2. Public Enemy
Public Enemy is an American hip-hop group consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, DJ Lord, The S1W group, Khari Wynn and Professor Griff. Formed in Long Island, New York, in 1982. They are 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. The main reason they merit such a high place on this list is that they were not just some of the first hip-hop artists as you know it, but one of the first who openly spoke and rapped about the aforementioned issues. They were one of the first hip-hop groups to do well internationally, and they infused their messages into skilled and poetic rhymes, using raucous sound collages as a foundation. PE also changed the Internet’s music distribution capability by being one of the first groups to release MP3-only albums, a format virtually unknown at the time. They are some of the biggest legends in hip-hop, and its not hard to see why.
