Chuck D is one of the all-time great rap voices, and that comes down entirely to the Golden Age classics that he made with his group Public Enemy. Public Enemy are still going, and they returned to their old label Def Jam to release the album What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down? in 2020. Outside of the group, Chuck has also taken part in things like the Rage Against The Machine quasi-reunion Prophets Of Rage and the godawful rap metal band Konfrontation Kamp. (He'd probably rather forget that one, but I saw them live in 2000, and I can't let it go.) Chuck has also released a handful of solo albums over the years, the most recent of which is 2018's Celebration Of Ignorance. Now, with his PE partner Flavor Flav in neverending media-tour mode, Chuck D has gone solo again.
Next month, Chuck D will release his solo LP Radio Armageddon on Def Jam, and it's interesting to see him dropping an album on that label when he's in full-on unc mode. (Chuck's 1996 solo debut Autobiography Of Mistachuck came out on Def Jam, but everything since then has been independent.) Lead single "New Gens" is specifically about rap's generation gap. Chuck has really always sounded older than most of his peers, and here his booming voice comes in over chaotic, clattering production that never stops shifting. He expresses his love for newer generations, and he wants to convey how different things are for their predecessors.
"New Gens" has an appearance from Daddy-O, from the '80s rap greats Stetsasonic, and he goes off. The LP also has appearances from ancestral legends like Schoolly D, Ohil Most Chill, and Donald D and Jazzy Jay. Below, check out the "New Gens" video and the Radio Armageddon tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Radio Armageddon"
02 "What Rock Is"
03 "Black Don’t Dead"
04 "New Gens"
05 "Station Break"
06 "Rogue Runnin"
07 "Is God She"
08 "Station Identification"
09 "Here We Are Heard"
10 "Superbagg"
11 "Carry On"
12 "What Are We To You"
13 "Sight Story Style Sound"
14 "Signing Off"
Armageddon Radio is out 5/16 on Def Jam. Check out our We've Got A File On You interview with Chuck D here.
