Chuck D is a 64 year old MC, songwriter & producer from Hempstead, New York notable for being the frontman of the seminal political hip hop outfit Public Enemy. In addition to that & his brief time as a co-frontman of the Prophets of Rage, he also has 5 solo efforts under his belt with my favorite being his 1996 debut Autobiography of Mistachuck under Mercury Records. Nearly 3 decades later, he’s signing to Def Jam Recordings for his 6th studio LP under his own name with very high potential considering the buildup towards it.
After the titular intro, the first song “What Rock Is” breaks the door down with a boom bap opener talking about making the needle in the ghetto stacks bleed from the left to the right whereas “Black Don’t Dead” talks about the fact black doesn’t crack even though they can surely die. “New Gens” featuring Daddy-O produced by C-Doc finally addresses hip hop’s generational gap that has been a giant elephant in the room for the past decade or so that is until we get tested to a quick “Station Break”.
“Rogue Runnin’” featuring Phill Most Chill moves forward with a chaotic 2-parter talking about ridin’ dirty for over 3 decades already just before “Is God She?” featuring 1/2 Pint & Miranda Writes ponders around the idea of our Lord & Savior being a woman mixing funk music with boom bap. After the “Station Identification” interlude, “Here We Are Heard” by The Impossebulls makes the relatable call to Make Racists Afraid Again while “Superbagg” featuring Blak Madeen talks about being stuck in their ways.
UltraMag7 joins the rhyme animal himself on “Carry On” for a hardcore rap rock banger cursing in your metaverse out of spite for anyone dumbass listening to this thinking he’s woke while “What Are We to You?” mixes politically conscious bars with some aggressive drums & more guitars thrown in the fold. “Slight Story Style Sound” featuring Donald D finds the 2 showing everyone how all 4 elements of hip hop get down & “Signing Off” featuring gangsta rap pioneer Schoolly D feels more like an outro.
Marking the return of the voice that never left, Chuck D unites both hip hop’s pioneers & newer acts who represent the current generation of the culture alike in a fearless soundtrack for the times delivering a seismic broadcast of truth, rhythm & resistance. It’s produced better than his last couple solo efforts Celebration of Ignorance & We Wreck Stadiums, bridging the gap that has been a blatantly obvious stain for quite some time to make the revolution on wax.
Score: 7/10
