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Track:Revolutioary Generation
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Public Enemy
Fear of a Black Planet
Play Fear of a Black Planet
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AMG Review of Fear of a Black Planet
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music GuideAt 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 eggae 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.
Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet (1990)
Just a warning.......
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In case you missed it last week, tomorrow is throwback hip hop night. Grab your Kangols, shell toes Adidas, door knocker earings, and what ever you need to get into the mood. Music drops after 6, and please someone remember the cardboard box this time.
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...A Message to David H: Death to the Alien Head!!!
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Track:Final Count Of The Collision Between Us And The Damned - (TRUE instrumental)
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Just a warning.......
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Artist:
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Album:
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Track:
In case you missed it last week, tomorrow is throwback hip hop night. Grab your Kangols, shell toes Adidas, door knocker earings, and what ever you need to get into the mood. Music drops after 6, and please someone remember the cardboard box this time.
More >
Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet (1990)
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Track:Revolutioary Generation
Fear of A Black Planet: Original Samples
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If you're new to the site, forget about every other sample set posted and grab this one right here! You will not find a more comprehensive and complete set of samples. You name it, and it was probably sampled on Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet. 95 samples in all; we [...]
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 "Fear of a Black Planet")
