Fear Of A Black Planet

not my vibe

Fight the Power, alone, is a 10/10. ✊🏾 Power to the people, no delay.

Rap isn't my thing, and still isn't. At least this album didn't make my ears bleed in the same way as other rap albums and songs have. I can see how people might like this album, good luck to them.

Very good album, a classic for sure, but I feel like it gets too repetitive afte ra while. Also, it's kinda long (20 tracks).

Consider this album within the political climate f the 1990's.

Felt like 8 knew this album as it's been sampled so much and used in sound tracks etc it all felt very familiar despite my virgin ears. Funky beats cool sounds production is great

Great sampling, cool album

Fight da powa‼️8/10

Favourite Songs: Brothers Gonna Work It Out Burn Hollywood Burn Fear Of A Black Planet Fight The Power

Great album and amazing production. Smaples fit nicely and there were plenty. Full of criticism to the situation of that time that still feel relevant. Musically and lyrically, an amazing album overall.

its okay

An album and a band speaking truth to power with an angry passion. And almost 35 years later these same problems still exist. The album is high energy, impassioned, and cacophonous in the best way possible. The layering of sound, the punching lyrics, the bits where a broadcast breaks in complaining about the band or their music is all so well formulated and cohesive. It makes for an amazing listen and I really enjoyed this album. Fight the power!

So, so, so brilliant.

This goes so fuckin’ hard.

Occasionally amusing

This is like MMFOOD but like older. Bangers

Heard this for the first time only a couple months ago so still pretty fresh in my mind. Full of groovy beats and great production, but there are large stretches of this where the production is doing more talking than the lyrics, which is quite antithetical to a record such as this. When they actually lock in ts shi goes about as hard as you’d expect

We dig. But “Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya, Man” is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard. Closer to a four than a six.

Just very classic 90s American rap album isn’t it? Fun but wouldn’t listen again, beats very similar across the songs so none really stood out.

Right out the gate this already sounded like a rawer album than my previously reviewed Apocalypse 91’, which I loved. The opening instrumental had me hooked. The second track was cacophonous with squealing guitars and front and center loops. A hype track that keeps energy flowing, where actual lyricism doesn’t begin until halfway through the track. Flava Flav’s funky hooks and Chuck D’s fire verses really don’t relent through this album. Despite this constant barrage of unbridled rage against the powers that be, the run time felt 10-15 minutes too long. Understandably so, this album won me over and exemplifies why I dislike the 5-star system. I give it Soft 5. Inflated because I enjoyed it more than Apocalypse.

A curious selection. Album I’ve never really spent a lot of time with.

Fine listen but mostly samples

Some strong points but this is more of a blueprint for current rap than something to return to, imp

Enjoyed this one, not as good as Nation but still sold four stars from me

No lo terminé:(

Too many fillers. If you good shorten this to like 10 songs, this would be a classic.

No notes

Really good!

Old school goodness, full of bangers

Not my cup of tea.

Doesn't seem that long since I had a Public Enemy album. Probably because it was just over two weeks ago that I had It Takes A Nation of Millions. Not that I'm complaining, this is a great follow up.

I remember listening to this album when I was a kid. I liked it so much. I think it was the first album I had ever listen to that referenced white and black people. I was almost proud to know the music when others didn't.

Not for me. I don’t get it. Wish I did….massive genre just leaves me cold.

A powerful album but didn't quite hit musically for me

Not my alley, but an essential album from a historic perspective

It brings you in their world, I will not listen to it a second time but it was cool !

As always, I can get with this, but my white ass can't pass judgment on what constitutes good rap/hiphop.

Day864 - fight the power makes this whole album worth listening to. chuck d at his angriest and awesomest

Overrated to me

Sorry, I just cannot appreciate this music. 3/10

I like Public Enemy and enjoyed this album. Not my favorite album of theirs, but definitely something I could find myself going back to.

