Public Enemy Go Off the ‘Grid’ in Animated Video With Cypress Hill, George Clinton

Public Enemy have dropped a new animated video for “Grid,” their searing collaboration with Cypress Hill and George Clinton.

“Grid” finds the hip-hop stalwarts and funk legend launching a blistering salvo against tech overload and overlords, envisioning what might happen if we’re all forced off the grid. The accompanying clip brings those lyrics to life and amplifies them with an array of clever references: There are nods to Schoolhouse Rock and the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia conspiracy meme during B-Real’s verse, while the clip ends with a nod to Scooby-Doo, as Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, and Clinton unmask a ghost with a KKK hood to find Donald Trump underneath.

The “Grid” video was directed by Ice the Endless, with background by ThatOneDudeZach and visual effects by RMELL and ARTJCON.

“Grid” appears on Public Enemy’s most recent album, What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down? which arrived in September. The album follows Loud Is Not Enough, which they released in April as Public Enemy Radio after Chuck D seemed to fire Flavor Flav from the group for refusing to participate in a Bernie Sanders rally (Chuck later claimed it was an elaborate April Fool’s joke). The group’s last album as Public Enemy was 2017’s Nothing Is Quick in the Desert.