Public Enemy - Brixton Electric, London 07/06/14

09 June 2014, 11:58 | Written by Chris Pratt

(Live)

(Public Enemy)

It’s been almost thirty years since Public Enemy first graced a Brixton stage - in that time they’ve faced all manner of drama and controversy, from accusations of anti-Semitism to Flavor Flav’s train wreck reality TV career as well as releasing at least two of the most treasured albums in rap history. Although they’ve since taken a step down in venue terms (back in 1987 it was the Academy, now it’s the Electric), the audience is no less rabidly devotional, and tonight’s atmosphere is positively sizzling from the start.

As well as the familiar faces of Chuck D and Flavor Flav (53 and 55 respectively!), the Electric stage is packed with their retinue of musicians, dancers, heavies and hangers-on. The visual impact of the performance is everything you could hope for, with the familiar B-Boy-in-sniper-scope logo looming in red, black and white, the plethora of military outfits setting a suitably menacing tone and the sea of black power salutes in the pit. Musically, it’s also impeccable, with the Bomb Squad’s original sample collages recreated with aplomb by the live band, augmented by DJ Lord. “Don’t Believe the Hype” was stupidly danceable, “Bring the Noise” an unstoppable maelstrom. Only “He Got Game” misses the mark - one of the highlights of their later recording career, tonight, when heard next to the cataclysmic productions of their early work, its relative stillness and introspection just feels weak and flimsy.

Although keen to point out his band’s recent induction into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, Chuck D would appear to have lost none of his anger at certain other institutions – in particular dedicating two songs to the memory of Stephen Lawrence. But as well as his trademark confrontational rhetoric, Chuck also shows his softer side in touching tributes to his right-hand man, Flav – calling him “The most sampled voice in hip-hop history” and explaining how misunderstood his partner is, before letting him loose on an wild bass solo. Another pleasant surprise is DJ Lord, who’s been part of the set-up since 1998 when original DJ Terminator X left to run a fucking ostrich farm, and is clearly an integral part of the present-day Public Enemy. With his name emblazoned emphatically across his riser in the group’s classic military font, Lord threatens to steal Chuck and Flav’s thunder on a number of occasions with master classes in turntable showmanship.

Just a few days earlier I’d seen another rap veteran, Snoop Dogg, down the road at the Academy. Though Snoop’s everything-but-the-kitchen-sink greatest hits set was undeniably crowd-pleasing, it was hard to square up his mass-market persona with the edgy young man who made Doggystyle. In contrast, and despite changes in line-up, Public Enemy remain the angriest, funkiest and most righteous voices in hip-hop and I can’t see anyone changing that anytime soon.