- published: 28 Nov 2012
- views: 112342
Public Enemy is an American hip hop group consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and his S1W group, DJ Lord (DJ who replaced Terminator X in 1999), and Music Director Khari Wynn. Formed in Long Island, New York in 1982, Public Enemy is known for their politically charged lyrics and criticism of the American media, with an active interest in the frustrations and concerns of the African American community.
In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Public Enemy number forty-four on its list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Acclaimed Music ranks them the 29th most recommended musical act of all time and the highest hip-hop group. The group was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Developing his talents as an MC with Flavor Flav while delivering furniture for his father's business, Chuck D (Carlton Douglas Ridenhour) and Spectrum City, as the group was called, released the record "Check Out the Radio," backed by "Lies," a social commentary—both of which would influence RUSH Productions' Run-D.M.C. and Beastie Boys.
Chorus:
What you read is what you saw
And what you keep is what you saw
And what the people want to know
Is who's gonna cast the thrown
What you got is what they want
And what they see they say they need
And people bleeding from the...
Now who's gonna cast the thrown?
Thrown at, thrown under
Throw to the side, thrown up the... we're throwing down
Thrown under the bus drag and underground
Power to the people salute the underground
Against those standards and mansions
Spitting down at us from up the higher ground
See the people, strike the power, face the poor...
In God we trust all money, this is slap in the face
To the rest of all human race!
Host hold your...
Change your name, but you can't change race n the United States
People say they're kings, but say they're queens
If we all gonna eat, what does it all mean?
We watch and listen, but I leave it alone
But who's gonna catch the thrown?
Chorus:
What you read is what you saw
And what you keep is what you saw
And what the people want to know
Is who's gonna cast the thrown
What you got is what they want
And what they see they say they need
And people bleeding from the...
Now who's gonna cast the thrown?
Divide and conquer, the oldest trick in the game
Is the war between the people who are really the same
As the rich people get richer, the poor get bitchie
The people keep kissing, the feds don't listen
This recession seen a black depression
Since your wasting in a nation heading for desperation
No quarter back is sat on a couch
Inside the black America is ouch!
Government still love you and President the executions
End up looking like some final solutions
Murder is the institution backed up and hacked up
Buy some hand written constitution.
Do what you do! Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Hebrew
You're all what you do, I'll be seeing human beings...
Yet never have so many but screwed up some few!
We watch the kings and queens and what they owe
But who's gonna catch the thrown?
(There's a man going round, take your...)
... designed to incriminate...
Equality is a myth!
They had me in jail for a crime I didn't even commit!
The stereo type
They feel every color is a failure right?
Brothers who resist I consider a threat
From Sitting Bull to Malcolm X
In the land of free I suspect elections
John Kennedy had the mob connections
President Reagan sold guns to Iraq
Yet they're trying to say the criminals are all black!
What's up with these corrupt politicians?
Them drugs they be shipping, but they never go to prison
And a fucked up system that they never tried to back me
Fuck gentlemen, guilty, clearly!
Chorus:
Cast the thrown, you gotta test the fire
Is that the one per cent that you need, or...
Cast the thrown, I gotta test the fire
Is that the one per cent that you want?
You gotta occupy!
(There's a man going round, take your...)
Free the... prisoners, they ain't listening
... but who is that whistling?
Foes making the killing and juxtapose against those giving a living
Give me something, cause... be official
Is the need to... replace by the greed
I ain't trying to yell at you or sell you
... they already...
And I'll be... to you, did I mention?
The cheapest price is to pay attention
Now the chess is just being at your best
Without you can hold your own
Fuck! Who's gonna catch the thrown?
Chorus:
What you read is what you saw
And what you keep is what you saw
And what the people want to know