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Rise - Public Enemy



     
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Rise Lyrics


[Flavor Flav]Yeah that's right Chuck man, that's what you gotta do
You got to tell 'em JUST LIKE THAT, you know what I'm sayin?
Cause yo, man let me tell you a little somethin man
All these brothers around here fiendin for that crack-a-lack-a-lack
You dig what I'm sayin? Yo man, all they wanna do is get what you got
But when you ain't got nuttin, then they wanna cut you off
So what you gotta do, you gotta play 'em long distance
You know what I'm sayin? I mean long distance
They think we takin shorts, show 'em this is Cold Medina man
C'mon, kick it!
[Chuck D]Back one more time, here to put the message in a rough rhyme
It's important that you knowin the time
Cause I'm seein the program, know what I know and
until we get together we will never be up for sure
So I wreck like I'm posessed by Malcolm X
See the feds want us dead, we too complex
I always speak the truth, comin from me to you
We movin as a unit so you KNOW we refuse to lose

I got my eyes on the lies from Washington
I'm a survivor, I know how the West was won
See a show and tell, the way the CoIntel
undermind the REAL hip-hop so the cops can trail
But know bad boys move in silence
Save us all from the pain of a life of violence
They tappin my phone, full grown and knowin
And still prone to refute the lies, won't stop until we rise
[Chorus: Chuck D + various samples]Rise up! "C'mon, ah-c'mon"
Rise... rise up! "One more time"
We rise... rise up! "C'mon, ah-c'mon"
Rise... rise up! "To the beat y'all"
[Chuck D]I'm a hard truth soldier to the bone for change
Demonstrate and seperate the fact from strange
Blame companies killin our children
When the villain's on the record never think for a second that's the way we live
Wanna squeeze on the fleas at MTV
We quiz knots for the cops at BET
Seize the time, always rhymin combinin the antidote
for dope Interscope and fake gangster quotes
Cause I can recollect times when records set
Collect a dead brother you mind if you silence it yet
Rest the program, defeat the beastie
Cause on the street they do as we influenced by what we see
And yes it "Weighs a Ton" I say it once again
That's why the Enemy is down with Paris and KAM
It's all fam, we collide we live
Better decide on which side you ride, won't stop until we rise
[Chorus][Flavor Flav]Y'all don't know, y'all don't know uhh [x4]
[Chuck D]I know the power of fame, ain't never playin no games
Never croonin is provin, that we ready for change
Never simpin but they pimpin my people, for the dollars
So I holla back it keep us from EVIL 'til them devils are collared
And like I said it's on, I say it once again
Better know the plan to keep us ignorant
Brother to brother, ain't no other can smother
Or erase my case, we marry words with BASS
Just another wicked rhyme that I'm rappin on
S1's got my back if the clappin come
Pass on the work, makin sure the words are known
Keep 'em nervous, make 'em understand we servin foes
Keep it goin strong, nevertheless, know the enemy
And never back down, you can take it to press
'Less the mic like the art dart told you before
We for the prize emphasis the fight, now c'mon and rise
[Chorus][ad libs of Chorus to fade]

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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Public Enemy