What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?

Let's face it: If any year needed a new album from Public Enemy, it was 2020. Faced with disease and unrest at every turn, PE returned to their original home, Def Jam, for What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?, a record that consciously reconnects with their past while addressing the present with a clear eye. At first, it's hard to avoid the chaos of the modern world, with Public Enemy pushing their "State of the Union (STFU)" and the existential digital quandary of the title track, but the record subtly shifts gears with "Public Enemy Number Won." Its title is a nod to "Public Enemy No. 1," a pivotal track from their 1987 debut, and it doesn't hide from the fact that neither Public Enemy nor their guests Mike D, Ad-Rock, and Run-DMC have been at this since the '90s. The vibe isn't necessarily nostalgic. Rather, it's an acknowledgment that the years have piled up, that PE and their peers are now not only the old guard, they're survivors. That's an undercurrent that runs through Wh