“I wanted to try to make a Hip-Hop version of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin On,” said the leader of Public Enemy, Chuck D. “Something that was there, something that was a staple, something that no matter how many times you played it, you had to go back to it again and again.”

After their first album, the members of Public Enemy gained a new social perspective, and these self-proclaimed prophets of rage articulated the anger implicit in the hard beats and bottomless bravado of ghetto-born rap. It’s not that Chuck D was smarter or more ambitious than his contemporaries – certainly, KRS-One tackled many similar sociopolitical tracts, while Rakim had a greater flow – but he marshaled considerable revolutionary force, clear vision, and a boundless vocabulary to create galvanizing, logical arguments that were undeniable in their strength.

Join us as we celebrate 30 years since the release of a milestone in rap music.