Public Enemy: living legends

Click pour le live report en Français + photos


For a whole week now the exitement of getting to see Public Enemy perform live had been building up. Together wiht DJ Ubuntu (including PE hat), MC Psy-Quo and Bjarne, my lil brother, I arrived almost an hour too early. Dinosaur Jr. was still on stage. The crowd didn't seem very active. Then I saw more and more Public Enemy T-shirts and I realized that a lot of them weren't here for this guitar-swinging rock group. As soon as they left the stage, we started moving forward. Front row is always the best row to watch a show.



Once we secured our spot, I took a look around and realized that there were 3 generations patiently waiting - side by side - for the hip hop legends to come on stage. Everybody was exited and while the live band was setting up (drums, guitar, bass, and DJ),
the hypeman brought out the oldskool boombox - with real tapes. The crowd loudly showed it's appreciation. In return, he threw 'Public Enemy VIP -All Access' cards.
And with putting the boombox on center stage, it was clear that tonight would be all about paying hommage to oldskool hip hop. The type of hip hop that Public Enemy is part of. The basics of the hip hop of today. They helped it build, from the foundations up.

After 2 men, dressed as soldiers did their little intro march, the first bass started booming,
Public Enemy ran on stage and they immediatly brought that hip hop magic. Chuck D and Flavor Flav introduced their DJ and band and then respectfully gave
a shout out to those MCs and groups that have been in the game for over 20 years. Those that we call classics now. Those who paved the way.

They both had this radiant exitement and air of fullfillment to be performing. They almost looked like 2 puppies who played in the sun for the very first time. The both of them were running, Chuck D kept jumping, Flav did his typical dance moves, , ... And yes, he did pull out his big watch!
There was a perfect interaction between the 2 of them, like a well-oiled machine. I couldn't help but think back at the Wu concert and how lame it actually was.
Their energy was soon adapted by the crowd and after a correction in the sound, there was no stopping them. They took their time to interact and talk to the people without boring them. There were no gaps in the show. It was very clear that they are still doing this for the love of hip hop.

With every track they performed, the crowd only needed 2 or 3 tones of the biggest hits to go crazy. Chuck D dedicated 'TERMINATOR X' to all the DJS in the crowd and every single bboy, graffer and mc. And from the oldskool to the newskool they performed 'Say it like it really is'
for a public for the first time.

After more than an hour of pure, classic hip hop, the organisors kept telling them that their time was up, but Public Enemy didn't care. And made it clear by having the public sing along with 'Shut 'em down'. They kept going. And if it wasnt for the other band who was next, I doubt that they
would have stopped any time soon.

This was one of the best concerts I've seen. It's right up in my personal top 3, together with Jurassic 5 and Dead Prez.
Even though Chuck D did most of the talking during the show, he made room for Flavor Flav to address the crowd when they were about to leave. "You are your own best friend" He had everybody putting peace sounds in the air. "Peace, Togetherness
and Power. Together we are 1 race." Amen to that!

Public Enemy did what only true legends can do: they made me fall in love with hip hop all over again.