Public Enemy
He Got Game
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Public Enemy
He Got Game
Def Jam, 1998
RiYL: Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, Notorious BIG |
But if Black Planet presented PE as superheroes, the soundtrack to the Spike Lee film, "He Got Game," shows the group as mere hip-hop mortals. The album is a reunion of sorts for the group, marking the first time that all of PE's original players have been together since Black Planet.
While MCs Chuck D and Flava Flav can still get it up lyrically most of the time, the touted production of the Bomb Squad, PE's core team of producers, falls short of the revolutionary work displayed on Planet, 1988's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back or Apocalypse '91: The Enemy Strikes Black.
That's just the problem. Many have credited Chuck D's on-the-warpath, political lyrics as the secret to the group's success. But the real revolution was going on behind him. The Bomb Squad and DJ Terminator X layered old-school funk samples, bits of famous speeches, screams and sirens to create booty-shaking, bombastic and technically brilliant music. That's lost on this soundtrack. Most of the time, PE comes off like a more politically minded Wu-Tang Clan or Dr. Dre. The incredible amount of layering is reduced to a heavy bass track, maybe one sample and a stray sound every once in a while, a far cry from "Leave This Off Your Fuckin' Charts."
On the word side of things, Chuck D holds up the fort a bit better. Granted, he is writing words for a basketball movie, which is limiting. Hearing Chuck D venting against shoe companies is kind of like hearing Dylan rallying against laundry detergent -- it's a waste of talent. But he can still cut to the core of an issue with phrases such as "human beings screaming vocal javelins / signs of a local nigga unraveling / my wanderin' got ass wonderin' / where Christ is in all this crisis" on the title track, which could aptly sum up the state of basketball, or the world for that matter.
The words and music are married most effectively on the slower tracks of He Got Game, such as the title track, featuring a sample of Stephen Stills' quavering guitar line from "For What It's Worth," or the slow-building, gospel-like "What You Need Is Jesus." Others such as "Resurrection" or "Is Your God A Dog" rely on the Wu-Tang formula too much. In fact the only track that comes close to old-school Bomb Squad is "Go Cat Go," an intense guitar-driven track. Trouble is, it was produced by Black Grape's Danny Saber.
He Got Game is not all bad. Many moments recall those seminal albums of a decade ago. But moments do not a whole album make.
PATRICK KASTNER | Affectionately known as Cousin Patty (yes, it's a "Throw Momma From The Train" reference), Patrick Kastner is a designer for the Columbus Post-Dispatch.