Hip Hop group Public Enemy stick by their old mantra “we’ve got to fight the powers that be” with an unorthodox album release. The most influential and controversial rap group of the late ’80s is releasing their new single via BitTorrent, an illegal peer-to-peer file sharing site.
‘Get Up Stand Up’ is being given away for free on the torrent site. The track will be distributed as a bundle which, in exchange for users’ email addresses, will also include the video for the song as well as outtakes and 37 instrumentals and acapella vocals, so that fans can remix the song themselves.
Public Enemy will then release their favourite of the fan mixes.
Talking about the torrent release, Gary ‘G-Wiz’ Rinaldo, Chuck D’s manager said: “For many established people in the music business, there’s a fear that comes along with it. We don’t have that fear. The ability to freely share an archive and have flexibility on how it can be used is an extremely powerful tool when it comes to making music and media available.”
Public Enemy were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April and played the West Holts stage at Glastonbury last week.
