Ever since they burst onto the scene in 1987 with their first single, "Public Enemy #1", Public Enemy have been known for the political stance which they vocally express in their music. Not just powerful vocally, the Bomb Squad made sure their beats made an impact by creating the signature Public Enemy sound - layered samples, sirens and general chaos.
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back has been considered as one of the most important rap albums of all time spawning tracks like Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos, Bring The Noise and Don't Believe The Hype giving birth to popular chants such as "Bass! How low can you go?" and of course "Don't Believe The Hype!".
With Chuck D and Flavor Flav providing the lyrical artillery, DJ Lord on turntables, the S1W's alongside the PE live band, Public Enemy are set to tour again, bringing with them the trademark fiery delivery, turntablist skills and Public Enemy sound they are well known for. Chuck D and the crew take some time out to chat with RA on the 16 years they've trailblazed in hip hop, the upcoming tour and their plans for the future.

16 years on and still going strong, how do you guys manage to keep doing it? What's been the main motivation behind it?

I THINK OTHER GENRES SET A PROTOTYPE FOR US. IF U2 AND THE ROLLING STONES STILL DO THEIR THING WE FEEL WE CAN LEAD OUR GENRE IN THE SAME WAY. PE HAS BECOME SORT OF THE JAM BAND OF RAP PRESENTING AN EVENT IN HIP HOP WHEREVER WE LAND IN THE WORLD. OZ IS OUR 51ST TOUR

Unless they've been living under a rock, it's hard to find someone who hasn't heard of Public Enemy - if not by name then by samples. Who is currently in the group right now?

CHUCK D-FLAVOR FLAV-PROFESSOR GRIFF-DJ LORD-THE SIWS JAMES BOMB/POP DIESEL- THE LATEST ADDITION AS OF 2001 ..THE BAND CALLED 'PE' BRYAN HARDGROOVE ON BASS, KHARI WYNN ON GUITAR, NYC MIKE FAULKNER ON DRUMS...

People have likened Chuck D to a modern day version of Gil Scott Heron. Who has been instrumental to influencing the Public Enemy sound and philosophy?

JAMES BROWN, SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE, LED ZEP, BEATLES, ROCK, SOUL, AND THE BLUES, MOTOWN, STAX, ATLANTIC, AND HUNDREDS SONICALLY

JAMES BROWN, LAST POETS, GIL, MALCOLM X, CHE ,MINISTER FARRAKHAN, RAP MUSIC AND HUNDREDS PHILOSOPHICALLY

You guys must be one of the most sampled groups in music today - everyone from hip hop, to house, to breakbeat and all the way to rave has incorporated a PE sample - what are your main thoughts on the whole sampling process?

WE DONT MIND BECAUSE THE ELEMENTS WE SAMPLE FROM ARE FROM ACROSS THE PAST 100 YEARS OF RECORDED MUSIC...

There's also been a spate of PE covers done such as Tricky covering Black Steel and Anthrax doing Bring The Noise. What has been your favourite cover version?

SEPULTURA HAS JUST PUT OUT A BLAZING VERSION OF BLACK STEEL IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS...ANTHRAX REMAINS MY FAVORITE...

You have always been known for the politically charged theme in your lyrics. Nowadays politics is concerned with dubya bush, anti-terrorism and 9/11. How much effect have the current political trends placed on you as an artist?

WELL BECAUSE OF THE HYPOCRISY OF THE WEST ..PEEPS ARE LOOKING OUR WAY REGARDING THIS ..WE EXPECT IT TO INCREASE IN 2004 FOR SOME REASON.

Personally I've always held Fear Of A Black Planet and It Takes A Nation... as my two favourite PE albums of all time, what's your favourite album? Which one do you feel has made the biggest statement during your career?

I DONT CHOOSE FAVORITES..BUT MUSE SICK IN HOUR MESS AGE MADE A BOLD MUSICAL AND SONIC STATEMENT WITHIN A BLANKET OF SLOW GANGSTA RAP...I WINK WHEN PEOPLE LISTEN TO IT TODAY AND ASK WHATS THIS?

You are one of the few to embrace the MP3 format for your music - I do recall a plan to have your whole album available for purchase online - whereas others have spoken out about filesharing software such as Kazaa and Napster causing potential harm to their careers. Considering the fact that people can easily and freely download music off the net, would you still advocate MP3's as a platform for your music?

ALWAYS ...I THINK ITS WONDERFUL THAT ONE CAN EMAIL A SONG...AND STAY HOME...BEATS THE HELL OUTTA FED EX

Speaking of your music, it has been around 1 year since your last album - Revolverlution. Can we expect anything new from you in the near future?

3 ALBUMS NEXT YEAR
1. A SPECIAL RE-RELEASE OF THERES A POISON GOIN ON
2. HOW YOU SELL SOUL TO A SOULESS PEOPLE WHO SOLD THEIR SOUL FIRST HALF OF 2004
3. NEW WHIRL ODOR SECOND HALF OF 2004

3 DVDS
LONDONS CALLING / Public Enemy returns to the UK 16 years later
MKLVFKWR 2004 / Public Enemy the greatest hip hop show on earth