Maybe by the end of this I'll have heard enough rap and hip-hop to have a better framework for forming opinions with it. Genuinely I haven't heard a whole lot. It's funny because this is the exact kind of record my parents would've hated me to have had in the house when I was young but listening to it now... I imagine there's people in the US for whom this album would be shocking, and those people suck. Today it's not very shocking to me but in the 90s probably, yeah. Anyway, Chuck D's voice is really good, huh? Favorite Song: Who Stole the Soul?

not THE most sensorially overstimulating albums i've ever heard in my life but definitely pretty up there. the production on this thing is all over the fuckin place, in a way that's sometimes working in its favor and sometimes in a way that's like ok guys we get it you found a great deal on that S900 it's a little unusual that from what i've seen, the Bomb Squad don't get brought up much by people talking about the "mainstreaming" of plunderphonics. it's accepted largely as fact that DJ Shadow discovered the style fully-formed but, like... who do people think he was listening to, you know? chuck has one of the most iconic voices and flows in all of hip-hop and flav is also there. no offense to the man, his body of work(?) speaks for itself but i definitely prefer when he's sticking to his hype man adlib stuff and not trying to rhyme. side note: i wonder if we'd even be talking about this record at all if they hadn't kicked griff out of the band after he said all that shit. i checked his wiki article to see what he was up to these days and apparently he's making the right-wing conspiracy theory podcast circuit so rest in fuckin piss as far as i'm concerned

Now this... this is more my speed. The real star of the show here, for me, are the Bomb Squad's beats. The drums are so aggressive and punchy, the samples so discordant and haphazard, yet so unbelievably catchy... This all is not to diminish Chuck and Flav, however. Chuck's voice is so commanding and attention-grabbing, and his rhymes really hook into one's ears. And Flav is just fun. I wish that I had a Flava Flav of my own, hyping me up... I will say though - as fun to listen to as it is, as a full album, this does blend together a little. Their sound, great though it may be, doesn't change as much as my attention would like across the 60-minute runtime... sadly, I can't give this the coveted five stars, especially when "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" exists and has many more memorable cuts. Favorite tracks: Burn Hollywood Burn, Revolutionary Generation, Fight The Power

911 is a Joke has me torn between liking the message and having to listen to Flav's flow. But getting back to chuck right after makes it easy enough to forget at least. Getting that brief bit of 1990 AIDS homophobia made me double-take lol. I respect this a lot as an answer to the cultural response they were getting. I know already there is Public Enemy material I enjoy more though.

Old school hop-hop. Somewhat Intelligent, non-ghetto lyrics with uptempo drums and other decent samples (imo the best part of hip-hop). 63 minutes is too long. Gets old listening to black, black, black with lame white voices making tripe statements. The power isn't white. It's the establishment and the elites.

Review - actually a touch better than It Takes A Nation Of Millions, had never listened to anything else of theirs before. Score - 8/10 Need to listen? YES

Some Public Enemy is better than no Public Enemy, and Chuck D's voice is one of the greatest things ever recorded. But there's too much nonsense here. As great as Nation of Millions is, this falls way short as a follow up. Aside from Fight the Power and Burn Hollywood Burn there's not a lot that stands out. I've always wanted to like this more than I do, but I've never come around on it. I guess I got a rip in my couch. 2.5⭐️

3 stars Some great traffics with political lyrics that have clearly been influential on artists in the years that followed. However, it suffers from some of the issues of early hip hop such as overly repetitive beats that make the tracks blend together over time and the album being a bit longer than necessary at over an hour. The combination of these factors can make listening to the whole album feel a bit tedious, which I’ll admit is what has kept me from revisiting it over the years.

Great

Kewl

fight the power

Perfect old school hiphop

Flaaaavvaaa flaaaaaav

Loved it

A lot of attitude but got a bit tedious

Solid album! Long tho all the samples can get a bit irritating at times but other then that this shits fire 🔥

Too Scratch heavy. Was like a Terminator album feat public Enemy, half the album it seems like theyre not even there. Felt half arsed. 2.5

👍

The soundtrack for Black History class

An okay album, I liked Brothers gotta Work It Out the most.

This music does nothing for me sadly. High energy and the lyrics aren’t meaningless but just not something I enjoy listening to.

