Fear of a Black Planet
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| Fear of a Black Planet | ||
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| Studio album by Public Enemy | ||
| Released | March 20, 1990 | |
| Recorded | Summer/Fall 1989 at Greene Street Recording in New York City; The Music Palace, West Hempstead and Spectrum City Studios in Long Island | |
| Genre | Hip hop | |
| Length | 63:21 | |
| Label | Def Jam/Columbia Records CK-45413 |
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| Producer(s) | The Bomb Squad | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Public Enemy chronology | ||
| Fight the Power...Live! (1989) |
Fear of a Black Planet (1990) |
Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black (1991) |
Fear of a Black Planet is an East Coast rap album by the hip hop group Public Enemy, released on March 20, 1990 (see 1990 in music). The album's musical qualities were overshadowed by a controversy surrounding alleged anti-Semitic remarks by group member Professor Griff. After the controversy had been forgotten, however, the album's critical reception was generally very positive, with many commentators ranking it equal to or better than the previous album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988). In particular, critics were favourable to The Bomb Squad's innovative and diverse production and Chuck D's songwriting. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music credits Fear of a Black Planet's atmosphere to the "bunker mentality" of "clashes with the press", and specifically cites "Fight the Power", which "bites harder than just about any other track in rap's history" (p. 1864).
It was ranked 21 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap 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, 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.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Contract on the World Love Jam" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 1:44
- "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 5:07
- "911 Is a Joke" (Drayton/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:17
- "Incident at 66.6 FM" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 1:37
- "Welcome to the Terrordome" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 5:25
- "Meet the G That Killed Me" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 0:44
- "Pollywanacraka" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:52
- "Anti-Nigger Machine" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:17
- "Burn Hollywood Burn" featuring Ice Cube & Big Daddy Kane (Hardy/Jackson/Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 2:47
- "Power to the People" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:50
- "Who Stole the Soul?" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:49
- "Fear of a Black Planet" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:45
- "Revolutionary Generation" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 5:43
- "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 2:46
- "Reggie Jax" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 1:35
- "Leave this off your Fu*kin Charts" (Rodgers) – 2:31
- "B Side Wins Again" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:45
- "War at 33 1/3" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 2:07
- "Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 0:48
- "Fight the Power" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee/Shocklee) – 4:42
[edit] Billboard Music Charts
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Billboard 200 | 10 |
| 1990 | Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 3 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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* | ||
| "Brother's 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 |
- * First Sales Only Hot 100 single
[edit] Personnel
- Chuck D – Rapper
- Flavor Flav – Rapper
- Professor Griff – Rapper
- Big Daddy Kane – Rapper
- Ice Cube – Rapper
- Chris Champion – Assistant Engineer
- Paul Eulin – Engineer, Mixing
- Rod Hui – Engineer, Mixing
- Steve Loeb – Engineer
- Branford Marsalis – Saxophone
- Carl Ryder – Arranger, Director, Producer, Sequencing
- Nick Sansano – Engineer, Mixing
- Keith Shocklee – Arranger, Director, Producer, Sequencing
- Paul Shabazz – Programming
- Christopher Shaw – Engineer, Mixing
- Hank Shocklee – Arranger, Director, Producer, Sequencing
- Howie Weinberg – Mastering
- Kirk Yano – Engineer
- Eric "Vietnam" Sadler – Arranger, Director, Programming, Producer, Sequencing
- Mike Bona – Engineer, Mixing
- Norman Rogers – Scratching
- Jules Allen – Photography
- Dave Patillo – Assistant Engineer
- Dan Wood – Engineer, Mixing
- Tom Conway – Assistant Engineer
[edit] Partial list of samples
The following lists some of the songs and sounds sampled on Fear of a Black Planet.
Contract on the World Love Jam [Instrumental]
- "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown
- "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic
- "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James
Brother's Gonna Work It Out
- "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince
- "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton
- "Buffalo Girls" by Malcolm McLaren
- "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
- "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & the Family Stone
- "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" by James Brown
- "Fantastic Freaks at the Dixie" by DJ Grand Wizard Theodore
- "Rappin' Ain't No Thang" by Boogie Boys featuring Kool Ski, Kid Delight & Disco Dave
- "Bring the Noise", "Don't Believe the Hype", & "Rebel Without a Pause" by Public Enemy
911 Is a Joke
- "Thriller" by Michael Jackson
- "Hit by a Car" by Eddie Murphy
Welcome to the Terrordome
- "AJ Scratch" by Kurtis Blow
- "Bon Bon Vie" by T.S. Monk
- "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang
- "Psychedelic Shack" by The Temptations
- "You're Gonna Get Yours" by Public Enemy
- "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get it Girl)" by Instant Funk
- "Cold Sweat", "I Got A Move", "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" by James Brown
Pollywanacraka
- "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton
- "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson
- "Schoolboy Crush" by Average White Band
- "I Wanna Do Something Freaky to You" by Leon Haywood
Anti-Nigger Machine
- "Flashlight" by Parliament
- "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins
- "Buffalo Girls" by Malcolm McLaren
- "Change Le Beat" by Fab Five Freddy
- "We Got More Soul" by Dyke & the Blazers
- "South Bronx" by Boogie Down Productions
- "Love Child" by Diana Ross & the Supremes
- "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" by Public Enemy
- "Last Night Changed it All (I Really Had a Ball)" by Esther Williams
Burn Hollywood Burn
- "Hot Wheels (The Chase)" by Badder Than Evil
Power to the People
- "Gimme Some More" by The JB's
- "Turn Me Loose" by Sly & the Family Stone
Who Stole the Soul?
- "Getting Better" by The Beatles
- "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins
- "Make It Funky" by James Brown
- "Stand!" by Sly & the Family Stone
- "Bring the Noise" by Public Enemy
Fear of a Black Planet
- "Flyte Time" by The Blackbyrds
- "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson
- "Underdog" by Sly & the Family Stone
Revolutionary Generation
- "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth
- "Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix)" by Double Dee and Steinski
- "I Don't Know What This World Is Coming To" (Live) by Soul Children
Leave This off Your Fuckin' Charts
- "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash
B Side Wins Again
- "N.T." by Kool & the Gang
- "Bird of Prey" by Uriah Heep
- "Pump Me Up" by Trouble Funk
- "Funky President" by James Brown
- "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa
- "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd
- "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & the Family Stone
- "What You See is What You Get" by The Dramatics
[edit] References
- The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Edited by Colin Larkin. 1992. London. Muze UK Ltd. ISBN 0-333-74134-X
