In the last 30 years, there have been quite a few musicians get praise far beyond any real musical worth, based on irrelevant sociological or political considerations. The Clash, for example, were an outstanding band, but did not begin to merit their slogan as "the only band that matters." Yet they were rushed into the Hall of Fame the first instant they were eligible, while Lynyrd Skynyrd languishes. Punk rock and descendents have been particularly rife with this kind of critical nonsense.
So has rap. The greatest act in rap history, by any reasonable MUSICAL consideration, would have to be the Beastie Boys- hands down. However, they don't have the cheap political rhetoric. More importantly, they're not black. I can understand how it might pain some folk that the best rap act is not black, but them's the facts. Given some of the particular racial pathologies of modern black America, that the Beasties are not just white but specifically JEWISH makes it that much worse.
Public Enemy, on the other hand, can't be praised highly enough among many people who care about rap. Besides the appropriate skin color, PE has the perfect schtick. They're radical militant black nationalist freedom fighters. Therefore, they are Highly Important.
Except of course that they're not. They're musicians and recording artists. Chuck D makes records. He's not in any significant sense a political leader or outlaw. For being a "public enemy," about the only significant lawlessness PE has been involved with has been Flavor Flav beating his woman. Wow, what a rebel.
Even our own Blogcritic uber alles Eric Olsen says "Public Enemy is arguably the most important rap group of all time and as such will be seen in the same league with Elvis Costello 100 years from now."
Negro puh-lease. Public Enemy's entire musical career isn't the equal just of "Alison," let alone the rest of Elvis' first album. In terms of music, you know, SONGS, PE is a third or fourth tier act. They have a few good songs, but they're no Beatles or Prince. Fear of a Black Planet was a rockin' good album, but that was all they had in 'em. Being highly generous, you might say that PE has ten worthwhile songs, eight or nine of them from Black Planet. On a musical level, their whole career might be the equal of Licensed to Ill.
As it happens, I saw them when they were touring for Black Planet. It was an irresistable lineup, with numerous hip-hop acts at the height of their prowess, particularly including the Digital Underground, promoting "The Humpty Dance." Heavy D was there as well. (This was the Indianapolis show where one of his boys got killed in an accident after the show.)
They put on a good show. I was well pleased with the value for my ticket dollar. A good time was had by one and all.
However, at no time did I actually experience fear of a black planet from attending the Public Enemy show. Look, their Security of the First World were dancers doing pseudo-militaristic dance steps while toting plastic toy guns. What were they going to do, squirt water on Whitey?
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Martha's Muffin
Hey Al, I saw that tour also, and just speaking for my pale self only, I did feel a bit of fear. It was of course buffered by liberal amounts of malt liquour, and a fascination with the nubian feminitas. I thought Digital Underground (with Tupac!) stole the show that night. Wasn't there an all female group on that bill also?
PE's shining moment was "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us back". Hands down (then waive them up in the air like you just don't care) this is one of the greatest albums of all time, any genre
I always thought Heavy D was an overblown windbag, though. Irrelevant in his time, and as history has revealed, in the present day also.
Oh, and "Paul's Boutique" is the most crimially underrated hip hop album in history! And on this there can be no debate!
2 - Al Barger
No female acts in Indy. It was purely a testosterone deal.
Humpty Hump was rock rulin', but we didn't have any idea yet that far back who Tupac was.
Heavy D just really never did have any decent songs. On top of which, he had this HUGE FRICKIN' NEON SIGN announcing his entrance reading "The Overweight Lover." This was just really amazingly tacky.
Oh, and Kid 'n Play were on the bill as well, working probably their first album.
I felt no fear in these surroundings (the since demolished Market Square Arena). I walk through all parts of town as the mood strikes with little thought. Perhaps I just don't have enough sense to know when I should be scared.
On the other hand, in fairness my co-celebrants at the PE gig gave me absolutely no noticeable reason to be scared. I was slightly conscious of my surroundings if only on the basis of being in a big crowd, but I didn't notice so much as a sideways glance all night.
3 - Martha's Muffin
Oh yeah, Kid n Play were the other act. I guess I just remember them as girls. House Party 1 is classic cinema, brother.
4 - Chris
I thought "911 is a Joke" was their best song.
