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Public Enemy ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’: Release date, tracklist and all you need to know about hip-hop duo’s 15th album

The new album of Public Enemy will see heavy features from artists like Nas, YG, Rapsody, DJ Premier and Black Thought among others

Acclaimed hip-hop group Public Enemy is all set to drop their 15th studio album titled ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’ The American group which consists of artists Chuck D and DJ Lord had announced the album and the tracklist on their official Twitter account.  The new record by the hip-hop duo is a follow-up to their 2017 album titled ‘Nothing Is Quick in the Desert.’

While sharing it on Twitter, the official account of Public Enemy stated, “5 days. #wygdwtggd #publicenemy #FTP2020 #defjam  #fightthepower #chuckd #hiphop”

This is not the first time Public Enemy is releasing an album with Def Jam Recordings though this will be their first album with Def Jam in more than 20 years. Public Enemy’s first project with Def Jam which was also their debut album titled ‘Yo! Bum Rush the Show’ was released in 1987. 

Release date

Public Enemy’s ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’ will hit the Internet on September 25, 2020, via Def Jam Recordings. 

Concept

The cover art of the album ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’ features a bright orange-red backdrop of a desert where broken screens of computers, speakers and vinyl can be seen enveloped with tiny lit candles. 

Speaking about the new project, Chuck D in an official statement had said, “It’s time, it’s necessary to bring the noise again from a place called home.” Adding to this statement one of the earlier members of the group Flava Fav (who has worked on this album with the group) had asserted, “Def Jam is like the house we grew up in. It’s cool to be home.”

Features

The new album from Public Enemy will see heavy features from the who’s who of the hip-hop industry. Artists like Nas, YG, Rapsody, DJ Premier, Black Thought, Questlove, Cypress Hill, Run-DMC, Ice-T, PMD, George Clinton, Daddy-O, Jahi, The Impossebulls, Mark Jenkins, S1Ws Pop Diesel and James Bomb and Mike D and Ad-Rock of Beastie Boys have joined forces to make this project a classic.  

Tracklist

Public Enemy is releasing their new album after a gap of three years and therefore, they made sure they the tracklist stays heavy just like the old school days.  ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’ will be released with 17 tracks. Here’s how the lengthy playlist looks like:

‘When The Grid Goes Down’ ft. George Clinton
‘Grid’ ft. Cypress Hill and George Clinton
‘State of the Union (STFU)’ ft. DJ Premier
‘Merica Mirror’ ft. Pop Diesel
‘Public Enemy Number Won’ ft. Mike D, Ad-Rock, Run-DMC
‘Toxic’
‘Yesterday Man’ ft. Daddy-O
‘Crossroads Burning’ (Interlude) ft. James Bomb
‘Fight The Power: Remix 2020’ ft. Nas, Rapsody, Black Thought, Jahi, YG, Questlove
‘Beat Them All’
‘Smash The Crowd’ ft. Ice-T, PMD
‘If You Can’t Join Em Beat Em’
‘Go At It’ ft. Jahi
‘Don’t Look At The Sky’ (Interlude) ft. Mark Jenkins
‘Rest In Beats’ ft. The Impossebulls
‘R.I.P. Blackat’
‘Closing: I Am Black’ ft. Ms. Ariel
 
Public Enemy’s label homecoming is ‘Fight the Power: Remix 2020,’ which debuted at the BET Awards in June and features Nas, Rapsody, Black Thought, YG, Jahi, and Questlove.  
The DJ Premier-produced, Trump-trolling ‘State of the Union (STFU)’ has also been released from the album. You can listen to this song here:

Where to stream

Public Enemy’s new album ‘What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?’ will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.