Fear of a Black Planet

It's interesting to hear a rap album of this era specifically not mention beefs or objectify women. Yet I bet the people that say that is the only reason they don't like rap still not like this. There is so many bands directly influenced by this album and not just rap. I hear obviously ratm but I also hear Beck.

I don't quite know how to word this, but it's such a breath of fresh air to hear a consice call to action for the black community. And that a third of the band is flav a flav. What a world we live in

Basic bad rap crap. Life is too short not to skip bad music like this

Like. As a white kid in suburban small town UK, this did not reach me at the time (I think only the cool big city kids were allowed to "get into" hip-hop). But this is very clearly a fantastic piece of work, even if it's not aimed at me or my experiences.

It was pretty cool. And it doesn't sound dated.

Exceptional

I can't do anything else while listening to this. So much going on. Almost avant garde in places. Once I'm locked in, the music becomes mighty impressive, righteous and powerful.

Wasn’t my favotite

It was a matter of time before I checked out an album from Public Enemy. I have a soft spot for them, as they're one of the first and most prominent hip-hop groups to put the lyrical focus on racism and media scrutiny in America. I already enjoyed "Fight the Power" and "Welcome to the Terrordome" off this album Fear of a Black Planet. How does the rest stack up?

I can walk away with the acknowledgment that this is one of the definitive Public Enemy albums that can't be ignored, and that starts from the lyrics. Chuck D's flow is strong on this one, where the words coming out his mouth are at a rapid-fire pace on beat while still able to be clearly understood, which is important when getting his point across about the societal issues facing African Americans and the group's perceived image at the time. Though thankfully Chuck doesn't take all the spotlight, as Flavor Flav owns with his funky delivery on "911 is a Joke", and Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube join them for "Burn Hollywood Burn" who brought a lot of lyrical fire to the table.

As for the background sounds accompanying these words, The Bomb Squad employed a variety of samples over a drum machine to give each track its distinct and danceable composition. Whether it's the "Get down" refrain from Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" on "Welcome to the Terrordome", or the refresh given to Edwin Starr's "War" on the spiritual sequel "War at 33 1/3", this is an eclectic mix of funk and audio samples to make each song feel unique.

However, the amount of sampling they got away with is a double-edged sword. For as much as these audio excerpts getting recontextualized can make a song unique, there are instances where it can be too much that it becomes distracting. From the broken-down ending of "Power to the People" to the instrumental "Leave This Off Your Fu*kin Charts" leading into the chopped vocals of "B Side Wins Again" and the radio archive interlude "Incident at 66.6 FM", it can be sensory overload at times. Not helping matters is that this album goes for over an hour, and its length can be felt in places.

Still, I had a good time with Fear of a Black Planet despite how crazy its sound got for its time. It is worth a listen.

One of the greats apparently, I've never been that on board with public enemy personally. Kind of like the Stevie Wonder of rap. I get that it was important but do not enjoy listening.

Everytime I listen to PE I feel there is more I should be listening to. Great beats, amazing lyrical content. Great stuff. 4.5/5

I have listened to 'It Takes a Nation of Millions...' a ton over the years, but never this one, other than the singles. I was really impressed - this is fantastic. I wish I had found this back when it was new. Great flow, energy and beats. Powerful message. What else are you looking for?

Wow, back to back Public Enemy. This one did not grab me as much as "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". Tracks like calling into the radio station took me out of it. Overall still pretty good though.

It's pretty good and also nice to have a rap album that isn't gangsta rap (even though I enjoy that too). I do not care for the sample heavy production. 3.4

I think this is the best Public Enemy album I've heard, but not fully sure

This one caught me by surprise. I thought it was very good!

These instrumentals are as dense as cinder blocks and it’s fantastic. The lyrics are politically charged and aggressive. I want Flavor Flav to be my hype man. Favorite songs were Brothers Gonna Work It Out, Welcome To The Terrordome, Burn Hollywood Burn, Revolutionary Generation, and Fight The Power.

This one has aged really well. Great social commentary. My ceiling for hip-hop strikes again, but it's very close to 4 stars.

3.5/5

I had a song by Public Enemy in the back of my mind, but I can't find it anymore. The background music to the aggressive chanting was quite interesting at times. But it didn't encourage me to listen to more of the album than short snippets of a few tracks. Hip hop is not my genre (is it music?)
1/5

Welcome to the Terrordome!

Conscious rap or political rap goes back nearly as long as rap itself. “The Message” was 1980, maybe? But PE revolutionized the genre and brought the sonic tools to match their overwhelming, aggressive lyrics. A PE song feels like every inch of space is filled with sound, and that’s by design. It should feel claustrophobic. So, I was not surprised when Maggie came to me, almost ashamed, to admit she didn’t like it. Liking it is not the point, although modern conscious rappers like Kendrick, J. Cole, and Lupe Fiasco have found ways to serve up sugar with their medicine. In 1990, we maybe hadn’t gotten there yet. At the time, Flava Flav was that sugar, and by our standards, that’s not enough. No, this is supposed to hurt a little.

This one isn’t as good as It Takes A Nation…, neither as successful at accomplishing its own goals nor as fun, but it remains vital. 911 is still a joke in the communities PE cares about. Elvis remains a hero to most. Any number of recent tweets about JD Vance’s wife show there’s still a fear of a black or brown planet. But in the end, it’s an album I admire more than I love. I’m not too cool to still want some bops. I added “welcome to the terrordome” and “fight the power” to the playlist and kept it moving.