Public Enemy, also known as P.E., is a seminal Golden Age era Hip-Hop group known for their densely layered production and politically charged lyrics demonstrating their interest in the concerns of the African American community. PE formed in Long Island, New York, United States in 1982 around a WBAU radio show as Spectrum City. After one less-than-successful single, they regroup and signed to the still developing Def Jam record label after Rick Rubin heard Chuck D freestyling on a demo. Their debut, 'Yo! Bum Rush The Show', was released in 1987 to mild critical acclaim, although the Hip-Hop climate changed dramatically due to sampling during the time of release. As a response, they went on to release the revolutionary 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' in 1988, which performed better in the charts than their previous release, and included the hit single 'Don't Believe the Hype'. Slightly less militant than their previous releases Public Enemy's, 'Fear Of A Black Planet' was officially recognised as being the most successful and influential of the Public Enemy recordings when, in 2004, it became one of 50 recordings, chosen that year by the Library of Congress, to be added to the National Recording Registry. Sales-wise it was the most successful of any of their albums to date. It included the powerful and controversial singles '911 is a Joke' (which criticized emergency response units for taking longer to arrive at emergencies in the black community than those in the white community), and 'Fight the Power', which is considered by many to be the group's premier self-describing anthem. The song is considered to be amongst the most popular and influential in Hip Hop history and was the theme song for Spike Lee's landmark film 'Do The Right Thing'. Public Enemy are to be considered musical pioneers for a broad variety of reasons. For instance, Terminator X elevated DJing to a refi
| 1 | Don't Believe The Hype | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 2 | More News At 11 | Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black |
| 3 | Security Of The First World | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 4 | Prophets Of Rage | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 5 | She Watch Channel Zero?! | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 6 | War At 33 1/3 | Fear of a Black Planet |
| 7 | Lost At Birth | Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black |
| 8 | Reggie Jax | Fear of a Black Planet |
| 9 | Night of the Living Baseheads (seven minute versio | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 10 | My uzi Weighs a Ton | Yo! Bum Rush the Show |
| 11 | 1 Million Bottlebags | Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black |
| 12 | Yo! Bum Rush the Show | Yo! Bum Rush the Show |
| 13 | Show 'Em Whatcha Got | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 14 | Rightstarter (Message to a Black Man) | Yo! Bum Rush the Show |
| 15 | You're Gonna Get Yours | Yo! Bum Rush the Show |
| 16 | Bring the Noise | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 17 | By The Time I Get To Arizona | Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black |
| 18 | Night Of The Living Baseheads | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 19 | Show Em Whatcha Got | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |
| 20 | Raise the Roof | Yo! Bum Rush the Show |