Seda isegi täitsa kuulaks. Albun on tund pikk tho ja hakkab juba vaikselt aju lahustama.

fight the power

3/5. Ben geen hiphop guy (totaal niet) maar dit heeft wel wat, mooi in de tijdsgeest van toen ook, nog steeds relevant politiek activisme. Als je ff tijd hebt, check de film Do the Right Thing van Spike Lee, laatste nummer van dit album is daarvan de soundtrack. Goeie film in hetzelfde thema als dit album.

Kan je moeilijk omheen

Insane samples. Surprising, raw, funny as fuck, this thing hits. Not perfect, a few songs didn’t age great, maybe one too many “yes yes y’all” type vocal fills. 4.5 tho, really good time for me.

Higly influential gem to Rap, masterpiece.

L: 5 M: 7 F: 7 O: 6

I understand that it was a landmark release and it spoke volumes about the zeitgeist of the late 80s/90s, but on a musical level it just didn't hit me and honestly I feel like I'm a bad person for thinking that.

not the music im into, but i can feel the quality.

Of all the hip-hop albums I've listened as part of this project, I'd say this is my favourite (probably in some competition with the Beastie Boys). I really like the lyrics and the message. Good to listen to some hip-hop that is not ridiculously misogynistic, or stupidly violent,... also, they show you can have hip-hop songs with other words apart from the "n word". Really liked the overall concept. Songs I enjoyed: "911 is a Joke", "Welcome to the Terrordome", "Burn Hollywood, Burn", "Fear of a Black Planet", "Can't do Nuttin' For Ya, Man!" or "Fight the power" (best track for me; had to listen to "Killing in the name" by RATM after that one). 4 star for me (again, not a big hip-hop fan).

The hip hop albums on the list continue to be good. But kind of surprised how challenging this album is from a production point of view. It’s noisy, harsh in parts, a bit unusual to the usual polished/smooth production of the 90s hip hop albums.

Chuck D just has the most badass voice. This one not quite as It Takes a Nation of Millions but still essential listening for anyone who likes hip hop

Good but not as amazing as their earlier work I feel

Not for me. It ruined my morning drive to work

Rap, 1990 -> 1

PEAKANUMA SAMPLE SAMPLE SPOTTED!!! PEAKANUMA SAMPLE SPOTTED!!!! Not a single "Yeah boy"? -1 score

Not my favorite, but its a good album

Big boom box blasting beats, old school scratching, and hard hitting verses delivered with a relentless pummeling force. Incredible energy, glorious embrace of the haters, and perfection of the art of the hype man.

Had this album back in the 90's as a scrawny teenager dipping his toes into the world of Hip Hop and it was always a favourite, though I must admit a lot of the cultural touchpoints went straight over my head, and some of the looser, almost slam-poetry delivery lost me at times, especially compared to more straight-ahead stuff from the likes of Dr Dre and Ice Cube. Listening to it now though as adult? I'm amazed how fresh and relevant it sounds, yet simultaneously of its time. Helps that the mix on Apple Music is especially dynamic in it's use of spatial effects. What a great re-discovery this has been!

Good but overstimulating

Awesome.

I heard the drummer get wicked.

Ha! Just listened to this again a little while ago. When my brother was 10 or 11 this and Tribe’s Low End Theory were a couple of the first cds he legitimately bought for himself. Most of his music collection until this point had been copied from other’s copies and consisted of Misfits, Descendants, Minor Treat and other bands that were coming out when he was a baby. For my part, I was ruminating in my locked room over the initial releases from Nine Inch Nails and Ministry. He played this endlessly. At a certain point it seeped in through osmosis. We were able to bond over it. Run into each other in the kitchen? “Hey boiiiii, that peanut butter needs some flavor!” Somehow he was always Flavor Flav and I was Chuck D by default. Didn’t matter that we were two alienated middle class white kids. Public Enemy spoke our language. 5+, the rating can’t possibly be separated from nostalgia. Isn’t that the real power of music? Boolean rating: yes absolutely, very glad to hear and hear again before I die.

