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BEHIND THE MUSIC WITH HI-FI NEWS & RECORD REVIEW

1988 1989 1990 1990 1992 1992 1993
The Bomb Squad Requested by The Bomb Squad Ice Cube works Created for the The Squad bring Run DMC benefi t
begin stitching director Spike man the boards with The Bomb abandoned US a fun and funky from The Bomb
together their Lee for his 1989 for the Son of Squad on his release of Lisa twist to Peter Squad’s work on
mix of samples fi lm Do The Right Bazerk single debut solo LP, Stansfi eld’s ‘Time Gabriel’s hit their LP Down
and beats with Thing, ‘Fight The ‘Change The AmeriKKKa’s To Make You ‘Steam’ with With The King
the result that Power’ is hailed Style’. A head-on Most Wanted – a Mine’, the Bomb three remixes with the single
Public Enemy’s It a masterpiece collision of beats defi ning hip-hop Squad remix that appear on a ‘Ooh, Whatcha
Takes A Nation and is now Public and samples with album of the ’90s appears in 2014 12in vinyl single Gonna Do’ a hit
Of Millions... is a Enemy’s best a catchy melody in the US on the
watershed in rap known song ensure it’s a hit Billboard 100

human voice scream. We found lift samples from other ‘I call it
other sounds that would replicate people’s recordings. humanism
that. So when you listen to “Rebel Hank also likes to talk because the
Without A Pause”, you’re [in effect] about his multimedia thing that’s
listening to James Brown screaming.’ projects, which he calls being lost today
‘The Future Frequency’. is human feel
CRED WITH EDGE ‘We’re in our – everything
The stunning impact of It Takes laboratories and our has become so

A Nation Of Millions... and Public offices, our studios and pre-programmed.
Enemy’s following LPs like Fear Of A our meeting places, the It’s the strainer
Black Planet, made The Bomb Squad streets, and our homes. approach in that
the go-to production destination for ‘We’re online, offl ine, everything is going
anyone seeking credibility with that seen and unseen, crafting new é Public through the strainer to strain
crucial edge. Artists ranging from works, creating new formulas, and Enemy’s out anything that has any life in it.
Ice Cube, and Run DMC with Down composing future classics… We’re 1999 album So when it comes across the desk to
With The King, to Lisa Stansfi eld, and thinking new thoughts, challenging Fear Of A you, it’s food with no nutrients.
Peter Gabriel came a the status quo, Black Planet ‘My mission now is to bring artists
knocking and got the ‘“Records in fi ne-tuning skills, went on to and songs and people expressing

benefit of The Bomb questioning systems, sell over two themselves the way they need to…
Squad treatment. the ’60s and communicating million copies I’ve never been a mainstream artist.
‘I’m interested ideas… We’re all Hip-hop was alternative – it’s not
in being the fi rst at ’70s made a acknowledging the Chuck D alternative anymore. So, now the
doing things,’ says Mr past, preparing for ê pictured thing that excites me is what is
Shocklee. ‘I don’t like connection”’ the future and living on stage with underground and not getting the
being second or third. in the present... As Public Enemy light of day because people don’t
That’s why I don’t redo or repeat human beings our creativity is the in Sweden in know where to classify it. The future
projects… I always looked at what thing that’s going to save us from June 1991 is going to be genre-less.’
we did as more being a tailor as decay. The future is what’s going
opposed to going to buying your to make us stronger. We don’t have
clothes off the racks in a store. to look at the past and try to repeat
‘You have to know the personality those things. We could do some
of the artist and where the artist new things today.’
is trying to go. And the idea is to
be able to take them on a journey CAN YOU FEEL IT?
where they want to go but do ‘In this digital age, performance
something that they wouldn’t is more important than ever.
normally have done without you.’ Anyone can make a record but the
The Bomb Squad are also famous difference between the records now
for creating their Sample Packs, and those that were being made in
collections of sounds you can access the ’60s and ’70s is that there was a
royalty-free to avoid the lawsuits performance that made connection
that, since the late 1980s, have with people. You’re making people
tended to arrive in your inbox if you vibrate to your own frequency.

DECEMBER 2020 | www.hifi news.co.uk | 93