Posts tagged as “Terminator X”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjgsNc6qlHE&w=560&h=315]
For those who grew up in the 1980s, Public Enemy was one of a handful of nationally-known hip-hop acts that created socially-conscious rap almost exclusively.  From “Don’t Believe The Hype” to “Fight The Power” (from Spike Lee‘s still-all-too-relevant movie about racism and police brutality Do The Right Thing) to “By The Time I Get To Arizona”, Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Terminator X and the crew were on the forefront of calling out media manipulation, systemic racism and bigotry, and the widespread mistreatment of black people in America.
Now, over 30 years after they’ve formed and three years since their last album, Public Enemy has released Man Plans God Laughs, offering much-needed and necessary protest music once again.  The video for the single “No Sympathy From The Devil” was just released today, and it packs a chilling punch.  It ties historical acts of racism with the racism of today – and so much of it looks the same (at the 1:56 mark, Sandra Bland‘s mug shot appears and has the effect of a gut punch).
The entire album, which was released a few weeks ago on July 15, can be heard on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1pmsTgxfLMkCw7C5LuSHFD
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)