Customer Reviews

There's A Poison Goin' On

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I'm hearing a lot of static from a lot of people who claim to be long time PE fans about this album not meeting their expectations. If you're a true PE fan who's not sure about buying this album because of the lukewarm attempts like Muse Sick, rest assured...this album is ILL!!!

The beats are without a doubt some of the best Terminator's come up with. You can definitely see how they've evolved since the days of "You're Gonna Get Yours", but they're definitely original and definitely all Enemy.

As always, the rhymes and lyrics are sharp and on point. Chuck's hasn't been this raw since Apocalypse. Even Flava made me proud with "41:19". It was a serious joint that was a complete turn around from He Got Game's "Shake Yo' Booty" (which I thought was kinda whack).

Anyone who gave this album a bad review has been listening too close to all the commercial garbage that so-called "MC's" have be dumping on us for the past few years. Granted, if you're not into PE's rough politics and hard, energetic, old- school beats, stay the hell away, but if you're down for the cause, get this album. In a time when cat-in-the-hat rappers rule the industry, albums like this restore my faith in true Hip Hop.

Peace.

With the release of "There's A Poison Goin' On," Public Enemy became the first platinum-selling group to release a new album on an Internet-based label. The group's leader, Chuck D, toured the nation, urging artists to bypass the established record-label power structure through the use of technology. Now, months after the album debuted on computer screens, "Poison" has made its way into the traditional marketplace. With the hype about the Internet-only status of the record starting to die down, it's time to focus on the music, which is as futuristic and innovative as the album's digital distribution. Chuck D raps that his style "parallels the brain of Cobain," and "Poison" might be the most brilliantly caustic album since "In Utero." The lyrics focus on Public Enemy's disenchantment with the recording industry, with songs such as "Do You Wanna Go Our Way?" and "Swindler's Lust" taking sharp jabs at the band's former label, Def Jam. Chuck D has plenty of venom left in his arsenal for commercialized rap, claiming to be "the reverse of jiggy" and attacking "crime rhymes" and soulless love songs. However, Public Enemy has more than music on its mind. "First the Sheep, then the Shepherd" mixes a wishful-thinking look at human cloning with a haunting space-age beat, while "I" contains eloquent observations about substance abuse, the prison system and welfare reform. On the album's most surprising track, "41:19," Chuck's hyperactive sidekick Flavor Flav sheds his jester persona and delivers a scathing diatribe against police brutality Musically, the group still brings the noise, albeit in a more subtle manner. The horns and sirens that defined Public Enemy's sound a decade ago have been replaced by simmering ambient beats, psychedelic guitars and sparse Wu-Tang-style keyboards. When dissected sound-by-sound, newcomer Tom E. Hawk's beats are staggeringly complex, with dozens of overlapping loops, scratches and vocal samples. Yet taken as a whole, the finished products are smooth and seamless, providing support for the powerful lyrics without distracting from them. Perhaps the most memorable line from "Poison" is Chuck D's "they said I'd never work in this town again," which is spoken in character as the distraught homeless hero of "I" but which could also serve as his reply to those who felt that he was committing commercial suicide by splitting with DefJam. With this stellar album and the group's status as Internet-music pioneers propelling the group back into the spotlight, Public Enemy has proven that this calculated risk was anything but a misstep.

Public Enemy's seventh album is a classic. It is one of my favorite albums by them. Chuck D's lyrical attack has never been better. The production is on top. This album was originally released online which finally kicked PE off Def Jam. It would later be released and i'm glad. There are alot of good political songs. Favorites include Are You Gonna Go Our Way???, LSD, Here I Go, Crash, Crayola, First The Sheep Next The Shepherd?, Last Mass Of The Caballeros, What What, Kevorkian, and Swindlers Lust. Highly Highly Recommended.

This is the type of hip-hop cd that I've been waiting for baby. The beats are hard hitting, and the words that Chuck D speaks need to be heard by all of the young, loss, gangster rap listening brothers hanging on the streets. It's time to wake up! PE will show you the way in 2000!

Granted this is no "Nation of Millions," but how many hip hop albums are? None of the tracks have the urgency and pure rawness of, say, a "Rebel Without a Pause" or "You're Gonna Get Yours," and the album could have gone without the obligatory Flavor Flav showcase (What What) but this CD blows away 80 percent of the pop bulls*** passing for hip hop these days. "Crash", "First the Sheep" and "I" are comparable to many a PE hit. True fans should pick this one up.

Just good PE. I don't think I have ever heard Chuck so angry before. At first I didn't even think it was his voice. It's lower and alot angrier. Good cd, lyrics still straight on, but the music didn't get to me at first. After a few more listens it took hold, and now it's probablly my favorite PE cd.

This was the second PE cd I ever bought, it holds a special place in my heart because of that. This CD is soo good. Flava flav and chuck hold it down.

It's really dumb trying to say that this album isn't as good as say 'Nation' or 'Fear'. After their last few releases, especially 'Muse Sick', it's good to see Chuck D and the boys back on track. This album may not be as challenging musically as some of their previous efforts but lyrically it is literally louder than a bomb. Chuck D is one angry MF and he doesn't hold anything back here. This album reaffirmed my faith in PE. OK so it's not as good now as 'Nation' was then but you could argue that there hasn't been a hip-hop release since 'nNation' that's even come close to the mark. Do you wanna go our way? Yes please.

Listening to Chuck D and his crew eases my fears that the world is ignorant. Headz listen to his art and the crew still continue on strong. Not as brutal as their previous stuff, but perhaps wiser. D still drops ill bombs and Flav is still wacked out serious. I love the references to Kurt Cobain and how the industry can really destroy music and brainwash minds. That's what i love about Public Enemy...using the system to beat the system. A fistful of holla for them boyz.

Listen to this sound and you will learn a lot for the life . A way of living .Good job boys keep on doing pure hip hop