Thug Life Army

The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music Tisch School of the Arts, New York University in association with Scratch Magazine, NYU African Heritage Month, and Shocklee Entertainment presents: The Making of the hip-hop rap group Public Enemy’s ‘It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’. An in-depth discussion event on the making of hip-hop's greatest rap album February 25^th & 26^th, 2005.

In 1988, Def Jam recording artists Public Enemy released their second album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back to commercial and critical acclaim. Driven by controversial anthems like Bring The Noise and Don''t Believe The Hype, Nation boldly inaugurated the era of political hip-hop, transforming MCs Chuck D and Flavor Flav into musical superstars. With confrontational, hard-hitting lyrics and aggressive, visionary sound, Nation is widely commemorated as the greatest hip-hop album of all time. On February 25 and 26, The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at NYU will assemble original PE band members, producers and engineers with members of the original Def Jam executive team and the nation's leading journalists for a series of panel discussions on the making of It Takes a Nation of Millions. If you''re nostalgic for political music or old school hip-hop - or if you just want a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how great records are produced - don''t miss this once-in-a-lifetime event.

PARTICIPANTS

Bill Adler, Harry Allen, Jon Caramanica, Jeff Chang, Robert Christgau, Lisa Cortes, Chuck D, Glen E. Friedman, Nelson George, Vivien Goldman, Kelly Haley, Dave Harrington, Rod Hui, Charlotte Hunter, Alan Light, John Leland, Steve Loeb, Chairman Mao, Nick Sansano, Chris Shaw, Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee, Biff Warren and SPECIAL GUESTS

Produced by Jason King

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 25

INTRODUCTION and FILM SCREENING - 6-7:30 pm

PUBLIC ENEMY: LONDON CALLING

A rare screening of an in-progress documentary film on Public Enemy's UK tours featuring new and archival footage, directed by Lathan Hodge (2005)

CRITICS WEIGH IN - 7:45- 9:30 pm

A panel of top journalists and critics take you back to 1988 to discuss the historical impact of Public Enemy and the musical legacy of "Nation of Millions"

with Robert Christgau, Nelson George, Vivien Goldman, John Leland, Alan Light

moderated by Jon Caramanica

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26

THE DEF JAM & RUSH ARTS TEAM - 12-1:30 pm

Featuring members of the original creative staff behind the A&R, publicity, management and marketing of "Nation of Millions" and PE.

with Bill Adler, Lisa Cortes, Charlotte Hunter, Biff Warren and others

moderated by Kelly Haley

ON HIP-HOP AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM: A CONVERSATION WITH GLEN E. FRIEDMAN and JEFF CHANG - 1:45-3:00 pm

GLEN E. FRIEDMAN, author of Fuck You Heroes and The Idealist, photographed and designed the cover for "Nation of Millions" as well as P.E.'s first album. One of the most important photographers of his generation, he's also done definitive work with Black Flag, Ice-T, Fugazi, Beastie Boys, Minor Threat, Run-D.M.C, The original DogTown skateboarders, and many others.

Acclaimed author and activist JEFF CHANG is the author of the new book Can''t Stop Won''t Stop: The History of the Hip Hop Generation.

PRODUCING THE ALBUM - 3:30-5 pm

Featuring the original engineers, Greene Street studio owners and members of the famous Bomb Squad production team with Dave Harrington, Rod Hui, Steve Loeb, NickSansano, Chris Shaw, Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee moderated by Chairman Mao

REVOLUTIONARY VOICES - 6-8 pm

Members of the group and special guests reflect on their experiences. with Chuck D and special guests moderated by Harry Allen All events are held at Tischman Auditorium, NYU 40 Washington Square South, between McDougal and Sullivan

All events will be held at NYU's Tischman Auditorium (40 Washington Square South between McDougal and Sullivan) and are free and open to the public.

Seating is first come first served

Picture ID will be required to enter the building

For more information please contact +1 (212) 992 8405

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