Bring tha noise! At a time like this, where the world is in an awkward situation, we need groups like Public Enemy. As the opening “…And No One Broadcasted Louder Than…” introduction to New Whirl Odor sums it nicely – these guys reinvented the game.

With rap stars like 50 Cent exhorting all and sundry to shoot each other and sell drugs to gain infamy, Chuck D’s smart politicisms, combined with Flavor Flav’s exhortations, are needed more than ever. They remind us that rap doesn’t have to be dumbed down for the masses; it can be a spark to demand something more.

While Chuck D has oft been criticised for castigating white people in a racial profiling manner to that which he protests against, it doesn’t matter when he’s laying down tunes as furious as the likes of “Bring That Beat Back”. Occasionally, New Whirl Odor does get bogged down, but when it’s at its best it’s a polemic slice of fury, akin to the Bomb Squad’s furious best work in the early 1990s.

Of course, that in and of itself is a problem – Public Enemy are essentially repeating themselves throughout much of New Whirl Odor. That the group are still as pissed off as ever doesn’t surprise, but what does is the lack of advancement in sound or ideas throughout much of the album.