Rap and Hip Hop pioneers Public Enemy, along with Cypress Hill and the Prime Minister of Funk himself, George Clinton, got together to film a brand new video for their ominous post-apocalyptic song GRID.
The song’s lyrics warn of the impending problems we’ll have when the grid goes down and technology stops working. “No apps, just maybe perhaps, no GRID is what we need for new human contact,” the song professes.
The song is featured on Public Enemy’s latest album, What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down, which also features old school collaborations with Run DMC, Ice-T, Nas, Rapsody, DJ Premier, YG, and Black Thought. This album is also important because it marks Public Enemy’s return to Def Jam Recordings, whom they haven’t recorded with since 1994.
Public Enemy’s single “GRID” featuring Cypress Hill and George Clinton is a post-apocalyptic view of the world after it collapses into a technological desert after the “grid goes down” and, today, the legendary… https://t.co/Vlg18redYl #YOURMEGAHITSTATION
— King Cnote (@kingcnote242) December 14, 2020
The original video for the song was completely animated and had very little to do with the apocalyptic setting of the song’s lyrics, but this latest video, directed by David C. Snyder, depicts Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Flavor Flav, Cypress Hill’s B-Real and Sen-Dog, and George Clinton together in a wasteland desert setting.
“Listen real close to what I’m saying,” the song continues. “Folks might have to pick up a book, pick up a pen. Hey, back to basics again.”
Of course this isn’t the first time a major Hip Hop artist has released a post-apocalyptic-themed music video. I can’t help but think of Tupac’s groundbreaking video for California Love in 1995 which showed off a well-constructed Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome vibe. And even Public Enemy themselves have previously released an album entitled Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black.
What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down was released in September 2020 and is available as a digital download from the group’s main website.
