A few months after fleeing their record label and vowing to release their next album online, the rap pioneers in Public Enemy have found a home on the Net.

PE will partner with Atomic Pop (at atomicpop.com) to give Netizens first crack at "There's a Poison Goin On," the group's upcoming studio album, in May. Atomic Pop will promote, market, sell, and distribute the record exclusively online for a period of time before it hits stores on June 21. For $10, fans will be able to order the album or download it via Atomic Pop's website.

As with most announcements of this sort, the PE/Atomic Pop deal is being ushered in with a number of "first-ever" claims. Given the group's rather acrimonious split with its previous label (Def Jam) and PE's penchant for new technology, it looks to be one that will be watched closely. The group has long supported online music distribution and clashed with Def Jam when the group posted an MP3 of a new song on its official website.

"It seems like the weasels have stepped into the fire," PE frontman Chuck D later wrote on the site about the label's move (see "Public Enemy Remix Album Pulled From The Net"). D later expressed those feelings further on the Net-only track "Swindler's Lust," in which D rapped, "Gotta li'l rhyme but we barely get a dime... If you don't own da master then da master own you / Who you trust from Swindler's Lust" (see "Public Enemy Lambasts Labels With "Swindler's Lust").

Soon after, the group ended its 12-year relationship with Def Jam, and D pledged that PE would release a new album on the Internet in the spring.