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Outkast vs Public Enemy

BallzDeepBallzDeep 612 Posts
edited June 2011 in Strut Central
big argument today at the workplace...
fools be sayin all sorts of shit left and right...
so i thought i'd take it to the experts...

who is better?
if you could only keep Outkasts first 4 records or PEs first 4 records, who's would you choose?
PE is obviously more historically significant, how much does that factor in?
bomb squad vs organized noize?
andre/big boi vs chuck d?

personally i go with Outkast as they are much more listenable to me.
curious as to what you all think.

peace out,
Mike
«13

  Comments

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
  • badder_than_evilbadder_than_evil 951 Posts
    Public Enemy.
    Not even close..
  • jaymackjaymack 5,199 Posts
    I was living my tender teenage years listening to ATLiens, yet the soundscape of the Shocklee brothers coat my childhood memories, so it's a tough choice for me.


    Not playing.
  • BallzDeepBallzDeep 612 Posts
    badder_than_evil said:
    Public Enemy.
    Not even close..

    do you find yourself listening to PE more than Outkast?
  • CinisterCeeCinisterCee 863 Posts
    I have all of OutKast's albums and I definitely go back to PE more often. I would also say "not even close" here.
  • fckvwlsfckvwls 178 Posts
    Public enemy. Chuck D, bomb squad, pre flavor of love (greatest hype man ever)>>> andre and big boi.
  • parallaxparallax no-style-having mf'er 1,266 Posts
    fckvwls said:
    Public enemy. Chuck D, bomb squad, pre flavor of love (greatest hype man ever)>>> andre and big boi.

    +1

    Kindly,
    parallax
  • amphibiousamphibious 147 Posts
    gotta go with outkast mostly just cause of personal history, been bumping their shit since I was 11 and still go to their records more often than PE. Obviously PE is fucking great though.
  • soundsrealsoundsreal 128 Posts
    I'd say about even in terms of pure listening enjoyment. But if I had to choose only one and not listen to the other for the rest of my life, Public Enemy over Outkast not even a moment's hesitation. Why? Outkast can be easily replaced by at least 6 other groups out there but there can only ever be 1 PE.
  • Records_RecycledRecords_Recycled 36 Posts
    P.E. without even having to think about it !
  • DanteDante 371 Posts
    There's and old spanish saying that goes: "That's like comparing God with a gipsy".

    Public Enemy all the way.
  • CraigCraig 269 Posts
    There's no comparison in my mind it would be Public enemy all the way, especially seen as I don't own any Outcast LP's. The first three Public enemy LP's are unf*ckable.
    :game_over:
  • soundsrealsoundsreal 128 Posts
    Dante said:
    There's and old spanish saying that goes: "Public Enemy all the way".

    .
  • the_dLthe_dL 1,531 Posts
    PE
    I wish I could say it was close, I have a huge amount of respect for how innovative and talented Outkast are, but I grew up on PE, in my mind ITANOM is still my personal favorite rap album.
  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
    Craig said:
    The first three Public enemy LP's are unf*ckable.
    :game_over:

    Location, location, location.
  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    gareth said:
    Craig said:
    The first three Public enemy LP's are unf*ckable.
    :game_over:

    Location, location, location.

    And generation, generation, generation. If you were old enough and listening to rap when Public Enemy really started hitting, it's not a contest. That shit changed the way people thought about not just music, but the world around them. If you came up during Outkast's reign and only absorbed PE through retrospect, I could see how it would be a tougher argument.

    PE all day
  • DB_CooperDB_Cooper Manhatin' 7,823 Posts
    I mean, Chuck D is on my short list of personal heroes. With Muhammad Ali and 'nem. It's beyond music for me.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    DB_Cooper said:
    And generation, generation, generation. If you were old enough and listening to rap when Public Enemy really started hitting, it's not a contest. That shit changed the way people thought about not just music, but the world around them. If you came up during Outkast's reign and only absorbed PE through retrospect, I could see how it would be a tougher argument.

    This
  • devoglamdevoglam 143 Posts
    I think this is a good debate... Personally, I'd go with Outkast. My location AND generation both align with their run. However, I would not argue with anyone who says PE.
  • JamalJamal 410 Posts
    a good debate? are u serious?


    This is the weirdest comparison ever.. so many different ground it cant be compared
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Jamal said:
    a good debate? are u serious?


    This is the weirdest comparison ever.. so many different ground it cant be compared

    White folks loved them some Hey-Ya as much as they were all about PE in the late 80s.

    Both are White Media Darlings. Both were Era Defining acts.

    I think OutKast played a big hand in ushering in or setting up 'Post-Hip Hop'.
    Even the first album had twinklings of not just an MC/DJ/Rapper artist.
    Funky Ride still sounds fresh to this day for me.
  • devoglamdevoglam 143 Posts
    Jamal said:
    a good debate? are u serious?


