Author
Ytzhak
With numerous references to Golden-era PE, "Rebirth Of A Nation" effectively presents the messages of self-sufficiency and empowerment that are Public Enemy hallmarks, but with an updated 2006 sensibility, as Paris pulls out all of the musical stops in the way that only he can. The opening "Raw Shit" blazes with urgency, as Chuck D and Paris are joined by MC Ren of the legendary NWA to put all on notice that voices of resistance are still alive and well...
mp3 download:
http://media.odeo.com/1/6/6/BreakdownFM-ParisInterviewpt1.mp3
Public Enemy Featuring Paris
Rebirth Of A Nation - Coming March 7, 2006
http://media.odeo.com/1/6/6/BreakdownFM-ParisInterviewpt1.mp3
Studio album number 11 is a throwback. Intended as a special project, "Rebirth Of A Nation" is a full-fledged collaboration between Paris and Public Enemy, with Paris taking on all production duties to deliver one of PE's most focused projects to date.
With numerous references to Golden-era PE, "Rebirth Of A Nation" effectively presents the messages of self-sufficiency and empowerment that are Public Enemy hallmarks, but with an updated 2006 sensibility, as Paris pulls out all of the musical stops in the way that only he can. The opening "Raw Shit" blazes with urgency, as Chuck D and Paris are joined by MC Ren of the legendary NWA to put all on notice that voices of resistance are still alive and well — and more necessary than ever. "Hard Rhymin'" and "Rise" continue in the blueprint of classic Public Enemy, but it is the Curtis Mayfield-inspired first single, "Can't Hold Us Back" that really sets the tone, intended to showcase the unified force of Chuck D, Paris, dead prez and Kam, four of the most distinctive revolutionary forces in hip-hop.
And the magic continues. From the hard-rock edge of "Hard Truth Soldiers" and the title track, to the jazzy "Show 'Em Watcha Got"-esque "Pump The Music, Pump The Sound," Public Enemy and Paris are in rare form indeed, with the necessary attention paid to not only the lyrics and the music, but to the legacy that is PE.
From the War on Terror to racism to black-on-black crime and police brutality, every topic is covered, and "Rebirth Of A Nation" is a sonic onslaught aimed at the wrongs of society as only Chuck D and Paris can — only this time out they are joined by fellow revolutionary allies dead prez, Kam, Immortal Technique, MC Ren and The Conscious Daughters — all with striking effectiveness.
In an era where buffoonery is encouraged and rewarded by big business hell bent on the degradation and exploitation of people of color in the name of profit, "Rebirth Of A Nation" is a welcome and necessary elixir. With strong beats and rhymes, it poses the questions many choose to avoid, and offers solutions many choose to ignore. A landmark achievement.
see:
On the Line w/ Paris-The Making of Rebirth of a Nation
by Davey D
We sat down with the Black Panther of Hip Hop-Paris and spoke to him about the array of projects he has coming down the pipe on his Guerilla Funk record label. That would include the ‘Hard Truth Soldier’ album Vol 1 which includes socially conscious songs from MC Ren, Kam, Dead Prez, Mobb Deep, KRS-One, Cypress Hill, and the Conscious Daughters to name a few. He also has an album from new artist T-Kash out of Oakland which is also set to drop.
We also spoke with him about the current state of Hip Hop, the art of emceeing and of course the making of the new Public Enemy album ‘Rebirth of a Nation’. For people who are unfamiliar Paris not only produced but he wrote all the lyrics to the songs featured on the PE album. He spoke about how he and Chuck D came together on this ambitious project. He also spoke about the type of chemistry they developed and the type methodology used which would allow Paris to effectively write lyrics from one of Hip Hop’s most gifted and insightful political icons.
Paris explained how he wanted to recapture a moment in time when PE put out some of their most groundbreaking work as exemplified on albums like ‘Fear of a Black Planet’ and ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’. He talked about how he used records like ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’ and prophets of Rage as a template.
We also spoke about role Flava Flav played in this project as well as the type of dynamics that currently exist in the group and how it may have effective their recording process. Paris talked about sampling versus playing live instruments and how that factored into the new album.
Also in this segment we spoke extensively about the art of emceeing and how conscious artists don’t always get recognized for their rhyme skillz…
In part 2 of this interview we speak extensively about the inner workings of music business…
http://odeo.com/audio/838533/view
http://www.guerrillafunk.com/publicenemy/rebirthofanation/index.html
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