "where Christ is in all this crisis" was kinda already used on Common's One Day It'll All Make Sense..., but I don't think Chuck was biting. Just paying tribute. How many people would even recognize a line from Common's album, anyway?

			"Year by year, all the sense disappears
			 Nonsense perseveres, prayers laced with fear
			 Beware, Two-triple-O is near"

You know what? This song has really grown on me. Not only do I like it, but I think it could be considered a classic a few years down the road. For real. I don't even think it's all that commercial, to tell the truth. And if it is, so what? Public Enemy's done enough for Hip-Hop that recording an occasional radio-friendly jam is forgivable.

Next we have "Unstoppable," featuring the Blastmaster himself, KRS-One.

"What do you want, what do you need, what will you find, don't be afraid 
 Don't fall asleep, open your mind
 I hope this rhyme gets you in time and space
 Come to a different place
 Will you hear spiritual, lyrical knowledge in your face to face
 Like welfare, in these rapper's lyrics, they need help there
 Does KRS represent Heaven? Hell yeah
 Let me take you elsewhere
 Where you stand is a curse there, for sure
 Unless you're mature
 Grow up, if you're immature
 Then you're livin sinister
 You reject the words of the minister
 You better get wit your Koran or Bible
 You won't be living long if you're living idle
 The teacher: that's my title"

	"Public Enemy wit the Public Enema
 	 I gets way up in your buttocks
	 I rocks, cuz it's Hip-Hop"

Kris drops the best verse on the album. Maybe the best verse I've heard on any album all year. It's absolutely amazing that this guy still has so many dope rhymes in him. You'd think he'd be running out by now, but no, he's still in top form. It's nice to hear PE collaborating with KRS-One, considering how similar of artists they've been for so many years. This track's another winner.

Unfortunately, Flav had to come in with a solo cut and ruin the reign of dopeness with a "party jam" entitled "Shake Your Booty." This one reminds me of something that would've been on Greatest Misses. And honestly, that's not a period in PE's history that I like to remember.

			  "Stack paper
			   Let's get crazy
			   Throw your hands in the air
			   Then you're swazy"

By the way, the Last Boyscout himself, Rampage of the Flipmode Squad, wrote this song. Maybe that's why it's so wack. . . nah, I'm not trying to dis Rampage. I don't think he's quite as wack as a lot of heads do. I just don't think he'd be popular at all if he wasn't Busta Rhymes's cousin, that's all.

Next we go back to the hardcore Public Enemy that everyone loves with "Is Your God a Dog." This one, backed by a slammin track, makes note of the BS going on in Hip-Hop today.

     "Unsolved mystery
      Life lost in a funk sample
      Enter the bandwagons, braggin, hangin banners
      Clearin the way for younger MCs, and new Hammers
      What was criticized six years back
      Is now back in New York on the jersey, front and back"

Say, I think that jab was directed towards Mr. Combs. . . who else but Puffy fits the description of a "New Hammer"?

Chuck also comments on the murders of Tupac and Biggie Smalls.

"In this corner, representin the best in the west
 Died from four bullets, two up in the chest
 Worshipped from the wrong side of the TV sets
 Had mad fans comin outta both sex
 Sold, multi-platinum, eight times gold
 But died of homocide, 25 years old"

			   "The peace cursed for life by the mark of that beast
			    Raised by peeps, rode jeeps, with Brooklyn beats
			    Praised as a hero who came up off the streets
			    The crowd looks on, claimin sides they don't own
			    A house built up on their skulls and them bones"

Nice to see the ignorant so-called fans being dissed here. That "claimin sides they don't own" makes a lot of sense. . . I mean, isn't it ridiculous when someone from Alberta, Canada sends me e-mail talking about how the "Westside is the bestside"? Get a life, people.

Next up is "House of the Rising Son." Prof. Griff does a little bit of work here, at least, just talking at the beginning of the track. But the great thing about this song is the BEAT. It samples The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," one of the most recognizable (and best) Classic Rock songs of all time. But, if I wouldn't have read the inside of the album notes, I wouldn't have even noticed it, even though the Who are my favorite rock band of all time and "Won't Get Fooled Again" is probably my favorite song by them. Now THAT's what sampling should be. The Bomb Squad turn the synthesizer loops of the original song into something entirely new. Beautiful, guys, beautiful.

Believe it or not, but the next song, "Revelation 33 1/3 Revolutions," is actually a posse cut. The thing is. . . I have no clue who the rest of the posse alongside Chuck D is. Their names are LuQuantum Leap, Supernatural, Minnesota, and Serenity. Anyone ever heard of these guys? Neither have I. However, they hold their own pretty well, backing Chuck up nicely.