    This is the weirdest comparison ever.. so many different ground it cant be compared

    Both had a long run of 4 or so excellent albums that define their era. What other group from the 90's-early 00's can even touch PE as far as their impact, popularity, acclaim, and output?
  • BallzDeepBallzDeep 612 Posts
    dang!
    this ain't even close is it?
    i thought it would be tighter, guess not.

    some good insight here as usual.
  • JamalJamal 410 Posts
    devoglam said:
    Jamal said:
    a good debate? are u serious?


    This is the weirdest comparison ever.. so many different ground it cant be compared

    Both had a long run of 4 or so excellent albums that define their era. What other group from the 90's-early 00's can even touch PE as far as their impact, popularity, acclaim, and output?

    Why should anyone "touch" PE...?
    too many differences bro
    just because they share a criteria doesnt make it comparable.

    different era
    different style of hiphop.. just plain different music

    Public Enemy is Public Enemy and Outkast is Outkast.

    my two cents..carry on.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Jamal said:
    devoglam said:
    Jamal said:
    a good debate? are u serious?


    This is the weirdest comparison ever.. so many different ground it cant be compared

    Both had a long run of 4 or so excellent albums that define their era. What other group from the 90's-early 00's can even touch PE as far as their impact, popularity, acclaim, and output?

    Why should anyone "touch" PE...?
    too many differences bro
    just because they share a criteria doesnt make it comparable.

    different era
    different style of hiphop.. just plain different music

    Public Enemy is Public Enemy and Outkast is Outkast.

    my two cents..carry on.

    I think PE and OutKast do have some overlap. I wasnt messin w/ PE by like 92/93 or somethin'
    OutKast have political undertones that link up w/ PE and the latter 80's/90's Black Power Hip Hop.
    By the time OutKast peaked PE was out of the picture.
    I dont think they are that distant from each other despite the diff eras.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Jamal said:
    What other group from the 90's-early 00's can even touch PE as far as their impact, popularity, acclaim, and output?

    A Tribe Called Quest had big run right after PE debuted in 87. Tribe 89 past PE's run.
  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts
    Jamal said:
    devoglam said:
    Jamal said:
    a good debate? are u serious?


    This is the weirdest comparison ever.. so many different ground it cant be compared

    Both had a long run of 4 or so excellent albums that define their era. What other group from the 90's-early 00's can even touch PE as far as their impact, popularity, acclaim, and output?

    Why should anyone "touch" PE...?
    too many differences bro
    just because they share a criteria doesnt make it comparable.

    different era
    different style of hiphop.. just plain different music

    Public Enemy is Public Enemy and Outkast is Outkast.

    my two cents..carry on.

    Well, that's a good attitude on an internet message board...
  • JamalJamal 410 Posts
    gareth said:
    Jamal said:
    devoglam said:
    Jamal said:
    a good debate? are u serious?


    This is the weirdest comparison ever.. so many different ground it cant be compared

    Both had a long run of 4 or so excellent albums that define their era. What other group from the 90's-early 00's can even touch PE as far as their impact, popularity, acclaim, and output?

    Why should anyone "touch" PE...?
    too many differences bro
    just because they share a criteria doesnt make it comparable.

    different era
    different style of hiphop.. just plain different music

    Public Enemy is Public Enemy and Outkast is Outkast.

    my two cents..carry on.

    Well, that's a good attitude on an internet message board...


    Why dude?
    We are still the same people arent we? its just a setting.
    it was my two cents my opinion about it..like i said carry on.
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    I think Public Enemy is the better catalog in a sense. You're really talking about groundbreaking shit there. On a musical level, there are more layers to pick apart - I'm still noticing small things here and there in those recordings. Chuck D's lyrics are certainly more full of specific cultural references and a depth of political, socioeconomic, and religious knowledge than Outkast's. I think Public Enemy wins a "versus" argument on merits, all other things being equal. But if it were a "desert island" sort of decision, I think I would go with Outkast; while Dre and Big Boi don't drop gems with the kind of bibliotechnical specificity that Chuck D was capable of, and the production isn't as mindblowingly inventive (particularly given the technical limitations of the era that the Bomb Squad operated in), they cover a broader range of emotions in their songs, and a broader musical range, than Public Enemy does. If I was headed to that vaunted desert island and couldn't bring anything else musical, that'd be my choice.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    Not being a really big hip hop dude & coming from a punk rock background, both of these groups made waves in their time. For me "Nation Of Millions" was the first Hip Hop album I actually bought. Apart from being subjected to Vanilla Ice & MC Hammer tapes in my cousin's car on the drive to school, PE (& Beastie Boys) shaped my understanding of Hip Hop in the late 80s/early 90s. I love Outkast but Public Enemy personally are a level above. So Public Enemy for me.
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