Fear of a Black Planet

I think I like It Takes a Nation... a little more but this one is insane as well

What a great album, probably the best hip hop album out there.

AARP-aged white woman checking in: this album is banging, and the lyrics are important. Five stars all the way.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.

I’ve never really heard Public Enemy before this; obviously I know about Chuck D and Flavor Flav in terms of name recognition and everything in between, but I’ve never listened. God, what a fool I feel like – this album is fucking rocking from top to bottom (ok, there’s a few lulls, but shh). In terms of just about everything from flow, to lyricism, to vocals, and especially in terms of the instrumentals, this album very rarely missed a beat for me.

With that said, I think a few tracks could’ve been cut down or cut out entirely, and that’s really my only major flaw with this album; 63 minutes is a bit of time to commit to an album that never really takes its foot off the gas pedal, even with the amount of instrumental breaks here. The amount of sampling, especially in terms of spoken word speeches and radio criticisms really make it feel like an album that desires your attention at all times, as it should. I just think for my tastes there weren’t many points where I, as the listener, got a chance to fully breathe. Even when songs hit those long instrumental points, they’re so full of evolving noise that you can’t really take that step back to appreciate them. The biggest offender of this is easily the 5:43 runtime of Revolutionary Generation, which just went on for so long that it almost diluted the message for me.

That’s a fucking nitpick though, really; I thought this was a fabulous album, and I’m honestly kinda glad it tested me as a listener. Paying attention for that much time through that many samples and that type of production (again, fantastic production) felt like an endurance test, and it’s a test I probably wouldn’t have gotten through at the start of this entire 1001 Albums bit. I could keep gushing about the flow and the lyrics and all of it, but I’m just glad this album lived up to the very high bar that was in my head. Very deserving of a 5.

Some old school hip hop. Some tracks are pretty cool

Fear Of A Black Planet was a fairly mixed bag for me. The songs here kept flip flopping in quality. On one hand, some of the songs have weak rapping and annoying samples , But on the other, The other songs have cool rapping, interesting sample usage (including one sounding like it's from Michael Jackson's Thriller). and groovy beats. The lyrics here are also cool at points and are never insanely dumb unlike some other hip hop albums. This is a generally good album overall where most of it's good aspects outweigh it's bad aspects.
Best Song: Brothers Gonna Work It Out
Worst Song: 911 Is A Joke

Motziges Hip Hop Album mit Rap und Acid Einschlag. Mich schreckt die Musik ab, so dass ich gar nicht zum exzentrischen Sprechgesang durchkomme. Das Beste am Album ist das Ende. Man hat dieses Album dank der lebensrettenden Skip Tast überstanden.

the production on this is chaotic, overwhelming, and unrelenting. this is a memorable listen, every track has a distinct feel. love the sample heavy feel

you can really feel the groups anger and indignation through each and every song. fight the power is such an incredible closer, really sums the album up well.

A very good album. It's definitely old school, but it somehow doesn't sound as dated as Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted, which was released the same year. Flavor Flav is better as a hype man than the main vocalist, so the songs that he features on are just a little weaker than the songs fronted by Chuck D, though 911 is a Joke is a classic. Like the Ice Cube album, I'd give this a 3.5 if I could, but in this format, I think the fact that it still sounds fresh, plus the fact that the lyrics and ideas on this album still hold up, pushes this to 4 stars.

Det er lidt sjovt, for jeg er allerede blevet mere glad for rap (i sær fra 80-90'erne) men lige den her stil var ikke super meget mig.

Album Review: Fear of a Black Planet – Public Enemy

Brothers Gonna Work It Out and Fight the Power—what a pair of tunes! This album is a definite keeper; it’s going straight into my playlist for repeat listens. As Public Enemy’s 9th studio album, it’s clear I’ll be diving into their back catalog soon.

The album tackles heavy, thought-provoking subject matter with powerful delivery, making it both impactful and poignant. The combination of strong lyrics and sharp performance makes it a standout in early hip-hop.

Favourite Song: Brothers Gonna Work It Out—a standout track, though all the songs are great.
Least Favourite Song: Reggie Jax—didn’t quite hit the same mark for me as the others.
Album Artwork: A striking image that perfectly captures the album’s bold message.

An essential album for any hip-hop fan, blending social consciousness with unforgettable beats.

Ik zette dit eerder tegenover de funky rappers uit dezelfde tijd. Maar hoe eerlijk is dat eigenlijk? Als het album voortkomt uit een continue gevoel over onrecht, dan is Public Enemy eigenlijk nog ingetogen. Je zou het toch uitschreeuwen, vloeken en tieren. Public Enemy laat de emotie overkomen, maar schieten zowel in de tekst als in de muziek niet door. Ze weten hun gevoel van onrecht te verwoorden . Ook fijn; ze verzanden daarbij niet in stoer-doenerij.

Muzikaal weten ze het te begeleiden met geluiden waar je maar moet opkomen om ze muzikaal te gebruiken. Er wordt veel gerepeteerd, maar met allerlei ingrepen zorgen ze dat het niet saai wordt. Belangrijk daarbij is ook de afwisseling en het samenvallen van Chuck D en Flavour Flav. Wat ook functioneel wordt ingezet om je daar waar zij dat belangrijk vinden de tekst te accentueren. Zelf als ze hun stem vervormen tot smurfen-geluid is dat functioneel en muzikaal niet eens vervelend.

Public Enemy biedt daarmee niet alleen een basis voor veel rappers, maar ook voor veel elektronische muziek.

Een makkelijke 5 sterren. 'Yeah, Boyyyy'.

This is good stuff. I like Chuck D's rhymes, and the samples are brilliantly put together. Welcome to the Terrordome and Who Stole the Soul were the standouts for me, but the whole thing was pretty enjoyable.

Relentless and powerful to the point of exhaustion.

I’ve always felt like PE had a problem with quality control. There are amazing songs on this album, but there’s also a lot of filler. They could’ve knocked probably fifteen minutes off of this album and it would’ve been perfect. If not for the bloat this would be a 5 star for me.

2022: got It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, rly liked it
2023: got Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black, wasn't a fan
2024: I'm not sure what to expect, but I already know "Fight the Power" is fantastic

I can recognize this is a major achievement in hip-hop, but that's not the same as loving it. The production from the Bomb Squad is *claustrophobic*, with shreds of James Brown, Vincent Price, heavy metal guitar and whatever that whirring sound is on "War at 33 1/3" all co-dominant, each commanding your attention. You'd think this being Public Enemy No. 3 would prepare me for this, but I think the 'sampledelia' is unprecedented even for their records. Unfortunately, I don't have much to say about the vibrant dynamic between Chuck D & Flavor Flav, nor on the potent topics being rapped about.
Vital, revolutionary, just not my thing (until I give it a listen down the road and feel like a dummy for rating this 3 stars)

HL: "Fight the Power", "Welcome to the Terrordome", "Burn Hollywood Burn", "Who Stole the Soul?"

A bit too much sampling for my tastes. It happens so often, the flow of the song gets constantly interrupted for some random news clip or random noises.

Favourite songs: Fight the Power, Welcome to the Terrordome, Burn Hollywood Burn, Who Stole the Soul?, Brothers Gonna Work It Out

Least favourite songs: Meet the G That Killed Me, Pollywanacraka

3/5

Very cool, very powerful

Yeah!

Just absolutely grabs you by the balls and never lets go. So much rage and, depressingly, it feels just as relevant now as it did 30 years ago.