All three volumes present facsimile reproductions of Chuck D's 8"x5" journals, which he filled primarily verso; ink bleed is faithfully reproduced on the obverse, though on occasion a detail of the right-hand verso leaf is given on the obverse of the left-hand leaf. (Seemingly this is done digitally, and appears on top of any bleed-through from the left-hand leaf's verso image.) The feeling is distinct: simultaneously a peek into thoughts under construction, including strike-outs, typos, even editorial commentary given on a later read-through. At the same time, this is not a primitive or unfinished product. These are thoughts in reaction: to current events, to prior thoughts, to historical events -- a mind is on display. It's a heady vision.

VOLUME 1 - THERE'S A POISON GOIN ON! | 2020-02 thru 2020-04 // read 2023-08-11
Ruminations on the effects of the organised effort to attract the mental attention of people; not merely their presence at a show and their attention on the spot, but the default attention paid to internet and smart phone. Evidently these diaries started as an effort to track PE's own experience of this global and contemporary phenomenon, but just as evidently more general events overtake this effort. The event of Chuck D's choosing: attempting to launch a new album, and the effort to grab attention for something that not only declines to use the tactics of online hype, but which in large part seems to attack it. How might this effort be successful and still be principled? As he and his colleagues work on this puzzle, the other event occurs and is very much of no-one's choosing: how to gain attention for public health efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. These two events unspool and intertwine, his reflections providing insight on both separately, and end up together providing the central theme of this journal.

Not having followed PE at this time, I wasn't aware until this reading of the project Loud Is Not Enough and single "Food As A Machine Gun" from March 2020 under the name Enemy Radio. Initially the drama playing out publicly, together with the behind-the-scenes preparations, seemed to contradict one another and confused me as to the tensions and internecine strife. A visit to the official web page and some online articles helped clarify, especially the influence of Orson Welles's "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast hoax.

VOLUME 2 - 45 DAZE OF RE(A)D OCTOBOT | 2020-09 thru 2020-11 // read 2023-09-03
All lines in 45 DAZE are in rhyming couplets, the focus shifting from the first volume's overview of world events overtaking PE's intention to both launch an album and draw attention to social injustice. Here Chuck D concentrates on Trumpism's maladroit handling of the pandemic itself, though with abiding concern for how that affects (and is affected by) black Americans. "The 45 days up to the election might've paled in the 500 haze of days after the election. The insurrection of January 6, 2021 is there and we are still in a daze about it." The conceit of Cult 45 and 45 stylised as a Nazi swastika seem so obvious here, yet I don't recall anyone else thinking of it before or since.

VOLUME 3 - DATAMBER MINDPAPER: ATTACK ON THE SCREENAGERS | 2021-11 thru 2022-02 // read 2023-09-18
An illustrated poem, serving up a hip-hop montage reminiscent of use of samples in late 80s / early 90s in electronic industrial music -- those samples were thematically related (anti-fascist, anti-institutional religion), effectively creating a perspective or outlook bigger than any single instance. In doing so, they helped motivate listeners to figure out specific references that weren't immediately clear ("what film was this clip of dialogue taken from?" or "what's the context to that music sample?"). Chuck D has done something similar here, but inventing the samples and placing them in a graphical work rather than an audio work. ( )

This is a stunning collection. I was absolutely floored when I received it in the mail as I was not expecting the three volumes to come in its own hefty slipcase. Chuck D manages to cover so much ground in these novels that are a little bit more like graphic journals. I feel like every time I open a volume up I am seeing some thing new about our world and society at a very specific place in time. What doesn't Chuck D manage to examine? He takes a look at social media, basketball, politics, COVID, international news. It's unvarnished and wonderful.

In this three volume series, Chuck D comments and draws on some defining moments in US history: corona virus, Trump, technology and more. In Volume 1, appropriately titled "There's a Poison Goin On!", Chuck D chronicles a couple of months of the corona virus. His comments and illustrations are honest and enlightening. Volume 2, also appropriately titled "45 Die of Read October" chronicles Trump's presidency and his 2020 campaign. His drawings and comments continue to be honest, bold, and enlightening. The last volume, "Dataamber Mindpaper. . ." focuses on technology, our attachment to our technology gadgets. On the back cover, Chuck D had this to say "I don't recall any service going down while everyone was locked down. Makes you wonder about all the 5G talk and how maybe they had to stop the world in order to get a new reboot. One thing we know is that humans are attached physically and emotionally to their gadgets and AI is never gonna get dumber. . .as humans will." Whether you like or dislike Chuck D, his statement about AI is true, his thoughts and comments about the corona virus and Trump are thought-provoking, and certainly worth reading. I loved this series and I was very glad that I received this set from the early Reviewers. ( )

An interesting book outside of my norm. Still I'm glad I received it, since I would probably never have looked at it otherwise. My grade is just a personal grade of how much I enjoyed it. ( )

I wasn't sure what to expect with this collection. I'm an avid reader of comics and graphic novels, and I've always respected Chuck D's politics and ways of making them heard. But I'm not otherwise a Public Enemy fan - I saw them once on a double-headliner bill with Sisters of Mercy in the early 90s and I was definitely there for Sisters of Mercy. But whew, this collection is really something. The book is reproduced just like the author's journal pages would've been - you can see the watercolor stains seeping into the backs of pages (so the collection is all single-sided), and you can see the notes he writes in his own hand. The first book starts with the emergence of COVID19, and proceeds from there, covering maybe 2 years over the entire collection. Parts of the narratives are clearly him saying his piece about a (maybe fake) split with Flavor Flav, and parts you can just see his sorrow and rage at a failed US state under a lousy president during a worldwide pandemic, as well as his memorializing a number of people who died over that timeframe. You can see his sorrow that rappers get publicity when they're shot and not when they're making incredible art and music, and you can see the wisdom of someone who has lived this life for many decades and not seen nearly enough change. Much of the collection is written in a rhyme scheme that enables you to practically hear him reading to you in your head. On another note, the publisher of this book absolutely put everything they had into it - the production is excellent. The pages are not only made to appear faithful reproductions in color and style, but the actual pages are heavy stock, like real watercolor paper would be. It's really a well-done piece of work all around! ( )