Public Enemy "PE20 1987-2007" 20th anniversary Tee

Exactly 20 years ago, Public Enemy released their debut album, "Yo! Bum Rush the Show," the American rap group that would revolutionize the genre. Violent, aggressive, hardcore, or extreme: all superlatives have been used to describe Public Enemy's rap. Yet, it's in the lyrics that the real change lies. Their musical radicalism would always go hand in hand with politically charged lyrics. They thus invented political rap. From then on, there would be rap before Public Enemy and rap after.

While early rappers did have a social dimension in their lyrics, they focused solely on improving their own living conditions or those of their communities. In 1982, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five recorded "The Message ." The first rap song to denounce the disastrous living conditions in the ghetto, it nonetheless remains the testimony of an individual alone in the face of his realities. With Public Enemy, rap took on a political dimension for the first time, as their demands extended far beyond their community. Racism, civil rights, foreign policy, and even revolution became the main themes of the group's songs. And although their lyrics were more critical than constructive, music became an act of activism for them.

PE20 logo Formed in 1982 by two Long Island (New York) students, Chuck D and Hank Shoklee, the group began as a gathering of friends sharing the same ideas and musical practices (DJing). It wasn't until five years later that Rick Rubin, head of the Def Jam label, convinced them to record an album. Joined in the meantime by Flavor Flav (MC), Terminator X (DJ), and Professor Griff (head of security for SW1), the group structured itself as a veritable political organization. They surrounded themselves with a security detail, "Security of the First World" (SW1), which was also in charge of the group's choreography, and a production collective, "Bomb Squad," led by Chuck D, which was responsible for the group's musical architecture. Public Enemy made its mark on the world of hip hop with its very first album, thanks to its originality in both music and lyrics. They will use very heavy beats, samples of shrill sirens and gunshots—any aggressive noise reminiscent of the frenetic atmosphere of an American metropolis—to create a "sonic terror."
The lyrics, written and chanted by frontman Chuck D (a member of the Nation of Islam), will be uncompromising in their criticism of American politics. Over 20 years,
Public Enemy has released around ten albums with astonishing regularity, never losing sight of their original message.

Color: White
Size : M
Condition: Gently Used 9.8/10

Minor signs of wear from normal use.
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