When one considers the “golden age of hip-hop”, Public Enemy are rightly discussed as vital element of it. It’s a vitality that’s both earned and odd, as their acerbic, caustic, antagonistic, overtly political message may seem at odds with the kind of content their contemporaries were discussing.

Yet when viewed as another facet in the rise, and dissemination, of the black culture that PE and their kin were at the forefront of in the late 80s, they can be viewed as part of a more complete picture that aimed to communicate the black experience in America at the time.

Apocalypse 91… is the end of the band’s own “golden age”. Four albums in four years is a tall order for most acts, yet Public Enemy bring this period of their career to a staggering close with their fourth release, bringing things back down to a street level, and handing ...