“Chuck D Presents Enemy Radio: Radio Armageddon.”

You know Chuck D. He and his counterpart Flavor Flav have been the founders and constant members of legendary hip-hop group and protest music legends Public Enemy for 40 years. If you’re not familiar with Fear of a Black Planet you should go to your streaming service of choice and listen to it right now. We’ll be here when you get back.

The thing about Public Enemy is that it’s got more in common with The Beatles than you’d assume. Chuck D is the John Lennon of the group, the social conscience who brings weight and a message, while Flavor Flav is Paul McCartney, who has more of an eye toward making the music catchy and fun. In both acts, it’s the balance between those two that elevates it to greatness. Flav also brings an added level of musicality—he reportedly plays 15 instruments well.

All that said? Lennon without McCartney is still excellent. Radio Armageddon is a fantastic showcase of what makes Chuck D great.

Chuck D is one of the greatest lyricists in hip-hop, or for that matter in music and the modern world has given him no shortage of material. His mastery of the English language is on full display from the beginning to the end of the album, though it feels like he picks up steam as it goes on. He’s obviously got something to say—it’s the entire foundation of his career—though he says it in a variety of ways.

It’s not always as obvious as you’d expect from someone who performed with most of Rage Against the Machine for a while. But some tracks, especially “Here We Are Heard,” don’t mince around the issue. “Make racists afraid again/ They wanna build a wall between us and Mexicans/ Still on the outside lookin’ in/ Based on the skin I’m in,” is how the song starts and it goes harder as it goes on.

Single “New Gens” is a rare celebration of the younger generations by a man in his 60s. It’s an admirable message, though it features Daddy-O from the legendary group Stetsasonic who’s also in his 60s. The younger generation is included on the album (for example, Blak Madeen on “Superbagg” and Miranda Writes on “Is God She?”) along with Chuck’s contemporaries (Daddy-O, DJ Too Tuff on “Black Don’t Dead,” Jazzy Jay on “Sight Story Style Sound”) so really it’s just quibbling with the order.

If there’s a criticism it’s related to the guest verses. The guests are at the top of their game and the lyrics hit hard. But their appearance puts in perspective that Chuck D isn’t in his 20s anymore. In his younger days, his voice carried a power and rage that you didn’t often hear and, like the rest of us, time has taken some of that edge off. It’s a strange dichotomy because age has strengthened and refined his writing so the words themselves are more poignant.

In the end, the lyrics win out over everything else. It’s political poetry; a master at his craft speaking to the moment in history through which we’re stuck living. Chuck D’s words range from energizing and cathartic, angry and everything between. It’s not perfect when looked at solely as music but it’s top notch when looked at as art.

Follow publisher Daniel J. Willis at @bayareadata.press on BlueSky.