Chaotic rap legends Public Enemy might not dominate the discourse the way that they did in the late '80s and early '90s, but they're still together and still culturally present. Chuck D released his solo album Armageddon Radio on Def Jam last month. Flavor Flav persistently goes viral for his general all-around enthusiastic presence and for his quests to help out cash-strapped institutions like the US women's Olympic water polo team and Red Lobster. Now, Public Enemy are back with a surprise self-released album Black Sky Over The Projects: Apartment 2025, which is currently available as a pay-what-you-want Bandcamp download.
In 2020, Public Enemy returned to Def Jam Records, the label where they released their old classics, for their album What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?, which had collaborations with fellow legends like George Clinton, Run-DMC, Nas, Ice-T, and the surviving Beastie Boys. A little while after its release, Chuck D and Flavor Flav continued with their latest possibly-fake feud, this time over disagreements surrounding the group's appearance at a Bernie Sanders rally. It seems like things are good now, though. Last week, Public Enemy released a jagged single called "March Madness," and that turns out to be the closer from their new surprise LP.
There are no superstar guests on Black Sky Over The Projects: Apartment 2025, Public Enemy's follow-up to their Def Jam return, and it appears that PE are putting it out on their own. (The album isn't on streaming services yet, but "March Madness" is, and its label is listed as "Flavor Flav Records.") Chuck and Flav are credited as the LP's executive producers, alongside managers Lorrie "The LBX" Boula and Rhiannon Rae Ellis. On first listen, it's just as angry and frantic as you'd expect a 2025 Public Enemy album to be. Chuck D's always-authoritative delivery practically enters the spoken-word zone on this one, and Flav is always there to set him off. For its first three days, fans can pay what they want to download the album at Bandcamp. Hear it below.
