"I Shall Not Be Moved" is the new single from Public Enemy 's upcoming new album, Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear On No Stamp , which is available digitally on July 4th. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

“It’s weak to speak and blame somebody else/When you destroy yourself...” Words to live by. A classic in every sense of the word, Public Enemy ’s “Welcome To The Terrordome” has for the last twenty years stood paramount among hip-hop’s most seminal works, many of which were brought to life in those peak years between the late 80s and the early 90s. This remix by Meat Beat Manifesto 's Jack Dangers isn’t an improvement to the song, but it’s an interesting reconsideration. Chuck D , whose broken through his fiftieth year, still carries himself like he’s in his 20s, showing anyone skipping on down the roads he’s paved what it means to be a frontman. His shoes have yet to be worn by anyone else. For those that will point to Flavor Flav ’s career-crippling turn as a reality television joke, he’s deemed sample-worthy as far as this video’s concerned. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

No Ripcord is continuing its playlist series with the 80s.  I contributed blurbs for "We're Desperate" by X , "Six Pack" by Black Flag and "Rebel Without A Pause" by Public Enemy , though another writer selected "Night of the Living Baseheads," which canceled out my PE entry. To read the article, click here .  Selections are available below. This was my two cents regarding "Rebel Without A Pause:" Public Enemy — "Rebel Without A Pause" “YES! The rhythm/The rebel!” Being mostly unfamiliar with hip-hop when I’d first heard Public Enemy’s “Rebel Without A Pause,” I still consider it to be one of the greatest songs of the genre. Aside from Chuck D ’s commanding presence, the transitions from clicking drum loops/escalating whistle to rock sections during Flavor Flav ’s nonsensical pep rallying were startling to me. I’d just never heard anything like it, nor did I think the relatively limited construct of DJ...

The Go! Team Proof Of Youth Sub Pop Released 9.11.07 Rating: 6 out of 10 Hmmmm…. I guess that being fun can carry you a decent clip. When first listening to Proof Of Youth , second helping from UK sextet The Go! Team , I thought its groove heavy dance jams were interestingly crafted, molding an array of guitar sounds that owe a lot to Fugazi and kicking old school breakbeats like they never went out of style. Go! Team founder, Ian Parton , has vision and he’s definitely into keeping the vibe uplifting if not drenched in rave-like urgency and ecstasy-tinged sweat. Not to say it’s the typical byproduct of glowsticks and laced pacifiers, but Proof Of Youth could easily fit into such a mold. That being the case, do we appreciate that Parton has a different take on party music or that it’s just party music? It could be argued that hip-hop’s roots emerge from similar territory, being the music that got the room bumping and the crowd jumping. But, once philosophy was brought into the p...

r The Roots Game Theory Def Jam Released 8.26.06 Rating: 3.75 out of 4 This has been a strange millennium. The average Post-9/11 American is a mass of fucked up nerves, barely settling for its Paxil coma while its tied tightly around its need for immediate safety, satisfaction, and Starbucks; its one ear plugged into Clear Channel airwaves, fast food entertainment and news while a cell phone yaps away in its other indifferent ear, its face full of reality TV as it uncontrollably twitches with every flying plane heard zooming overhead or sheds a tear with every mention of the word “levee.” It’s been five years since the era-defining tragedy-turned-political strategy occurred, a full year since Hurricane Katrina exposed economic hardships at home and our lack of disaster preparedness, and we’re no more safe or certain about anything except that we’re very uncertain. As The Roots so succinctly put it: ”It don’t feel right .” Uncertain times create mood. I can only imagine that that m...

To Whom It May Interest, ”If you don’t stand up for somethin,’ you’ll fall for anything.” In 1994, Public Enemy ’s Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age left a rather large smear on an otherwise spotless catalog of recorded output that was rife with critical acclaim. By and large, the album was ignored as the hip-hop-buying public were too willing to sip on gin n’ juice, their heads still reeling from the effects of Dre and Snoop ’s G-Funk sound blast. PE’s fifth studio record didn’t lack the funk to match the West Coast flavor, nor did it lack the punch that Death Row Records seemed to boast. What it did lack was the “G” factor. PE, being an overtly political powerhouse, were speaking to a generation that was tired of politics. A Democrat was in office, Desert Storm was long gone, grunge was dead and hip-hop was largely based on the rhythms of George Clinton and violence on the streets of South Central. Consequently, Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age slipped through the cracks, the unfortunate ...