Public Enemy Secret Album Is Coming Out Next Week

Fresh on the heels of the news that hip-hop gods Eric B. & Rakim are scheduled to perform together for the first time in over 20 years comes word that Public Enemy is releasing a new, secret (until now) album next week.

According to HipHopDX, Nothing Is Quick in the Desert will land on July 4, probably as a free download. Chuck D, Flavor Flav and the guys had been aiming to keep the album a secret, but after a Spanish-language publication spilled the beans on Sunday, Chuck confirmed its existence to HipHopDX with a simple “yes.”

For now, Chuck is on tour with Prophets of Rage, the “supergroup” that also includes Cypress Hill’s B-Real, DJ Lord, and Rage Against the Machine’s Tim Commerford, Tom Morello and Brad Wilk. They’re slated to release their debut album on Sept. 15. Nothing Is Quick in the Desert will be Public Enemy’s first studio album since 2015’s Man Plans God Laughs, and it’ll be 30 years since their earth-shattering debut, Yo! Bum Rush the Show.

While you wait for the album, check out this clip of Public Enemy performing “Bring the Noise” in New York in 1999, another exclusive recording from the bottomless Paste Cloud.