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Often considered one of the most controversial and influential groups in rap music, Public Enemy started the trend that blurred the lines between music and politics, channeling hip-hop as a social force.
As a graphic arts student in New York, Chuck D (born Carlton Ridenhour) met fellow hip-hop fans Hank Shocklee and Bill Stepheny while deejaying at a college radio station. The three cut several demos, catching the eye of producer Rick Rubin. Impressed by Chuck D's freestyling, he recruited the rapper to his up-and-coming Def Jam label. While Shocklee and Stepheny signed on as producer and publicist, respectively, Chuck D recruited DJ Terminator X (Norman Lee Rogers), Professor Griff (Richard Griff) and Flavor Flav (William Drayton) to round out the crew.
While the group was officially formed in 1982, they didn't cut an album until 1987's Yo! Bum Rush the Show. Though it met with critical praise, the album failed commercially on all charts. However, their 1988 follow-up, It Takes Millions to Hold Us Back was considered revolutionary. With production team the Bomb Squad, Public Enemy found a sound that mixed offbeat samples and classic funk, while playing up the interaction between Chuck D's political rhetoric and Flavor Flav's off-the-wall humor.
Following the album's release, Public Enemy was met with controversy, the most serious of which centered on the group's positive endorsement of Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan as well as a number of anti-Semitic remarks made by Griff, which led to his departure from the group.
Despite any negative publicity, Public Enemy's 1990 album Fear of a Black Planet generated enthusiastic response, hitting the pop Top 10. 1991's Apocalypse 91 ... The Enemy Strikes Black, continued the crossover success with a remade version of "Bring the Noize" featuring the metal band Anthrax.
Flavor Flav's troubles with the law and the coolly received remixes collection Greatest Misses sent the group on hiatus. After returning with the critically panned Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age in 1994, Chuck D retired the group from touring, broke away from Def Jam to start his own label and released his solo debut The Autobiography of Mista Chuck.
In the summer of 1999, Public Enemy returned with There's a Poison Goin' On..., released on Atomic Pop.
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