Rv

Kinda gave me an headache ngl

Aged better than I thought

Solid

less an album of songs and more a sound collage of Black history wrapped around a runaway freight train. given the driving, consistent tempo, it's hard to tell the songs apart, and the vocal sampling (real and put-on) make it hard to know who's rapping them. it feels almost non-musical in that sense, more like a news broadcast, a manifesto, a montage - its primary object is conveying information. luckily this is done primarily by Chuck D, one of the great voices in terms of aesthetic listening pleasure, and the Bomb Squad, who are just relentless in their tempo but at the same time very funky and fun. the whole project is genuinely unlike anything i know in its overwhelming forward motion and vocal polyphony - it feels like a dance remix of a record that doesn't exist, or a plunderphonics album made in reverse. and if i'm making the record sound prickly, well, it is. i found August 91.... hard to love, and this the same, though bolstered by sheer originality. but at the same time, it's wonderful that listening to Public Enemy still feels like grappling with something, contending with anger and animosity and incredible noise. records like this make me feel like we're all still catching up to them

The social commentary is, unfortunately, timeless. The overall sound is, unfortunately, dated. But its solid and well produced, if a little long. I don't like a lot of hip hop because so much of it is just wanker posers glorifying violence and misogyny to try to sound controversial. But this wasn't controversial because it was saying to beat down on others, it was controversial because its black people saying they're being treated unfairly. There's nothing scarier to white America than black people singing about treating your fellow man and woman with respect.

Imagine putting Fight the Power after one full hour of relentless rhymes

Ferocious from start to end. Definitely sounds like an album from 1989 in terms of production but it really kicks you in the gut. Lyrically impeccable. What a band.

Ah, Public Enemy ! Ça fait bien plaisir de tomber là-dessus !

4 singles fight the power like PE's Bossanova The sampling is premier! done in 89? out in 1990 And call backs from old albums... the through line AND the beginnings of drum&bass direct lines to DJ Shadow, and early 2000 techno

not for me, 90's rock

Me gusta más el otro, pero es una buena escucha

No notes

Beter dan de 1e

Sounds a lot like sir mix a lot. Would have to listen again to see if any I like particularly

Love this.

Chuck D's flow reminds of a preacher & considering that fact that he's spitting truth about the struggles of the Black man. It's quite fitting. 3

Fight the power! Old school hip hop putting the civil rights front and centre.

What a fucking ride. Loved this! Definitely want to give it another listen, preferably somewhere i can dance my little heart out

90s record sound effects didn't age well for me.

Gangsta Style

Just had their previous album “It takes a Nation…” less than 2 weeks ago (having none for 830 days), and this was quite similar. Pretty sample/loop heavy, I liked the old-school feel, probably enjoyed this a bit less than the last but overall 3.25/5

Es divertido por un rato. Buenos beats. 2.5

Not a fan of the genre but it was a blast to listen to this at the store full volume

Contract On The World Love Jam - 2.5/5 Brothers Gonna Work It Out - 3.5/5 911 Is A Joke - 4/5 Incident At 66.6 FM - 2.5/5 Welcome To The Terrordome - 3/5 Meet The G That Killed Me - 3/5 Pollywanacracka - 2.5/5 Machine - 3/5 Burn Hollywood Burn - 3/5 Power To The People - 3/5 Who Stole The Soul? - 3/5 Fear Of A Black Planet - 3/5 Revolutionary Generation - 3/5 Can't Do Nuttin' For Ya, Man! - 2.5/5 Reggie Jax - 3/5 Leave This Off You Fu*Kin Charts - 2/5 B Side Wins Again - 2/5 War At 33 1/3 - 3/5 Final Count Of The Collision Between Us And The Demand - 3/5 Fight The Power - 3.5/5

Just incredible. Wildly incendiary but ultimately based in love and compassion. Public Enemy are legends.