5 - Eric Olsen
As always these matters come down to subjective judgments of value. I have no argument about the Beasties, they are classic, underrated, and certanly top 5 hip-hop all time. But haven't had more great albums than PE, which was unerring into the early '90s. I also agree about the racism and Chuck D being something of a dilettante, but your hero Elvis C is an even bigger dilettante, so that in and of itself isn't a disqualifier.
I agree it ultimately comes down to songs, but I will put a PE greatest hits up against just about anyone's greatest hits. They created a catchy, dangerous, dense, powerful sound out of disparate parts and made it sound of a piece. The political crap just doesn't matter thant much and is clearly hyperbole anyway - shock value is part of the game
6 - Mark Saleski
did al barger actually say "Any retard can be hostile and belligerant"?
i will now move aside so as to avoid the incoming lightening bolts.
7 - cjones
The Beastie Boys as the greatest rap group ever. Now THAT is hilarious. I grew up in NY and used to listen to Hip Hop on 8 tracks before cassettes were even popular. My point being that I was a fan of rap since it first began as an almost novelty. I think you are quite alone in thinking the Beastie Boys are the greatest rap group musically, lyrically or even conceptually. I enjoyed their first album when Def Jam brought them out but I can gurantee you the fact that people that love rap dont think of them is neither racist nor anti - semitic. I think its a matter of taste. They are a good group but thats about it. Nothing revolutionary in terms of what they say, how they say it or even their sound. Any by they way, Malcom X never carried an Uzi. That silly picture that everyone sees with him looking out of the window is a photoshop creation...
8 - BRICKLAYER
...as are the lunar landing shots. Everyone knows they are created in a sound stage in Hollywood.
9 - Eric Olsen
isn't there some movie or series of movies about the whole world being fascade?
10 - Natalie
Al's right. Any [jerk] can be hostile and belligerent.
11 - Michael
In case the trackback doesn't work, here's my comment
12 - Aaron
As much as I think arguing about "the music I like is better than the music you like" is a pointless exercise, it sure is fun.
If anything, the Beastie Boys are the most overrated rap act. So they actually play instruments. Great. After Pauls' Boutique, they just kept making the same album.
I'd have to go with NWA, and the acts it spawned, as the greatest.
13 - Eric Olsen
Very interesting Michael, why don't you join us?
14 - BRICKLAYER
Aaron says: "After Pauls' Boutique, they just kept making the same album".
This statement proves that you not only do not know your ass from elbow, you also are not familiar with the Beastie Boys recorded output.
While "Check your Head" and "Ill Communication" are similar in theme and sound, they bear no resemlance to "Paul's Boutique", and certainly "Hello Nasty" does not sound like any of their other records.
Check your facts, sucka, so I don't have to keep taking fools school!
15 - Aaron
Wow, you sure took me to school.
16 - Doctor Slack
To put Al's yammering about "cheap racial demagoguery" in perspective, Chuck D has been considerably to the fore among black MCs in giving the Beastie Boys their props (in fact, he cited them as an influence when he presented them the Video Vanguard award).
That Public Enemy's politics is mostly schtick is plain; to complain about this is to miss the fact that this is precisely the source of their appeal. They are to hip hop what Parliament Funkadelic were to funk, Kiss or Alice Cooper were to rawk, or what Gwar were to metal. They had more intelligence behind the schtick than any of the latter three bands IMO, but it's a similar phenomenon: Spectacle with a capital "S."
Having said that, I doubt their musical output will age well. Their sound certainly captured and shaped a moment in hip hop but failed, ultimately, to move beyond it. In that sense they're not in the same league as hip hop acts that adapted to What Came After and kept producing quality and relevant music, like the Beasties, KRS-One, Gangstarr, Dr. Dre or (perhaps more controversially) the much-maligned LL Cool J.
I don't think hip hop yet has an Elvis Costello. That's to be expected; as a format it's only a couple of decades old, just as rock and roll was when "My Aim is True" first came out. And I have a feeling that a consistently wacky innovator comparable to Costello is less likely to come out of the States than the British Isles -- here's the horse I'm currently backing.
17 - Al Barger
Slack- I don't know that Chuck D has ever been hostile toward the Beasties specifically, but he certainly has some history of Jew-baiting. First of course was their Minister of Information explaining to the press that Jews were responsible for the "majority of wickedness" that goes on in the world.
