April 23, 2014

In 1999, the group released There’s a Poison Goin’ On exclusively online . It marked the first time a major artist made their album available as a download. And it made a statement about how distribution should work: a stake in the ground for digital, during a time when the MP3 format was something that labels were actively trying to kill.

Public Enemy rewrote the rules of hip hop. They pioneered a socially-aware, sonically-dense brand of rap that still reverberates today. It influences what we hear. And it influences what we play. Because they didn’t just rewrite the rules of rap sound. They rewrote the rules of music, too. Public Enemy changed the architecture of listening.

The Public Enemy Bundle has been downloaded by more than a million fans. The group’s new remix collection, created by BitTorrent listeners and curated by Public Enemy, debuts on iTunes and as a BitTorrent Bundle.

After listening to the BitTorrent fan remixes, Public Enemy chose five tracks to release as a new EP (winners were also hooked up with prizes from Blue Microphones and Native Instruments). Today, that record is available on iTunes . You can sample the new EP as a BitTorrent Bundle : with remixes from Jerome “Jay” Bosco and Counter Intelligence, plus all the multitracks you need to make your own Public Enemy track. Get the iTunes EP.

In June , we partnered with Public Enemy to reinvent the hip hop collaboration, bringing the tools to remix the group’s single “Get Up Stand Up” to fans around the world.

Flash forward fourteen years. We’ve come to accept the MP3. But we still haven’t come to terms with online distribution: the promise or the value of direct-to-fan. Can digital delivery bring artists closer to listeners? Can it create more, not less, value? Amid Internet sprawl, the radio station of everywhere, can it solve for discoverability? Public Enemy helped start the major shift to MP3. We worked with them to figure out what’s next.

Meet the Public Enemy Remix Winners

Favorite Public Enemy track:

My favorite song completely depends on how I’m feeling at the time. I mean, really, it can go from “Can’t Truss It” to “Leave This Off Your Fuckin Charts” in a day. And the songs aren’t as important as the message. Public Enemy has always been a favorite because of the message.

On bringing electronica into hip hop, and keeping the message:

I’ve been writing and recording my own music since I was about twenty, and I’ve done a lot of remixes for various artists .But this is actually my first hip hop remix. The process was to keep the message of the song as alive as it is in the original, while putting my own spin on it with the stutter edits and electronic feel. It definitely wasn’t a one night session.

I typically don’t participate in remix competitions. But this is Public Enemy. Chuck D, as a man and as an artist has always been someone that I really look up to. He isn’t scared to say the truth about anything.

Favorite Public Enemy track:

“Fight The Power.” Obvious choice, I know, but in my mind it’s just a brilliant combination of brilliant production and powerful lyrics. I have a soft spot for “He Got Game”, too. Great use of the Buffalo Springfield sample.

Using DnB to tell the “Get Up Stand Up” story:

I’ve been in bands and playing guitar since I was a kid, and I’ve done a number of remixes. In 2010, I was named a finalist in a DJ Shadow remix competition. I’ve been producing properly since about 2008. We’ve put out four releases as Tiger Mendoza.

I spent two days putting this mix together, which helped keep things tight. The DnB elements came from listening to a lot of Noisia and Black Sun Empire. The vocals were so strong that I thought that a DnB beat would work with it. (ed. note: it did.)

Favorite Public Enemy track:

“Welcome to the Terrordome.” The reason why is the beat, it exploded and dropped all at once, like ten turntables going on, all at the same time. And hearing Chuck D’s flow was just unreal.

Remixing against the obvious:

I’ve been making party remixes and beats over fifteen years now. I’ve released ten albums and continue to produce for local artists and also continue to make mega-mixes.

The process for this mix was just sticking by my own brand, building a style I knew would turn heads, and bringing in some of my East Indian background. I felt like a lot of producers would create obvious beats and rhythms. That’s not how I work.

Favorite Public Enemy track:

I had to choose one, it would be “Fight the Power”. The production is so dope. Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad pushed the limit of hip hop (and sampling). Nobody else has managed to do more. There are so many samples and scratches that they build new harmonies. After twenty-five years, I’m still discovering sounds I’ve never heard before.

The message of the song has never been more relevant. We have to fight the power, or we’ll fall into darkness.

On that time Flava Flav saved my life:

It was October 1990. I was in front of the stage, and a bunch of guys stole my Kangol and began to hit me. Flav saw that I had problems. He pulled me onstage, and took me backstage to protect me. If that hadn’t happened my life would not have been the same. And I wouldn’t have made this remix.

Tim Raiswell (T/RAZE)

Favorite Public Enemy track:

“You’re Gonna Get Yours”, because of that guitar sample.

The stuff that went into the remix:

Honestly, it was random: choosing stems separately, and resampling them in Ableton to see what sounded good. I threw in atmospheric samples, and then tweaked it over the course of a few weeks until it sounded right. There are also two VST instruments in the mix: a guitar sampler, and the Massive synth. The rest is stems and loops. It’s pretty rare for hip-hop giants like PE to release stems for remixes. So for me, making something was a no-brainer. I’m pumped.