Do you ever wonder what other people thought the first time they heard some of the most iconic voices of the culture? That’s what ‘The First Time I Heard…’ is all about. We will connect with other rap artists, industry executives, DJs and other voices from the culture and ask them to reminisce about the first time they heard some of the most iconic voices of our culture.

Photo credit: Mindbender

Mindbender Supreme, also known as Malcolm Lovejoy, is a multifaceted creative force in Canadian and global Hip Hop history. A 25-year veteran of the industry, he has released acclaimed projects such as In Another Universe (1999), Fantasyland Before Time (2003), and the 2023 double album ‘The King of Queen Street,’ featuring collaborations with Saukrates, Michie Mee, and Rich Kidd.

As part of the Supreme Being Unit with his late twin brother Conspiracy, Mindbender earned critical acclaim for albums like ‘Mental Reverse/Spiritual Rebirth’ (1997). Beyond music, he is a celebrated journalist who has interviewed Hip Hop legends like Kanye West and Nas.

Mindbender also contributes to his community through initiatives like the Parkdale Street Writers program. His latest single is “Young Vet,” which features Hip Hop legend Michie Mee.

We caught up with Mindbender to talk about the first time he heard…Public Enemy.

The Hip Hop Museum: What was your reaction the first time you heard Public Enemy? Do you remember what song it was?

Mindbender: The year was 1988. The month was July. The city was Toronto. The secret location was me at my cousin’s house in Brampton. He gave me a cassette, which was the format for musical consumption at the time, and he said, “This is the shit. There ain’t nothing more amazing than this new Public Enemy album. You’re welcome.” He handed me the cassette to borrow this album from this group with the hardcore-ass name and hardcore-ass logo. I took it home and popped the cassette into my boombox, with an extra cassette on stand-by to dub my own version of whatever I was about to absorb sonically. I trusted my cousin’s word, as he played me LL Cool J bangers and Ice-T hits previously, so his track record was rock solid as far as a purveyor of pristine boom-bap. I got ready to steal my own copy and get lost in the world of this super popular group. I heard they even had an album before this one, but I never actually heard it. I saw it was called ‘Bum Rush the Show,’ as I read it in the liner notes of ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back,’ which were included plus lyrics, which folded out into a long-ass j-card, covered in Rap scripture from saint Chuck D.

I put in the cassette and heard… ruckus, screaming, chaos. Some British dude introduced some event. Ah, cool. This is new. “…are you ready for the Def Jam tour? Let me hear you make some noise!!” I was intrigued and perplexed. Was this a dub of a live concert? Was this an album? “Let me hear you make some noise for Public Enemy!!!!” Okay, so it is at least the same group I heard so much about, even if it is a dub of a London concert.

Then I heard those armageddon air siren horns start blaring, and it scared the living shit out of me as a young boy. I was so confused by what was happening in that introduction in those first fifteen seconds. I felt my stomach sink, and my mind started to sweat when I was trying to understand why this album started out so damn scary! I felt like that sound meant impending nuclear warfare for real, so why was it on this album intro? This was serious stuff happening on this record already, and I hadn’t even gotten into the first verse! I remember being nervous as hell to keep listening. But I did.

I was blown away, confused, scared, titillated, educated, motivated and activated from the first listen and first impact. I still can see myself laying on the reddish brown carpet of my bedroom with my face looking directly into the double-deck ghetto blaster, eagerly anticipating what else could possibly be heard on this epic album. I listened back and forth to the whole album the first time I heard it. And I was transformed permanently by the powerful expressions of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, Terminator X and crew.

THHM: What was it about Public Enemy that you think made him stand out?

M: So many things pushed them far apart and above the status quo of Hip Hop and modern music in 1988 (and still to this day). First was the untraditional structure of Chuck D’s philosophical poetry and the combination it makes to his unmistakably militant voice. Also, the peanut butter and strawberry jam combination of Chuck D’s smart seriousness mixed with Flavor Flav’s supreme comedic relief and clever observations (as well as the vision of the S1W’s in NOI formation) gave Public Enemy a look and a sound that was unparalleled by anyone in the Rap game. They were a posse of unpredictable warrior philosophers with Black Panther energy in its core. Some other rappers had jewels to drop, like KRS-One, X-Clan and Queen Latifah. Still, Public Enemy truly embodied the era’s essence to the point that if there was going to be one rapper we felt could represent the culture in politics, it should be Chuck D.

President Chuck D has a nice ring to it, and I always thought he could have done well in politics if he wanted to. He embodied all the best aspects of art, business, community, and politics and hasn’t changed to this day. Chuck D is too pure and righteous to be a politician, though. He’s even almost too good to be appreciated by the average Rap savage. Thank goodness he’s carving his path as another Basquiat.

THHM: Do you have a favorite Public Enemy song? And why that song?

BF: It is impossible to pick one song as a favorite, but I have to salute the “Shut ‘Em Down” Pete Rock Remix since that song sometimes makes me cry when I play it. There are no words to articulate the heart-exploding surprise that I felt in 1991, being both a massive fan of Public Enemy and Pete Rock & CL Smooth, who had just put out the classic ‘All Souled Out’ EP and ‘Mecca and the Soul Brother.’ Pete Rock remixes remain a holy and sacred blessing to certain Rap songs, sometimes making the remix better than the original. And Public Enemy has countless songs that are timeless, such as “Fight the Power,” “Brothers Gonna Work It Out,” “Burn Hollywood Burn,” “Night of the Living Baseheads,” and “911 Is A Joke”, but I have to praise “Shut Em Down” (Pete Rock remix) because that’s one of those desert-island mixtape song choices, no doubt. 

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Read more interviews on The Hip Hop Museum!