Man Plans God Laughs [LP]

by Public Enemy

Overview

The first generation of rockers who grew up in public faced their share of ridicule, a fact that does not escape Chuck D. A keen observer of history who also possesses a sly sense of humor, he raps over a sample of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women" on Man Plans God Laughs, Public Enemy's 13th album. Like the Stones, PE have been around so long and their influence has been so thoroughly absorbed into the culture that it's easy to take them for granted, but where Mick & Keith played arenas, Public Enemy consciously shrugged off the majors and remained fierce insurrectionists, existing just under the radar. By the end of the 2000s, they may not have been regulars in mainstream music publications, but they still had underground hits, such as "Harder Than You Think," which surprisingly became the group's biggest-ever British hit in 2007. PE brings back that track's producer, Gary "G-Wiz" Rinaldo, to produce the entirety of Man Plans God Laughs, and he helps Chuck D create a hard, furious flash of a record that deliberately leans on Public Enemy's history while keeping a steely eye on the present. All the self-allusions -- samples from Nation of Millions, lyrical callbacks, horn stabs straight out of the Bomb Squad -- aren't a way to revive the past but rather to provide a context: this isn't music that came from nowhere, it is tied to history as well as the future. This is the worldview of a group that feels the weight of its years yet is unashamed -- Chuck admits at the outset that he's 55 -- and this sensibility lends gravitas to an album that's just shy of a half-hour. At this length, Man Plans God Laughs speeds by, but it also leaves a heavy imprint, both as politics -- it's a fierce, unflinching snapshot of the ravages of institutional racism, late capitalism, and cultural conformity in 2015 -- but also as music. Early Public Enemy was formatively innovative, but on this latter-day record PE explore and deepen that signature not unlike master jazzmen -- or the Stones, for that matter -- and that's not only worthy of an album, it's groundbreaking in terms of hip-hop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	07/25/2015
Label:	Spit Digital Recordings
UPC:	0810066020504
Rank:	64911

Tracks

1. No Sympathy from the Devil
2. Me to We
3. Man Plans God Laughs
4. Give Peace a Damn
5. Those Who Know, Know Who
6. Mine Again
7. Lost in Space Music
8. Corplantationopoly
9. Earthizen
10. Praise the Loud

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Public Enemy   Primary Artist
Sheila Brody   Vocals
Terminator X   Scratching
Davy DMX   Bass
Jesse Garcia   Vocals (Background),Vocals (Background)
Khari Wynn   Guitar
Eric Brown   Guitar
DJ Lord   Scratching
T-Bone Motta   Drums
Jared Garcia   Vocals (Background)
Kate Gammell   Vocals (Background)
Niki Rinaldo   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Andy Katz   Sleeve Art
The Banned   Group Member
J. Allen   Composer
Flavor Flav   Group Member
Davy DMX   Group Member
Chuck D   Composer,Material,Group Member
Professor Griff   Group Member
James Bomb   Group Member
Paul Logus   Mastering
Keith Richards   Composer
Khari Wynn   Group Member
Mick Jagger   Composer
Pop Diesel S1W   Group Member
Gary G-Wiz   Composer,Producer
Barry Allen   Composer
William Drayton   Composer
Carlton Ridenhour   Composer
Shah   Composer
Lorrie Boula   Executive Producer
Drayton   Composer
Carl Ryder   Producer
DJ Lord   Composer,Group Member
Kelvin Fonville   Art Direction
J.P. Hesser   Vocal Engineer
T-Bone Motta   Group Member