Public Enemy flip Nineties hit into women’s empowerment anthem ‘She Got Game’

Public Enemy have transformed the title track from their 1998 soundtrack He Got Game into an empowering song for women.

Originally featured on the Spike Lee movie of the same name starring Denzel Washington, the updated version includes an intro that samples part of feminist icon Gloria Steinem’s landmark “Address to the Women of America” speech.

It also stars guest appearances from rapper Flau’jae and Retina MC, as well as drummer Cindy Blackman Santana, singer and bassist Blue Detiger, rock guitarist Grace Bowers and US Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel.

Proceeds from the track will benefit the Women’s Sports Foundation and the Black Music Action Coalition’s Female Fund.

The inspiration for the new version came from Flavor Flav’s connection to the Olympics, as he sponsored the US Women’s Olympic Water Polo team in 2024, and will serve as the official hype man at the 2026 Winter Olympics for the women of Team USA Bobsled and Skeleton.

“The partnership is a blessing. It’s cooler than Cool Runnings,” he told Billboard, referencing the 1993 comedy about the Jamaican bobsled team. “It’s Coolest Runnings.”

Flavor Flav formed Public Enemy in 1982 with Chuck D, Terminator X and Professor Griff, achieving success with hits such as “Fight the Power” and “Don’t Believe the Hype”.

“I have a loud, booming voice beyond anybody else’s,” Chuck D told The Independent last year, when asked to describe Public Enemy’s signature sound, “and Flavor has an unmistakably irritating voice that even AI cannot reproduce. We’re the Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of hip-hop.”

He Got Game followed the story of Washington’s character Jake Shuttlesworth, a convicted felon trying to convince his son to help him get a reduced sentence.

Public Enemy’s soundtrack received positive reviews from critics and charted at No 26 on the Billboard 200 upon its release.

The group released their 16th studio album, Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025 in June last year, marking their first release since 2020’s What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?