The Evil Empire of Everything

<i>Evil Empire</i> came just four months on the heels of Public Enemy's previous album, and where <i>Heroes</i> rained down hellacious aggression, <i>Empire</i> is more measured in its politics and musicality. Even the album's marquee track, "Riotstarted"—featuring a spoken-word intro by hardcore punk hero Henry Rollins and guitar from Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello—assumes a thoughtful mode. Then there's "Broke Diva", in which PE's resident reality-TV star Flavor Flav tears into reality TV. Don't say these guys have no sense of humour.