Public Enemy

A review from The Hartford Courant of a Public Enemy show in which a character dressed in a Ku Klux Klan hood and gown appears on stage and is later "lynched in effigy" during the song "Can't Truss It."

Public Enemy was formed in 1982 by suburban raised Chuck D, Professor Griff, Terminator X, and Flavor Flav in New York. The group initially promoted messages that dealt with racial, anti-government, and extreme leftist issues. They framed their politics from an ideological, global viewpoint, differentiating them from the mainstream trends in early rap that focused on realities of life in areas stricken by gang violence and poverty.

Their track “Fight the Power” from the album Fear of a Black Planet offers a strong anti-establishment message, rejecting the ordered methods of protest from events like the March on Washington in 1963 in favor of more radical methods.