Fear of a Black Planet | ||||
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Studio album by Public Enemy | ||||
Released | April 10, 1990 | |||
Recorded | June-October 1989 Greene Street Recording (New York, New York) The Music Palace (West Hempstead, New York) Spectrum City Studios (Long Island, New York) |
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Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 63:21 | |||
Label | Def Jam/Columbia CK-45413 |
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Producer | The Bomb Squad | |||
Public Enemy chronology | ||||
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Singles from Fear of a Black Planet | ||||
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Fear of a Black Planet is the third studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released April 10, 1990 on Def Jam Recordings in the United States. Production for the album was handled entirely by production team The Bomb Squad, which expanded on the dense, sample-layered sound of the group's previous album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988). Fear of a Black Planet contains lyrical themes concerning organization and empowerment within the African-American community, while presenting criticism of social issues affecting African Americans at the time of the album's conception.
The album debuted at number 40 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling one million copies in its first week. It ultimately peaked at number 10 on the chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Upon its release, Fear of a Black Planet received general praise from music critics and has since been recognized as one of hip hop's greatest and most important albums. In 2003, the album was ranked number 300 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2004, it was chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
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Recording sessions for the album took place during June to October 1989 at Greene Street Recording in New York City, The Music Palace in West Hempstead, New York, and Spectrum City Studios in Long Island, New York.[1] Its recording was at the time of the controversy surrounding alleged anti-Semitic remarks by group member Professor Griff.[2][3] Fear of a Black Planet was produced entirely by The Bomb Squad, which expanded on the dense, sample-layered "wall of noise" sound that was presented on the group's previous album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988).[4][5][6] The album was conceived during the golden age of hip hop, preceding the legal limits later placed on sampling.[7] Music writer Simon Reynolds has called the album "a work of unprecedented density for hip hop, its claustrophobic, backs-against-the-wall feel harking back to Sly Stone's There's A Riot Goin' On or even Miles Davis' On The Corner".[2] In an interview with Stay Free!, group member Chuck D discussed the use of sampling on the album, stating "Public Enemy's music was affected more than anybody's because we were taking thousands of sounds. If you separated the sounds, they wouldn't have been anything--they were unrecognizable. The sounds were all collaged together to make a sonic wall".[8] An analysis by law professors Peter DiCola and Kembrew McLeod estimated that under the sample clearance system that has emerged in the music industry since the album's release, Public Enemy were to lose at least five dollars per copy at 2010 rates.[9]
Fear of a Black Planet contains themes of organization and empowerment within the African-American community.[10] In his book Somebody Scream!: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power (2009), author Marcus Reeves states that the album "was as much a musical assault on America's racism as it was a call to blacks to effectively react to it".[10] The album's controversial single "Welcome to the Terrordome" makes reference to the murder of Yusef Hawkins and the 1989 riots in Virginia Beach, and it has Chuck D criticizing Jewish leaders protesting Public Enemy in response to alleged anti-Semitic remarks by group member Professor Griff.[10] "Burn Hollywood Burn" assails the use of black stereotypes in movies, and "Who Stole the Soul?" condemns the record industry's exploitation of black recording artists.[10] Its title track discusses the origins of white fear of African Americans, particularly racist concerns over the effect of miscegenation.[10]
Songs such as "Fight the Power", "Power to the People", and "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" propose a response by African Americans to the issues criticized throughout the album.[10] According to music writer Greg Kot, the album is "hardly a black power manifesto for world domination, but a statement about racial paranoia. Though he spares virtually no one with his withering raps, Public Enemy's Chuck D is harshest of all on his fellow blacks, expounding on everything from history to fashion: Use your brain instead of a gun. Drugs are death. Know your past so you won't screw up the future. Gold chains worn around the neck demean the brotherhood in South Africa."[11]
Released on April 10, 1990,[12] the album debuted at number 40 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first week sales of one million copies.[13] It also reached number four on the Top 40 Albums chart in the United Kingdom.[14] In its second week, the album moved up the US Billboard 200 to number 19.[15] By June 1990, it had reached number 16 on the chart and sold over one million copies in the US.[16] The album reached sales of 1.5 million copies in July 1990.[17] Ultimately peaking at number 10 on the Billboard 200,[18] Fear of a Black Planet contributed to hip hop's commercial breakthrough at the beginning of the 1990s, despite limited airplay.[3][15][19] In a December 1990 article, Chicago Sun-Times writer Michael Corcoran discussed Public Enemy's commercial success with the album and remarked that "more than half of the 2 million fans who bought [Fear of a Black Planet] are white".[20] On June 7, 1990, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), following shipments in excess of one million copies in the United States.[21]
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | (A)[22] |
Entertainment Weekly | (A-)[23] |
Melody Maker | (favorable)[2] |
The New York Times | (favorable)[24] |
NME | (10/10)[25] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sputnikmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Washington Post | (favorable)[28] |
