1) I'm interested in what everyone thinks of PE's legacy now. It seems like they had a lot more influence on white rock (Rage Against the Machine, etc.) than they have hip-hop. Their dense sound is nowhere to be found in current hip-hop, and the political lyrics are relegated to the underground. Why is that?
2) What do you think of PE's stuff since Apocalypse '91? At what point did you lose interest?
― Mark Richardson, Sunday, 1 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
# 2 - I quite like what they do up to this day - He Got Game is probably my 2nd fave PE album, and even though they will never be innovators again, and their sound will never be as intense or feel as necessary, their music is still lively and catchy - it's not the latest new thing, but I don't hear a big drop-off in entertainment value in their songs at all.
― Patrick, Sunday, 1 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Sunday, 1 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
2) i had a theory once that if chuck d. had died right before the release of apocalypse '91 pe would be rightfully considered the greatest band of all time. they've been watered down since (although still releasing decent albums) and are pretty much diluted to the level of unimportance. i was actually excited about the rumours that chuck would be replacing the lead singer of rage against the machine because it would directly expose a generation of rock fans to one of the greatest mcs of all time and would divert him from his own shitty rap- rock band.
to sum it all up: 1) you don't want a legion of pale pe imitators; their influence is best felt indirectly. and 2) they're okay but not great. 'he got game' was heralded as a return to form, but i didn't like it much. isn't attacking sneaker companies a little hypocritical considering chuck's nike endorsement a while back?
― ethan, Sunday, 1 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― DG, Sunday, 1 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
1) I dont know - I think PE's opening up of the hip-hop soundboard to density and noise hasn't completely gone away. You can hear echoes of it in the thick production on Stankonia, in all the quite harsh noises you get on 'ravey' hip-hop tracks. The big production schools that don't seem influenced by it are the J5 end of undie rap (which fairly much defines itself as pre-Bomb Squad in influence as I understand it); Dre's laidback and comical productions (which are too pop for the PE treatment); and the Timbaland school of micro-beat stuff (which is too interesting to benefit). So I think there is an influence still and it will return.
2) I thought "Give It Up" was a terrific single, "He Got Game" was a fun pop single....but the rest of Muse-Sick didn't do anything for me and I've not heard the '99 album. I find Apocalypse 91 a good deal less compelling than the previous records, even.
― Tom, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
lyrically and oft-times musically, i think that the goodie mob are the p.e. of the south, and i'd agree that outkast also have their occasional p.e. moments. i'm hard-pressed to think of anyone else, though. i think that they played an important part in defining what was and what could be hip-hop music by dint of their sound. whereas many were content to loop a james brown track ad infinitum, the bomb squad mixed things up and used whatever sounds they could find to build a track. so i suppose that for any artist since who's tried to sonically expand the horizons of rap, they owe a serious debt to p.e.
2) the further they got away from nations, up to a point of course, the more i loved the sound, and the best tracks on apocalypse, like "shut 'em down," "by the time i get to arizona," and "can't truss it," represent their pinnacle musically. unfortunately, the further they've gotten from nations, the more inconsistent and incoherent the message and records became. "give it up," as tom says, was a fine single, and i remember it oddly getting a lot of mtv support. "he got game" was a great pop moment, but i haven't really enjoyed an album of theirs since. perhaps it's time for chuck d. to retire the speaking circuit for good.
― fred solinger, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
I'm afraid not. I think that Public Enemy are revolting and worthless.
― the pinefox, Sunday, 15 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Nick, Sunday, 15 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
(unless that is a pseudo-Pinefox).
― Robin Carmody, Sunday, 15 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
If you think my comments are extreme, look at some of the bile poured on Lloyd Cole over on that thread; or at any number of other comments - whether positive or negative - anywhere on this forum, many of which are equally 'subjective', 'emotional', 'matters of taste', etc etc.
― the pinefox, Monday, 16 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 17 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link