Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® inductee, Public Enemy Co-Founder, and GRAMMY® Award-winning rap legend Chuck D returns with his first new solo single and video in seven years, “New Gens” featuring Daddy-O, out now via Def Jam Recordings. It makes way for his new solo album, Radio Armageddon, arriving on May 18.

 

 

“New Gens” alternates between rowdy horns, scratchy cymbals, samples from old school educational VHS tapes and even pops of distorted guitar. The soundscape proudly throws it back to the Golden Age of hip-hop—which he helped pioneer. At the same time, he adopts a fiery and fresh flow evocative of his signature delivery, yet simultaneously future-facing. He tips his hat to this era as he urges, “And don’t forget, ‘New Gens’, I love y’all, have a ball.” He still remains rap’s most poetic and prescient provocateur though, going on to muse, “We don’t know what’s behind the race, right here right now, the place to be.”

It serves as the perfect prelude to Radio Armageddon, a 14-track opus that finds Chuck D in top form. Special guests include Daddy-O of Stetsasonic, Schoolly D, Philadelphia hip hop legend Phill Most Chill, Donald D and Jazzy Jay of the Universal Zulu Nation, hip hop’s first hype woman 1/2 Pint, ULTRAMAG7, NYC’s Miranda Writes and artists from Chuck’s own SpitSLAM Record Label Group: The Impossebulls and Blak Madeen.

Threaded together by transmissions from “Enemy Radio,” he turns the dial to one knockout banger after another. Following the intro “Radio Armageddon,” a jagged guitar riff kickstarts the hard-hitting “What Rock Is.” As if teasing what to expect across the LP, he proclaims, “Philosophy, politics, rebellion, recovery, gimmicks, magic, inspiration, music.” Feedback echoes on “Black Don’t Dead,” and a slick beat bounces in tandem with his incendiary delivery punctuated by elastic rhymes. Among other standouts, “Is God She” layers jarring vocal echoes over a thumping bassline and otherworldly scratching and samples. Chuck D’s razor-sharp cadence cuts through the haze as he wonders, “Is God she?” Then, there’s “Carry On,” which revolves around a classic lyrical masterclass and off-kilter groove. The trip concludes with the broken-sounding synths, warbly sampling, and spacey exhale of “Signing Off,” providing a fitting finale.

 

Radio Armageddon Tracklist:

1. Radio Armageddon
2. What Rock Is
3. Black Don’t Dead
4. New Gens
5. Station Break
6. Rogue Runnin
7. Is God She
8. Station Identification
9. Here We Are Heard
10. Superbagg
11.Carry On
12. What Are We To You
13.Sight Story Style Sound
14. Signing Off