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Politics of the Sneaker Pimps - Public Enemy



     
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Politics of the Sneaker Pimps Lyrics


Jesus is the best thing that happened to the game
Since the tennis shoe was inventedOn the outs I lace up, the world I face up
To score on anybody, it's war on everybody
The new guys come in blood shot between the eyes
As long as their sellin' that merchandiseAnd one what goes in, don't come back
The color may be green but it's also black
And red I know many heads that spent bloodshed
Cursed in converses, dead in Pro KedsNow every Tom, Dick, Harry or Joe Smith
Skip the spauldings, pony's, and K-Swiss
High school and college coaches gettin'
Kickbacks from scholarships and them slave shipsConverses for the pros, kids with Filas
Reebok, Nikes, New Balance my Adidas
Ain't part of that clique, spendin' all the chits on kicks
PS in the politicsPolitics of them sneaker pimps
Politics of them sneaker pimps
Politics of them sneaker pimps
Politics of them sneaker pimpsHey Dr. J where you got those moves
Was it gettin' high in the schools, can it be the shoes?

Truth is truth, I tear the fuckin' roof off the house
Expose them foes with my mouthI see corporate hands up in foreign lands
With the man behind the man gettin' paid behind the man
I hold the rocket, stop the hand in my pocket
200 a pair but I'm addicted to the gearThey'll make me do things on the court to amaze ya
I heard they make 'em for a buck 8 in Asia
They came a long way baby since
Clyde Frazier had Pumas, pullin' mad consumersThem Filas I'm feelin' but I cant touch the ceiling
Them New Balance hits 120 million
The last thing I need is Adidas terminatin' my contract
For wearing those old pair of wackReebok low tops covered up by floppy socks
Gave me a jump shot before I got jumped and shot
Duckin' a word from my sponsor
Trying to end my year like KwaanzaConverses for the pros, kids with Filas
Reebok, Nikes, New Balance my Adidas
Ain't part of that clique, spendin' all the chits on kicks
PS in the politicsPolitics of them sneaker pimps
Politics of them sneaker pimps
Politics of them sneaker pimps
Politics of them sneaker pimpsBeen paid since the 8th grade
11th grader, pop the champagne
12th grade start the campaign
Gettin' fame, sign my name in the dotted frameNike got me pullin' re's and g's
Shit, I can get shot for these
Please God give me 20 more years in these knees
To maintain without this game I gotta do keysAnd I don't wanna go there because it's fuckin' everywhere
Factories wanna see me, kids wanna be me
Behind the wheels and endorsement deals
It's the politics and the tricks behind the kicks

Enjoy the lyrics !!!
Public Enemy, also known as P.E., is a seminal Golden Age era Hip-Hop group known for their densely layered production and politically charged lyrics demonstrating their interest in the concerns of the African American community.

PE formed in Long Island, New York, in 1982 around a WBAU radio show as Spectrum City. After one less-than-successful single, they regrouped and signed to the still developing Def Jam record label after Rick Rubin heard Chuck D freestyling on a demo. Their debut, ‘Yo! Bum Rush The Show’, was released in 1987 to mild critical acclaim, although the Hip-Hop climate changed dramatically due to sampling during the time of release. As a response, they went on to release the revolutionary ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’ in 1988, which performed better in the charts than their previous release, and included the hit single ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’.

Slightly less militant than their previous releases Public Enemy’s, ‘Fear Of A Black Planet’ was officially recognised as being the most successful and influential of the Public Enemy recordings when, in 2004, it became one of 50 recordings, chosen that year by the Library of Congress, to be added to the National Recording Registry. Sales-wise it was the most successful of any of their albums to date. It included the powerful and controversial singles ‘911 is a Joke’ (which criticized emergency response units for taking longer to arrive at emergencies in the black community than those in the white community), and ‘Fight the Power’, which is considered by many to be the group’s premier self-describing anthem. The song is considered to be amongst the most popular and influential in Hip Hop history and was the theme song for Spike Lee’s landmark film ‘Do The Right Thing’.

Public Enemy are to be considered musical pioneers for a broad variety of reasons. For instance, Terminator X elevated DJing to a refined art. Some of his most innovative scratching tricks can be heard on the track ‘Rebel Without A Pause’. PE’s production team, ‘The Bomb Squad’, offered up a web of innovative samples and beats; critic Steven Thomas Earlewine declared that PE “brought in elements of free jazz, hard funk, even musique concrète, via their [production] team, the Bomb Squad, creating a dense, ferocious sound unlike anything that came before.”

PE revolutionized the rap world with their political, social and cultural consciousness. These themes became infused into skilled and poetic rhymes with jazzy backbeats. They are recognised as the first Hip Hop group to make extended world tours, leading to huge popularity and influence within the Hip Hop communities of Europe and Asia. They also changed the internet’s music distribution capability by being the first group to release MP3 albums, a format virtually unknown at the time.

Public Enemy, in keeping with their ‘pioneer’ status, also helped to form and define the so-called ‘crossover’ genre of music (heavy rock music spliced with hip hop) by collaborating with New York thrash metal outfit Anthrax in 1991. The single ‘Bring The Noise’ was a remarkable potpourri of semi-militant pro-black lyrics, grinding guitars and sporadic humour. The two bands, cemented by a mutual respect, and the personal friendship between Chuck D and his Anthrax counterpart Scott Ian, introduced a hitherto alien genre to rock fans.

During the seemingly unlikely tour of Anthrax and Public Enemy, Flavor Flav made his famous pronouncement onstage that “They said this tour would never happen” (heard on Anthrax’s Live: The Island Years CD). This has become something of legendary significance in both rock and rap circles. There is some justification for the theory that without this unlikely musical partnership, bands such as Rage Against The Machine and Linkin Park would not have existed, and the genres of rap rock, nu metal and their related offshoots might have never developed.

Members of Public Enemy

Chuck D
Real name: Carlton Douglas Ridenhour
Role: Group leader, lyricist, main vocalist, and artwork
Birthdate: August 1, 1960

Flavor Flav
Real name: William Jonathan Drayton, Jr.
Role: Lyricist, vocalist, hype-man, and comic relief.
Birthdate: March 16, 1959

Professor Griff
Real name: Richard Griffin
Role: Head of S1W, liaison between PE and S1W, road manager. Ensured that the chaotic Flavor Flav was available when needed. Occasional vocalist and/or producer, plays drums at live shows.
Birthdate: August 1, 1960 (the same as Chuck D)

Terminator X
Real name: Norman Rogers
Role: DJ, Producer
Birthdate: August 25, 1966

Dj Lord
Real name: Lord Aswod
Role: DJ, Producer

The following are a part of The Bomb Squad, the revolutionary production group which is closely associated with (and sometimes considered a part of) Public Enemy:

Hank Shocklee
Real name: Hank Boxley
Bill Stephany
Keith Shocklee
Eric “Vietnam” Sadler
Chuck D - often listed as a member of the Bomb Squad under the pseudonymn “Carl Ryder”, a shortened form of his real name.

The S1W’s are sometimes considered a part of Public Enemy, as well.

There are three other groups named Public Enemy:

2) The first Public Enemy, an Oi!/punk band formed in 1984 who released one LP album (England's Glory) and one 7 inch (Skinheads). This band was never white supremacist and has no connection to the "revived" Public Enemy:

3) White Power group from the UK, formed by Paul Burnley (of No Remorse). Released 3 CDs: “Paul Burnley Is The Real Public Enemy”, "There is only one..." and “Archives”.

4) Public Enemy was a Hardcore/Punk group from Tuscon, Arizona.

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