Speaking of backing Chuck up nicely, I can't think of anything that does that better than an ill beat. And that's what "Game Face" has. At first, I thought it sounded like it sampled the James Bond theme or something. Then I checked, and it turned out that it DID sample the James Bond theme. Smoothe Da Hustler shows up and raps a verse, and he also wrote all the lyrics here.

		"The way it goes down is simple
		 From this day forth
		 Anything dealin with rap, stay off
		 This is the playoffs, no payoffs
		 Strictly skills
		 If your brain is insane then stick to your deals"

  "I'll allow you to write
   Maybe allow you to bite
   If you down to fight the power
   Here's the power to fight"

				   "Either ease off the gas or floor it
				    You ain't ready to get it
				    I don't know why they keep askin for it"

Very nice.

Now, you all know that Chuck D is into criticizing any and every form of injustice that exists. From police brutality, to the mistreatment of blacks in Hollywood. Is it any wonder he now disses the shoe companies on "Politics of the Sneaker Pimps"? Tear 'em up, Chuck. . .

 	  "Hey Dr. J, where you get these moves
	   Was it from gettin high in school?
	   Or can it be the shoes?"

"I see corporate hands up in foreign lands"

			  "They'll make me do things in the court to amaze ya
			   I heard they made 'em for a buck eight in Asia"

"We've come a long way, baby
 Since Clyde Frazier had Pumas
 Pullin mad consumers
 Them Filas I'm feelin
 But I can't touch the ceiling
 As the New Balance hits 120 million"

Back to the plot of the film with "What You Need is Jesus." Now, of course, this song isn't about Jesus Christ. I don't think anyone in Public Enemy is Christian, from what I know about them. This is a direct reference to the main character in He Got Game, Jesus Shuttleworth, who was played by Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks. This one has to be my favorite cut on the album. . . Chuck's voice just sounds so POWERFUL here, and the beat backs him up perfectly.

"Now here's the pop
 Turn around jumper
 Hits the rim, bounce away
 The new slave trade
 Man child, 6 ft. 5 but juvenile
 Thin line between gettin bucks and gettin wild"

 	 "Three cities a week, droppin needles
 	  Like the black Beatle
	  Take heed, what you need is. . . Jesus"

		  "Track my pitch up
		   Never switch up
		   Smacked the back ups
		   Packed them pick ups 
		   Resurrection of the two man vocal section
		   The spirit in your dark ass direction"

See the movie and you'll understand, this song is about the conflicts that the protagonist is going through. It fits the film perfectly.

Another song that refers to a character in the Spike Lee joint is "Super Agent." In He Got Game, Jesus is confronted by an agent that wants him to skip college and jump to the pros, because "the money is there." Obviously, the agent is pretty cold-hearted, caring not for Jesus but only the money he could bring him.

	"Sold, black gold, one strong buck
	 To the Milwakee Bucks, for a million bucks
	 Just get him off the street so he don't get bucked
	 Super Agent to the rescue so he won't get f*cked"

A cool thing about the next track, "Go Cat Go," is that the beat actually sounds like an old Public Enemy song. Yes, the NOIZE is here. What's odd is that it isn't even produced by the Bomb Squad, but rather by Danny Saber and Jack Dangers. Go figure.

Public Enemy's newest album's final notes have came out of my speakers. So, how is it?Well, let's say I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed. Not only is it worlds better than Muse Sick, but it's actually very, very impressive.

Is it a classic? Probably not. What shocked me was that PE weren't quite as innovative as they have been in the past. The beats, taken completely over the album, sound a lot like what's typical of some underground East Coast Hip-Hop. There's a couple obvious samples here and there. There are more guestspots over less tracks than on any previous Public Enemy effort. And there are lyrics written by rappers that aren't members of PE, like Rampage and Smoothe Da Hustler. Even Public Enemy's message, always a mix of their pro-black policies and social criticisms, seems to now be modeled after the popular anti New World Order and Illuminati statements that are filling the underground, a la Poor Righteous Teachers, Boogiemonsters, and even Gravediggaz. Could Public Enemy be losing their focus?

Nah. . . overall, He Got Game is a great album, coming as close as possible to getting my "Silver Award" as possible. I'm pretty close to sure it'll make this year's ten best. Hell, the album's only been out for a couple months, and I already know just about all the words on it. . . that shows you how much I've been playing it. The boys have proven that they still rock. But. . . they've also proven that at this point in time, they're no longer THE best. They have re-elevated themselves to a position as one of the best, but I think the group has been eclipsed in their time off by such acts as Goodie Mob and Gang Starr.

Even with this, and I'm gonna go out on a limb here. . . if I were a betting man, I'd put money down that PE's next album, tentatively titled There's a Poison Going On, WILL be a true classic. They're still warming up. But for now, you'll have fun playing this Game.

---Steve Clark