History for the Taking – Public Enemy Live in NYC (Video & Exclusive Coverage)

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Every once in a while, you have to glance back to the past in order to keep moving forward. This bi-polar duality resounded loudly as Public Enemy brought the noise to Summerstage on Sunday afternoon, wielding an air of 80s nostalgia that reinforced the group’s legendary stake in the history of hip-hop.

As the concept of “the throwback” permeates so much of our culture these days – either in honest tribute or pseudo-ironic hipster contexts – it was both no surprise and an unexpected delight to see Adidas tracksuits dotted among the audience at Rumsey Playfield. Throw in the clunky iconic boombox hefted around on stage, and it was almost as if you’d b-boy-stanced your way into an early Spike Lee joint. The opening sets by Blitz the Ambassador, Kendo and the Almost Famous Band and Son of Bazerk provided an extended opening soundtrack bursting with old-school flavor. A special set by DJ Kool Herc helped to get the masses moving defiantly against the steely threat of rain clouding the mid-afternoon sky.

Once the venue’s gates were officially closed to the congregating crowd, pockets of people formed along the periphery of the enclosure to listen intently to the messages and music being imparted on stage. Though there was an almost serene sense of observance among those gathered, the sight of policemen at silent guard all but enhanced the atmosphere of a show you would expect to be wrought with rebellion.

There was no shortage of the outspoken once Chuck D, Flava Flav, Professor Griff and DJ Lord emerged, bearing the still-applicable lyrics from their classics that rang crisp with testament to the group’s timelessness. Despite some technical difficulties with Chuck D’s mic, the hard-hitting beats of “Cold Lampin’ with Flavor” and “Welcome to the Terrordome” were not lost on the influx of revelers swaying along in the steady drizzle. I couldn’t help but grin inwardly as “Don’t Believe the Hype” swelled from the speakers and Flava Flav did his thing. What’s not to love about a hype man building a second career in reality TV on that very concept, and then advising us against buying into it?



Speaking of Flav, he blazed in all his trademark quirky, big-ass-clock-brandishing glory, his animated presence balancing the more serious keep-it-real quality of his rap counterpart. After entreating us with their provoking new track “Say It Like It Really Is,” Flav took a moment to ramble sentimentally about the importance of family – which meant, naturally, assembling all seven of his children on stage. Between his bewildered mutterings of “Where my other kids at?” and the fact that he mixed up his grandchildren’s names, this was Flava Flav at his unwittingly hilarious best.

A surprise cameo from the Cold Crush Brothers brought things back to the old-school task-at-hand of using hip-hop as a vessel to make statements that go beyond today’s more fashion- and status-conscious tenets. As the show winded down, I was surprised to see the previously stoic guards eagerly usher in a steady stream of the outside listeners, who happily scurried in to bounce among the umbrellas.

Echoing the group’s long-held ideals of the personal as political, Chuck D took a moment to brazenly decry the current controversial practices in Arizona and inject a jolt of revolt into the soggy crowd. A pulsing performance of “Shut ‘Em Down” was peppered with his stern advice to “F*ck Arizona,” which was then capped by a fist-raising rendition of PE’s rousing anthem, “Fight the Power.”





As the audience pumped along, nodding to the beat and perhaps also in agreement with the action being urged, the day’s running themes of the on-stage history-in-the-making and value of community fell together. “New York City! This is where this shit started!” Chuck bellowed over the chorus, as Flava Flav reminded us that “Without you, there’d be no Public Enemy.” Their emphasis on respect for and honoring the past, and looking ahead together, converged in these words. New York may be where it all began for PE and early hip-hop -- but as long as the group continues to remind where it came from and nudge us in the right direction, there will always be something to look forward to. Thankfully, as history has served to prove, Public Enemy shows no signs of stopping.

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