Fear of a Black Planet received general acclaim from music critics upon its release, earning praise for its production and group member Chuck D's lyrics.[2][25][3] Rolling Stone's Alan Light praised Public Enemy's "determination and realism" and viewed the album as a maturation of the group's previous work, stating "The careening rage of Nation of Millions hasn't been diluted – it's been given focus and substance".[3] Q gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and viewed it as on-par with It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.[29] Los Angeles Times writer Robert Hilburn found that the album "rivals the force and the power of 'It Takes a Nation'" and stated "The secret in maintaining commercial and artistic credibility in the fast-changing rap world is keeping the music fresh, and Public Enemy recognizes that challenge in 'Fear of a Black Planet'".[30] Greg Sandow of Entertainment Weekly called it "a formidable piece of work, and the one pop album released so far this year that no one interested in the current state of American culture can afford to ignore".[23] Sandow noted its music as "more settled" than the group's previous work and stated "There's nothing in pop music quite like it. It sounds like a partly African, partly postmodern collage, stitched together on tumultuous urban streets".[23] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post wrote that its "sonic assault is as uniform as the angry energy that fuels and informs this 20-cut alarm" and stated in conclusion, "[W]hile raising political consciousness, sparking self-awareness and challenging the very foundations of institutional racism must be both daunting and thankless, on 'Fear of a Black Planet' the group shows it's willing to work on the edge, without a safety net. This album is less a revolutionary gesture than a challenge. How it's met depends on how it's understood".[28] The Milwaukee Sentinel's Robert Tanzilo wrote "Public Enemy has proven to be the only consistently though-provoking and musically incendiary rap act to date, and 'Fear of a Black Planet' serves only to strengthen the group's position in the music world".[31]
The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that the album contains "some of the genre's most sophisticated sound designs and unconventionally agile rapping", calling it "a major piece of work, the first hard evidence of rap's maturity and a measure of its continuing relevance".[32] The reviewer complimented the group for "using elaborate, sometimes radical imagery" and stated "At a time when most pop music equals fast, thoughtless, responsibility-free escape, Fear preaches, educates, mobilizes and energizes. As its political messages have grown more refined, Public Enemy's insights have grown correspondingly sharper".[32] USA Today's Edna Gundersen called it "a masterpiece of innovation ... challenging music" and expressed that "PE's pro-black agenda grows more credible and compelling".[33] In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A- rating, which he later revised to an A.[22] Christgau found the group's lyrics "no more suspect ideologically than they've ever been" and stated "Shtick their rebel music may be, but this is show business, and they still think harder than anybody else working their beat".[22] Peter Watrous of The New York Times called it "an essential pop album" and found the music complimentary to its lyrics, writing "On their own, the lyrics seen functional. Taken with the music, they bloom with meaning".[24] Simon Reynolds of Melody Maker viewed that the album's content epitomizes the group's significance at the time, stating "Public Enemy are important... because of the angry questions that seethe in their music, in the very fabric of their sound; the bewilderment and rage that, in this case, have made for one hell of strong, scary album".[2] Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot remarked that with the album, "Public Enemy affirms that it is not just a great rap group, but one of the best rock bands on the planet-black or otherwise".[11] Kot analyzed Chuck D's lyrical themes and message throughout the album, writing:
It's fear that divides us, he says; understand me better and you won't run. 'Fear of a Black Planet' is about achieving that understanding, but on Public Enemy's terms. In presenting their view of life from an Afro-centric, as opposed to Euro-centric, perspective, P.E. challenges listeners to step into their world.[11]—Greg Kot
The album's success with critics and consumers contributed to hip hop's mainstream emergence during 1990, dubbed by music writer Paul Grein as "the year that rap exploded".[34] In a July 1990 article, Greg Kot compared Public Enemy's influence with the album on hip hop to the impact of Bob Dylan, George Clinton, and Bob Marley on each of their respective genres and eras, "given it legitimacy and authority far beyond its core following".[17] Since its initial reception, the album has been recognized by music writers as one of the greatest and most important hip hop albums of all time.[7][35][36][37] In retrospect, Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine viewed that "as a piece of music, this is the best hip-hop has ever had to offer", calling it "a remarkable piece of modern art, a record that ushered in the '90s in a hail of multi-culturalism and kaleidoscopic confusion".[7] In a 1995 issue, Q gave it 5 out of 5 stars and wrote that it "achieved the near impossible by being every bit as good as its predecessor. The music was Public Enemy's now-familiar scream but was augmented with a percussive tinge that reflected the ever greater Afrocentricity".[38] Peter Relic of Rolling Stone gave the album 5 out of 5 stars and viewed it as "more varied stylistically and more downtempo... but its greatest tracks contain just as much lightning" in comparison to the group's previous album.[26] NME stated "the content remained as astonishingly tough and intelligent as before".[25] Sputnikmusic staff writer Nick Butler elaborated on its musical significance, stating "Hip-hop has a habit of moving at such a pace that records date in a matter of years, but Fear Of A Black Planet is utterly timeless. Musically, it's funky, avant-garde, dense, and original... Lyrically, it's inspired, intelligent, emotive, and angry as hell ... Essential, in every sense".[27] Steve Juon of RapReviews gave the album a 10/10 rating and wrote that it "rocks like no other album did before it and very few have since. It's inspiring to hear hip-hop done so masterfully, with every cylinder and piston firing in a beautiful symphonious harmony that keeps the audible engine running start to finish with each listen ... Even though time passes and we all get older, 'Fear of a Black Planet' remains powerfully timeless".[39]
