Socially conscious rap outfit Public Enemy will release a new album in February that will include four remixes produced by fans. During the summer, Chuck D allowed fans to download a capella tracks of “Shut Em Down,” “Public Enemy No. 1,” “B Side Wins Again,” and “By The Time I Get To Arizona,” from his website slamjamz.com, and invited fans to compete for the best remixes, which would be included on the upcoming album.
Owen Lake and Ross Farwell of Madison, Wisconsin won for “B Side Wins Again,” Jeronimo Punx of Buenos Aires, Argentina won for “Public Enemy No. 1,” Functionist of Austria won for “Shut Em Down,” and Moleman Saphone of Long Island, New York won for “By The Time I Get To Arizona.” All of the winners will receive co-songwriting credit and royalties from the sale of the new album.
“It’s been tremendous,” Chuck D said of the response to the remix competition to Rolling Stone. “We had the a capellas downloaded 11,000 times and had 450 remixes done. Our virtual staff of thirty people have combed through the 450 mixes and picked the winners for each of the four songs. My point was definitely telling people that the world has more to offer. I think the industry pretty much suits itself and protects itself against the ongoing creativity of its public.”
In addition to the remixes, a new song will also be included on the set, “Get Your S
Together,” which was written after the September 11 terror attacks. Chuck D plans to make more a capellas available for remixing on slamjamz.com in December.