Besides not firing the guy (or not keeping him fired), Chuck followed up with the classic "Welcome to the Terrordome" where he "told the rab 'get off the rag'" and explained how "they" had got him "just like Jesus."
One on hand, that IS kind of shitty. On the other, it's one of their best joints, so I'll forgive a lot of nonsense. I'll just say that I take it with a grain of salt.
Also Doc, give us more about this Roots Manuva guy you like. How about a post or two on him? What would be the half dozen best songs to hunt down from him to see what he does?
18 - Doctor Slack
"Besides not firing the guy (or not keeping him fired), "
Well, Griff was fired almost immediately for his anti-Semitic comments, and stayed that way for a very long time... but it's debatable how sincere a move this was. After all, PE's merch company continued to distribute his records, and Chuck D produced one of his later "Last Asiatic Disciples" albums. So I won't make any excuses for the D-ster there.
Yes, I should do a proper post about Roots -- I have a big backlog of Blogcritics stuff to get to.
19 - Michael
Doc Slack,
Good to see another Roots Manuva fan. I have him on my top MCs list. I just wonder if he'll ever get any love in the States.
20 - BJ
Weren't PE and the Beasties actually managed by the same person/people at one point?
Whatever you think of PE's politics or persona, I can't understand anyone thinking It Takes a Nation or Fear of a Black Planet aren't musically dynamite. Nobody - before or since - can do what they did with sound.
I guess there's just no accounting for taste.
21 - Al Barger
I'm disappointed that Miss Natalie said this about me, based on this post:
But why are we taking this man's thoughts seriously on the subject of anything? This is a guy who slams humans who identify as "black" by labelling them "monkeys."
How could you honestly get that from this post? The Africans who came up with the tale made it a monkey.
Then to use that as an excuse to generally discredit everything I might ever say.
Gee, I'm glad we're all friends here.
22 - Natalie
Friends can be honest. That is honestly how I felt when I saw this. Notice I did not say you were racist or anything of the kind.
23 - NR Davis
Mr. Barger asked via email whether I would like it if someone said something so sweeping against me (as if that doesn't happen every day). My reply to him:
About as much as the last time someone directed a "monkey" comment at me.
I apologize for saying something so sweeping, but the words really wounded. You certainly have the right to say whatever you want, but with that comes having to deal with what others say in response.
24 - Al Barger
So, Natalie, there is some restraining order on any use of the word "monkey" within how many feet of a black man? I commonly refer to my nephew as "The Monkey Boy." Is that an offense too?
To get that offense, you had to purposely ignore the usage. Chuck D was not being compared to A monkey, but to a specific character, the Signifying Monkey. This particular character very much reflects the type of specific behaviors of PE that I wanted to criticize. That the story is African makes it even more appropriate.
So you're saying that because the character is a monkey, therefore no black man should ever be hit with the comparison because that would be racist?
Racism, see, involves pre-judging people based on their genetics instead of on their individual behavior. Chuck D was being compared to this monkey because like this monkey, his career consists of a great deal of signifying.
And who did my words "really wound?" You, white girl? They had nothing to do with you. Chuck D? If he read them, he wouldn't be hurt. He'd be hoping for a stronger reaction. He'd like nothing better than to have the KKK denouncing him on the steps of the courthouse. Race baiting is integral to his game.
Yet on the other hand, you're perfectly happy to absolutely call Elvis Presley a racist for NO REASON AT ALL.
25 - Michael
Al,
First let me say that I give you much credit for even knowing about the Signifying Monkey. There are many Blacks that don't - especially those my age (35) and younger. I wondered about your choice of symbols though. You skated on very thin ice by using the S.M. Even though you linked to an explanation of what the S.M., there could still be questions about your true intentions. I chose to give you the benefit of the doubt. No, there's no restraining order on using the word 'monkey' around Blacks. But you should be aware of the kind of response that word will get you, whether or not you meant it in a derogatory way. Just look at what happened to that sportscaster (I think it was Jimmy the Greek).
In my opinion you are way too lax in choosing your words. I was actually wondering if you were Black b/c you knew about he S.M., but more so b/c I couldn't even imagine a non-Black person saying "Negroe please" to me in person. Perhaps you say things like that to your Black friends, but it doesn't come across well in writing.