Fear of a Black Planet appeared in the top-ten of several critics' year-end album lists of 1990.[20][34] The Press-Telegram named it the fifth best album of the year.[40] The Boston Globe ranked it number two and stated "In a banner year for hardcore rap, these bitter maximalists still dropped the big one, refracting the sound of urban chaos through the dense prism of production team The Bomb Squad".[41] Pittsburgh Press writer Peter B. King ranked it third on his list and noted its "dense collage of recycled sounds, provocative lyrics and Chuck D's peerless rapping".[42] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune included it on his list of the year's 10 best rock musical recordings and wrote that it "explodes with information, political pronouncements, poetry and passion – it's as dissonant and divisive as the time we live in".[43] USA Today ranked the album number three on its list of best albums of 1990 and commended its "stinging rapidfire essays and sonic booms".[44] Chicago Sun-Times writer Michael Corcoran included the album on his top albums list and cited Public Enemy as "currently the best rockn roll band in the world", writing "This fierce LP is Ben Gay for white guilt as Chuck D assails the oppression of blacks in no uncertain terms. Besides the angry yet often illuminating messages, this record just plain sounds great".[45] The State named it one of the year's best albums and hailed it as "possibly the boldest and most important rap record ever made. A sonic tour de force".[46] Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times ranked the album number five on his year-end list, noting that it "dissects aspects of the black experience with an energy and vision that illustrates why rap continues to be the most creative genre in pop".[47]
Fear of a Black Planet was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for the 33rd Grammy Awards in 1991.[48] In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.[37] The album was ranked 21 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005" publication.[37] Pitchfork Media named it the seventeenth best album of the 1990s.[49] In 2003, the album was ranked number 300 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[50] In 2004, Fear of a Black Planet was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[51] According to a press release for the 2004 registry, "'Fear of a Black Planet' brought hip-hop respect from critics, millions of new fans and passionate debate over its political content. The album signaled the coupling of a strongly political message with hip-hop music".[51]
All songs produced by The Bomb Squad
# | Title | Song writers | Samples[52] | Time |
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1 | "Contract on the World Love Jam" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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1:44 |
2 | "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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5:07 |
3 | "911 Is a Joke" | W. Drayton, K. Shocklee, E. Sadler |
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3:17 |
4 | "Incident at 66.6 FM" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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1:37 |
5 | "Welcome to the Terrordome" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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5:25 |
6 | "Meet the G That Killed Me" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour | —— | 0:44 |
7 | "Pollywanacraka" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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3:52 |
8 | "Anti-Nigger Machine" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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3:17 |
9 | "Burn Hollywood Burn" (featuring Ice Cube & Big Daddy Kane) | O. Jackson, A. Hardy, K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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2:47 |
10 | "Power to the People" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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3:50 |
11 | "Who Stole the Soul?" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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3:49 |
12 | "Fear of a Black Planet" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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3:45 |
13 | "Revolutionary Generation" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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5:43 |
14 | "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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2:46 |
15 | "Reggie Jax" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour | —— | 1:35 |
16 | "Leave This Off Your Fu*kin Charts" | N. Rogers |
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2:31 |
17 | "B Side Wins Again" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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3:45 |
18 | "War at 33 1/3" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour | —— | 2:07 |
19 | "Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour | —— | 0:48 |
20 | "Fight the Power" | K. Shocklee, E. Sadler, C. Ridenhour |
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4:42 |
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Chart (1990) | Peak position |
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UK Albums Chart[14] | 4 |
US Billboard 200[18] | 10 |
US Top Black Albums[18] | 3 |
Year | Single | Chart | Peak position[53] |
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1989 | "Fight the Power" | Hot Rap Singles | 1 | |||
1990 | "911 Is a Joke" | Hot Rap Singles | 1 | |||
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 15 | |||||
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 26 | |||||
Hot 100 (Sales) | 34* | |||||
"Brothers Gonna Work it Out" | Hot Rap Singles | 22 | ||||
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 20 | |||||
Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 31 | |||||
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 36 | |||||
"Welcome to the Terrordome" | Hot Rap Singles | 3 | ||||
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 15 | |||||
Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 49 | |||||
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 8 | |||||
1991 | "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" | Hot Rap Singles | 11 | |||
" • " denotes first sales only Hot 100 single. |
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