Public Enemy have begun preparations on their new album, which will include guest performances by Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), Rise Against, and Z-Trip. The band also plans to enter the studio sooner than originally intended, as they establish a new fan-funding goal via SellaBand.com in order to speed up the recording process. Originally, the band had hoped to raise $250,000 in funds, but have lowered their sights to a more realistic goal of $75,000. They’d originally hoped to raise the quarter-million so as to afford to have guest musicians on every track, but have trimmed down their expectations significantly. Currently, they’ve raised 75 percent of their fundraising goal.

I have no idea what fan-funding or Sellaband is either, but if Chuck D is plugging it as an alternative to the major label system then it must be worth investigating. For more info, visit www.sellaband.com or www.publicenemy.com.