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Public Enemy
Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy:  Fear Of A Black Planet

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Album Review

Released: 1990
Label: Def Jam
Selection #: 134718
Fight The Power, 911 Is A Joke, Brothers Gonna Work It Out, Burn Hollywood Burn, Welcome To The Terrordome, Revolutionary Generation, more.
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1 Contract on the World Love Jam [Instrumental]
2 Brothers Gonna Work It Out
3 911 Is a Joke
4 Incident at 66.6 FM [Instrumental]
5 Welcome to the Terrordome
6 Meet the G That Killed Me
7 Pollywanacraka
8 Anti-Nigger Machine
9 Burn Hollywood Burn
10 Power to the People
11 Who Stole the Soul?
12 Fear of a Black Planet
13 Revolutionary Generation
14 Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man
15 Reggie Jax
16 Leave This off Your Fu*kin Charts [Instrumental]
17 B Side Wins Again
18 War at 33 1/3
19 Final Count of the Collison Between Us and the Damned [Instrumental]
20 Fight the Power
  
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Album Review

At the time of its release in March 1990 -- just a mere two years after "It Takes a Nation of Millions" -- nearly all of the attention spent on Public Enemy's third album, "Fear of a Black Planet", was concentrated on the dying controversy over Professor Griff's anti-Semitic statements of 1989, and how leader Chuck D bungled the public relations regarding his dismissal. References to the controversy are scattered throughout the album -- and it fueled the incendiary lead single, "Welcome To The Terrordome" -- but years later, after the furor has died down, what remains is a remarkable piece of modern art, a record that ushered in the '90s in a hail of multi-culturalism and kaleidoscopic confusion. It also easily stands as the Bomb Squad's finest musical moment. Where "Millions" was all about aggression -- layered aggression, but aggression nonetheless -- "Fear of a Black Planet" encompasses everything, touching on seductive grooves, relentless beats, hard funk, and dub reggae without blinking an eye. All the more impressive is that this is one of the records made during the golden age of sampling, before legal limits were set on sampling, so this is a wild, endlessly layered record filled with familiar sounds you can't place; it's nearly as heady as the Beastie Boys' magnum opus "Paul's Boutique" in how it pulls from anonymous and familiar sources to create something totally original and modern. While the Bomb Squad was casting a wider net, Chuck D's writing was tighter than ever, with each track tackling a specific topic (apart from the aforementioned "Welcome To The Terrordome," whose careening rhymes and paranoid confusion are all the more effective when surrounded by such detailed arguments), a sentiment that spills over to Flavor Flav, who delivers the pungent black humor of "911 Is A Joke," perhaps the best-known song here. Chuck gets himself into trouble here and there -- most notoriously on "Meet The G That Killed Me," where he skirts with anti-homophobia -- but by and large, he's never been so eloquent, angry, or persuasive as he is here. This isn't as revolutionary or as potent as "Millions", but it holds together better, and as a piece of music, this is the best hip-hop has ever had to offer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

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Other albums by: Public Enemy
Public Enemy:  Power To The People And The Beats: Public Enemy's Greatest Hits AMG Top Pick Listen Parental Advisory Greatest Hits Public Enemy
Power To The People And The Beats: Public Enemy's Greatest Hits

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Public Enemy:  Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Back 1991 Listen Parental Advisory Public Enemy
Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Back 1991

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Public Enemy:  It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back AMG Top Pick Listen Parental Advisory Public Enemy
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