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Release date: 01/06/2009

Public Enemy's status as the most respected act in hip-hop history owes much to Chuck D's chops as an R&B vocalist. We usually don't think of rappers as vocalists, because so little melody is involved. A rapper, though, has to deal with tone, projection, and phrasing at least as much as a soul crooner. And few vocalists of any genre can match Chuck D's rich, rumbling baritone; his supremely confident authority; or his crisp, staccato articulation--all present on The Autobiography of Mistachuck, his first solo effort. "To all the cynics I fought," he raps, "my record speaks for itself." His long line of groundbreaking singles and albums indeed does, but at the age of 36, his voice seems bigger, calmer, and more self-assured than ever as he promises to "keep hitting nerve bombs." --Geoffrey Himes