Public Enemy’s 13th Album Is Inspired By Kendrick Lamar & Run The Jewels
After 28 years of releasing albums, Public Enemy aims to make a dent in 2015. The Long Island, New York Hip-Hop group’s 13th studio album, Man Plans, God Laughs will arrive in less than a month.
On June 16 via Facebook, the band announced the news, sharing the artwork. Additionally, the artwork features the quote, “If WE don’t matter, no lives matter,” presumably a reaction to the string of events prompting the Black Lives Matter campaigns. As indicated, Man Plans, God Laughs will be produced by Gary “G-Wiz” & Carl Ryder. G-Wiz, a/k/a Gary Rinaldo, is a Bomb Squad member, part of P.E.’s production team for most of their seminal 1980s work. Gary joined the fold for 1991’s Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black album, and has remained in much of P.E.’s fold since then, whether with Def Jam or independent. Additionally, he has worked with Method Man, Sinhead O’Connor, KRS-One, and Aerosmith, besides scoring Juice and He Got Game.
In an interview with Maxim, band-leader and MC Chuck D explained, “I was inspired by Run the Jewels and Kendrick Lamar, but stayed far enough away from them to still be Public Enemy. We’re making a comment about the 21st century in this technological yet still political world. It will be able to tell its own story without me trying to talk to it. It’s out July 13.”
In the interview, Chuck D also announced that P.E. will cover a Rolling Stones classic: “We’re rooted from a different era. We did a blazing, scorching interpretation of ‘Honky Tonk Woman’ by the [Rolling] Stones called ‘Honky Tonk Rules.’ It was probably the greatest record we’ve ever done and we’ll probably never use it because we got rejected by the publishers of the song. The Stones don’t own anything from 1970 or earlier. I just saw Keith [Richards] and Charlie [Watts] and those guys. The creators of the song love it. We dug it. But the business people and the pushers of the pencils rejected it. The pendulum has shifted so much to business poeple that the creators are now suffering. That’s fucked up. Because I think if the world heard ‘Honky Tonk Rules,’ it would be changed. When people say, ‘What do you thing the problem with music is today? I say, ‘Too many business people are dictating the art.'” [Maxim updated: “Honky Tonk Rules” has since been cleared to appear on Man Plans, God Laughs].
Read the entire “Fighting The Power” Maxim interview with Chuck D.
Are you excited for Public Enemy’s first album since 2012’s The Evil Empire Of Everything?
Related: For National Prevention Week, Watch This 1987 Public Enemy Anti-Drug PSA (Video)