Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Public Enemy (First Edition)”?
Artist Statement
Edition of 400, $80, Signed by Chuck D, Glen E Friedman, and Shepard Public Enemy is my favorite, and in my opinion, the most important hip hop group of all time. I became interested in the group after reading a Thrasher magazine review of their first album which described Public Enemy’s music as “the new punk”. I was into punk and hardcore all through middle school and high school, but by 87-88 I was feeling they had run their course. I liked the Beastie Boys (who had coincidentally originally been a hardcore band) and RUN DMC, but not until Public Enemy did I feel Hip Hop was the new punk. I love Public Enemy’s first record: Yo, Bum Rush The Show, but it was only the warm up for the sonic and lyrical firestorm of It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet. Those records are must have classics and showed P.E. to be one of the most important forces in music, politics, and culture of the late 20th century. Public Enemy have continued to tour and put out great records for the last twenty years. Chuck D, the group’s founder is an author, activist, and lecturer as well. Public Enemy has been a huge inspiration for me. My design studio (Studio Number One) was named after the song Public Enemy Number One from which the group’s name was derived. The photo the print is illustrated from is by Glen E. Friedman. Glen shot the first two Public Enemy album covers as well as covers for LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys, Minor Threat, among others. Glen’s book FUCK YOU HEROES is a must have (link here). I am incredibly honored to to be able to bring Public Enemy, Glen E Friedman, and Obey together for this collaboration. The print is signed by me, Chuck D., and Glen E. Friedman. Enjoy! – Shepard Fairey
Summary
Public Enemy is a 2008 screen print by Shepard Fairey, published by Obey Giant in a first edition of 400 and signed by Chuck D, photographer Glen E. Friedman, and Fairey. Measuring 24 x 18 inches, it is illustrated from a Friedman photograph of the pioneering hip-hop group. The print honors Public Enemy, whom Fairey calls his favorite and most important hip-hop group, citing landmark albums It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet. Released August 7, 2008 at an original price of $80, it is a three-way collaboration uniting the band, the photographer, and Obey.
Why It Matters
Public Enemy is among Fairey's most personally significant music collaborations, and the source makes that explicit: he names the group his all-time favorite and credits it with redefining hip hop as "the new punk" after his own immersion in punk and hardcore. The print's importance is amplified by its triple signature, Chuck D, Glen E. Friedman, and Fairey, an unusually deep authentication and a convergence of three cultural figures on one sheet. Friedman, who shot Public Enemy's first two album covers along with images of the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Minor Threat, supplies the source photograph, embedding documentary music-photography heritage into the work. Fairey underscores the connection further by noting that his own design studio, Studio Number One, took its name from the song "Public Enemy Number One." For collectors, this combination of personal narrative, music-history weight, and three signatures makes the piece a standout within his collaboration output. It bridges Fairey's roots in counterculture music with his graphic practice, documenting a group he calls one of the most important forces in music, politics, and culture of the late 20th century.
Collector Perspective
This print is a priority for collectors of Fairey's music and counterculture work and for hip-hop memorabilia collectors more broadly. Its triple signature, Chuck D, Glen E. Friedman, and Shepard Fairey, gives it cross-collector appeal spanning street art, music photography, and Public Enemy fandom. As a first edition of 400 at an originally higher $80 price than Fairey's typical billboard editions, it reads as a more substantial collaboration piece. The bold portrait derived from Friedman's documentary photography displays powerfully and carries a strong narrative for anyone who values the cultural history behind the image. It anchors a music-themed wall and pairs naturally with Fairey's other band and musician portraits.
Historical Context
Released August 7, 2008, Public Enemy sits within Fairey's rich vein of music collaborations and reflects the personal punk-to-hip-hop trajectory he describes, having come to the group around 1987-88. The print formalizes a long admiration that also shaped his professional life, as his Studio Number One was named after the song from which the band took its name. By building the image from Glen E. Friedman's photograph, Fairey ties his graphic translation to the documentary photography that defined Public Enemy's early visual identity. Within his career arc, the work exemplifies how Fairey leveraged his rising 2008 profile to unite musicians, photographers, and the OBEY brand in signed collaborative editions, extending his practice of honoring counterculture figures who influenced him.
FAQ
Who signed the Public Enemy print?
It is signed by three people: Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, photographer Glen E. Friedman, and Shepard Fairey. This triple signature makes it a notably collaborative piece. It was published by Obey Giant in 2008 as an edition of 400.
What is the source image based on?
The print is illustrated from a photograph by Glen E. Friedman, who shot Public Enemy's first two album covers as well as images of LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and Minor Threat. Fairey translated that documentary photograph into his graphic portrait style.
Why did Fairey make this print?
Fairey describes Public Enemy as his favorite and, in his opinion, the most important hip-hop group of all time, citing albums like It Takes a Nation of Millions and Fear of a Black Planet. He even named his Studio Number One after the band's namesake song.
What are the print's specifications?
It is a 24 x 18 inch screen print, an edition of 400, originally priced at $80, released August 7, 2008 through Obey Giant. It is signed by Chuck D, Glen E. Friedman, and Shepard Fairey.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.