Hip-hop pioneers and cultural icons Public Enemy surprised fans today with the unannounced release of a brand-new album, “Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025.” It will be available exclusively on Bandcamp with a special “pay-what-you-want” option for 72 hours as a salute and “thank you” to fans. The 12-track album arrives just in time for PE’s historic performance tonight at the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London, before the group travels to Denmark on Sunday to reunite with Guns N’ Roses on their stadium tour across Europe through July. PE will then head back to North America to play festivals across the US until year’s end.
On “Black Sky Over the Projects,” Chuck D’s lyrical firepower and the inimitable Flavor Flav fearlessly call out the ills that plague society, politics, corporations and even ourselves while challenging us to do better. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award winners also celebrate the power of music itself, with tracks like “Here Come The Drums,” the ebullient love letter to hip hop, “Get Down,” and their latest single, “March Madness.”
“This album is a give back to all of our fans with gratitude and appreciation,” says Chuck D, “we see and appreciate you.” “We’re bringing our beats to the world on this tour and with this album,” adds Flavor Flav. “So if you can’t get yourself to the stadiums and the festivals, then these new tracks are for you to get down to at home. Pay whatcha want for the next 72 hours.”
Public Enemy’s classic albums are the soundtrack to hip-hop’s rise as social and political commentary. Their sophomore effort, 1988’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back”, is one of the most important records ever made and was named to The New York Times list of 25 Most Significant Albums of the Last Century.
“Fear of a Black Planet” featured Public Enemy’s signature song, “Fight The Power,” used by Spike Lee in his film “Do The Right Thing.” The album also included the powerful “911 Is a Joke” and “Welcome To The Terrordome.” “Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Black” carried on the group’s legacy, reaching #4 on the album chart and going platinum. The record included “By the Time I Get To Arizona,” demanding that America confront race relations after the state’s governor refused to recognize the new Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday. In 2012 Public Enemy’s “Harder Than You Think” went to #1 on the UK urban and indie singles chart and to #4 on the official UK singles chart, their tenth Top 40 hit in England and their highest charting single ever. By 2020, Public Enemy were tapped to open the BET Awards with a remix of “Fight The Power” where they were joined by Nas, Rapsody, The Roots, YG and Jahi in a fiery protest against the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others at the hands of police officers. The critically acclaimed album “What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down,” was released that year on Def Jam and featured guest performances by the Beastie Boys’ Mike D and Ad-Rock, George Clinton, Cypress Hill, Ice-T, PMD, Run-DMC and more.
