Uneven work from the vanguard rappers
Apocalypse '91 ... The Enemy Strikes Black
Public Enemy
Reviewed by James Basle
Apocalypse '91 is good, but not brilliant. You tap your feet to the beat, but the beat never really grabs you. In many ways it is similar to Public Enemy's last album — a Fear of a Black Planet — which heralded a number of new directions.
While still strong on the politics of race, Public Enemy have broadened the issues they sing about. They rap about blacks selling out, about how the big corporations must give to the black community and about the effect of alcohol on black people: "He's just a slave to the bottle and the can".
They have changed musically. Some of their songs have a brassy, horny, feel to them. So for example, the "Can't Truss It" — which is about slavery — has a very catchy, funky part to it.
Another change in musical style comes out in "Bring the Noise", a song done jointly with the heavy metal band Anthrax. The song attempts a fusion of rap and heavy metal. I think it fails, but heavy metal fans may disagree.
All the traditional strengths of Public Enemy are expressed on this album: the diversity, the machine-gun rapping, the sampling of noises (the song "Lost at Birth" samples what sounds like a chain saw) and the Chuck D and Flavour Flav team. The album is busting with anger.
One drawback is the role, or lack of it, of Sister Souljah. She only recently joined the band, but she may as well not be in it, as she barely makes an appearance. It would be good if she pushed the male egos aside and actually led a rap. The other failing is the slipping into homophobia, for example in "A Letter to the New York Post".
Despite this, the album from the vanguard rappers is well worth listening to.