Revolverlution

Revolverlution

If rap music is still CNN for African Americans, then Chuck D is still the lead anchor. While most rabid rap fans abandoned PE's revolution in the mid-1990s--once the group stopped utilizing the noisy, Bomb Squad-style of production--hip-hop is now in a clear state of emergency. The return of Chuck D is warranted. On this 15th-anniversary CD, he wastes no time launching into anti-jiggy tirades on "Put It Up," where he skewers today's emcees: "Tycoons, damn I'm tired of these coons / Rappin' in circles, words can either help you or hurt you." In fact, some of the new material on the album is as thought-provoking as any of PE's older material. "Son of a Bush," produced by Professor Griff, dissects two generations of flawed Bush presidencies. However, the willingness to take creative risks can also have its downside. Contest-winning fans got to remix four Public Enemy hits, including "Shut 'Em Down" (Austria's DJ Functionist) and "Public Enemy No. 1" (Jeronimo Punx). While the interactive nature of the project is admirable, DJ Functionist is no Pete Rock and Jeronimo Punx's postmodern twist on "Public Enemy No. 1" only makes you crave to hear the original version again. In the end, the live cuts (such as "Welcome to the Terrordome") and the so-so remixes bog down what would have otherwise been a tighter project. The often eloquent <I>Revolverlution</I> is no <I>It Takes a Nation of Millions</I>, but then again, what is? <I>--Dalton Higgins</I>