Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp
| Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 13, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 48:01 | |||
| Label | Enemy Records, Spit Digital | |||
| Producer | C-Doc, Gary G-Wiz, Z-Trip, Bumpy Knuckles, DJ Pain 1, Divided Souls, Large Professor, Johnny "Juice" Rosado, Sam Sever, R.A.S. | |||
| Public Enemy chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp | ||||
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Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp is the eleventh studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on July 13, 2012, by Slam Jamz. It was sold exclusively at the iTunes Store before its release to other retailers.[1] It was released on CD on November 6.[citation needed] The album is the first of two albums that Public Enemy released in 2012, which Chuck D described as "fraternal twins",[2] along with The Evil Empire of Everything, which was released on October 1, 2012.[3] The album features guest vocals from Brother Ali, Bumpy Knuckles, Cormega, and DMC. The title track "Most of My Heroes Still..." was produced and co-written by Z-Trip.
Upon its release, Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production and found its political lyrics relevant to contemporary times.
The name of the album comes from the line "most of my heroes don't appear on no stamp", from "Fight the Power".
Critical reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Consequence of Sound | [5] |
| Mojo | [6] |
| MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A−[7] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | A−[8] |
Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp received generally positive reviews from music critics. Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four out of five stars and commended Public Enemy for "remain[ing] true to the sounds and sensibilities they laid out back in the late '80s", writing that "the music remains vital and vibrant, possibly because, despite some progress, things still haven't changed all that much and, in some respects, have gotten worse...and as long as Public Enemy's heroes remain consigned to the margins, they'll still make music as dynamic as this."[9] Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly complimented its production, particularly the "newer, weirder, and welcome musical elements" on certain tracks, and called the album "pretty damn great."[10]
Consequence of Sound's Matt Melis gave the album three stars and felt that "a few cuts [are] completely out of left field", writing that "most of this record falls into tried-and-true PE formulas, but there's no dust or rust to be found on the album's top tracks."[11] MSN Music's Robert Christgau gave it an "A−",[1] indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction. Anyone open to its aesthetic will enjoy more than half its tracks."[12] Christgau found it "pretty damn good" and felt that "preacher Chuck needs William Drayton's nuttiness no matter how corrupt it's become, in part because its corruption is a corrective to all of Chuck's conceptualizing." He criticized that, although the album's "young beatmakers echo the old Bomb Squad whomp, the preacher has lost some boom vocally, and like his cadences, the politics are old-school", but "the times justify those old politics more than ever."[1]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Run Till It's Dark" | C-Doc | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Get Up Stand Up" (featuring Brother Ali) | Gary G-Wiz | 5:04 |
| 3. | "Most of My Heroes Still..." (featuring Z-Trip) | Z-Trip | 3:32 |
| 4. | "I Shall Not Be Moved" | Gary G-Wiz | 5:23 |
| 5. | "Get It In" (featuring Bumpy Knuckles) | Bumpy Knuckles | 3:10 |
| 6. | "Hoovermusic" | DJ Pain 1, Divided Souls Entertainment | 3:59 |
| 7. | "Catch the Thrown" (featuring Large Professor & Cormega) | Large Professor | 4:26 |
| 8. | "RLTK" (featuring DMC) | Johnny "Juice" Rosado | 4:38 |
| 9. | "Truth Decay" | Sam Sever | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Fassfood" | R.A.S. | 4:03 |
| 11. | "WTF?!" | Clinton Sands | 6:22 |
Personnel[edit]
Credits adapted from Allmusic.[13]
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References[edit]
- ^ a b c Christgau, Robert (January 23, 2013). "Public Enemy". MSN Music. Microsoft. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
- ^ Chuck D on Public Enemy's Two New Albums: 'They Will Talk to Each Other' | Music News | Rolling Stone
- ^ Public Enemy's Two New Albums Will 'Talk to Each Other,' Says Chuck D - The Juice | Billboard
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (19 February 2023). "Public Enemy – Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Melis, Matt (27 July 2012). "Album Review: Public Enemy – Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Mojo (Publisher) (p.89) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[F]ull of fighting spirit and defiance....There's nothing middle-aged about their power to illuminate causes with the passion of gravel-jawed freshmen."
- ^ Christgau, Robert (22 January 2013). "Public Enemy - Flava in your ear". MSN Music. Archived from the original on 2013-05-29. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Hull, Tom (November 8, 2023). "Grade List: Public Enemy". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp - Public Enemy". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
- ^ Rahman, Ray (July 13, 2012). "Public Enemy 'Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear On No Stamp' snap judgment". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
- ^ Melis, Matt (July 27, 2012). "Album Review: Public Enemy – Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Key to Icons". Robert Christgau. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
- ^ "Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp - Public Enemy : Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
