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By the late 80's Def Jam had become the go-to label for all my hip-hop needs. Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, L.L. Cool J were all well established. Then came the political movement with acts like Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions. In 1989 BDP dropped Ghetto Music - fusing boom-bap and reggae with overtly political rhymes. This was my favorite cut on that album.

If you only know Flava Flav from his embarrassing reality TV career you're missing out.  Public Enemy remains one of the most relevant ensembles in hip-hop.  Led by the militant teacher, Chuck D and his cartoon-esque clown of a sidekick, Flav - the group transformed the face of the genre.  They still put on one of the best live shows in hip-hop.  Chuck D usually led the attack on every track with few acceptions (see "Cold Lampin" and below, "911 is a Joke") with Flava Flav tossing in his trademark ad libs like, "Yeeeeaaah Boy!".

The emergency phone number "911" was invented in 1968 but didn't reach wide usage until the 80's.  On this track, Flav recounts the pains of the inner city and how they struggled to get the same emergency attention as folks in better neighborhoods.  Dig it.