01) Contract on the World Love Jam (Intro) - 5,5 02) Brothers Gonna Work It Out - 5,5 03) 911 Is a Joke - 6,0 04) Incident at 66.6 FM - 5,0 05) Welcome to the Terrordome - 5,5 06) Meet the G That Killed Me (Skit) - 5,0 07) Pollywanacraka - 5,5 08) Anti-Nigger Machine - 5,0 09) Burn Hollywood Burn - 5,5 10) Power to the People - 5,0 11) Who Stole the Soul? - 5,0 12) Fear of a Black Planet - 5,0 13) Revolutionary Generation - 5,0 14) Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man - 5,0 15) Reggie Jax - 5,0 16) Leave This Off Your Fuckin' Charts -5,0 17) B Side Wins Again - 5,0 18) War at 33⅓ - 5,0 19) Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned (Outro) - 5,0 20) Fight the Power - 6,0 TOTAL: 5,23 (52/100) Current ranking: 802/892

This production still goes so hard and these sentiments still ring truer than a motherfucker.

This is a really cool album, but I feel like I'm not the right person to listen to it or appreciate it fully.

It was fine. Cool general vibe but was very repetitive.

Favorite Track: Fight The Power

Beats were dope. Wild that they had an anti-race-mixing song. How do you do, fellow grand wizards?

5/10

pretty cool 👍

Liked this way more than I thought I would !

the way the album opens sets the tone for everything that follows. but I didn’t like it at all tho, none of the songs felt pleasant to my soul :(

I remember when these guys were at the height of their career, though I really didn't truly start listening to them until a couple of years later when I was in college. This album was a trip to go back and revisit. First things first, Chuck D is amazing, full stop. Yes, rap has always had a strong voice, but it has never been stronger than with Chuck at the mic. His style, his rhymes, his message, all of it. Just the pinnacle, way better and more important than Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and others will or could ever be. Want proof? Listen no further than Welcome to the Terrordome, one of the great raps of all time, driven by the strength of who Chuck D is and his message. Just an all-time great track. But there's a lot more on here than just WttT. Brothers Gonna Work It Out is excellent. 911 Is a Joke is probably Flavor Flav's best track. Burn Hollywood Burn drives so amazingly well (and featuring Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane doesn't hurt). Power to the People and Revolutionary Generation are both great. It just goes on and on. Yeah, rap started to get into the mainstream in the late 80s with artists like Run DMC, Queen Latifa, Rakim, and others. But it didn't really fully explode until the turn of the next decade and it was Public Enemy at the forefront who set the stage for so many who followed like Ice Cube, Tupac, Notorious BIG, etc. Every one of those artists owe so much to Public Enemy, and it's impossible to overstate the importance of them as a group and this record in particular. 5 stars, no doubt.

It's Peak Your honor. Really good lyrics and some good messages. and more respectful towards women than snoop but still needs work.

Fight the power

Like the stereo mix but this isn't the music of my people

When this first came out, I couldn't get enough of it, especially 'Welcome to the Terrordome', 'Burn Hollywood Burn', 'Can't do Nuttin' for ya Man' and 'Fight the Power'. The Spike Lee film 'Do the Right Thing' was my favourite film at the time with Radio Raheem playing the last song on the album on repeat. Great film. But the album went on the back burner when 'Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black' came out. That album is still my favourite for the actual tracks but this album takes me back to a time when I was discovering lots of new things in music, film and literature. A classic hip hop album.

It was kinda bad.

Raw, uncompromising and really fucking good.

My rating 3.3. Liked their first album better but this still rocks

Still holds up. Heck of an album.

Unremittingly angry. And articulate. And chock full of some great sounds.

Expertly put together, everything just works so well together. Still relevant nearly 50 years later.

Legend.

Just not my vibe man I like it better than it takes a nation to hold us back just realizing I’m not really much of a public enemy fan two out of five I feel like I could hear the lyrics more than takes a nations to hold us back

This was great, second listen this week randomly

I enjoyed this for the most part, but some of the samples got to be a bit irritating.

One good song a good album does not make.

I thought I had already listened to this one, but I had not; just sounded the same, Tried to listen 3 times and ended up just tuning out.

rightfully angry and powerful and it is shown on the abrassive production and the straight up lyrics this really manages to paint a stark portrait, as uncomfortable to watch as it is humorous, of the social tensions of the time, trough statements that dont really need for metaphors or embelishments to prove its point over some of the most sample stacked beats ive heard

Omg, this album is the real shit! 5/5

ABSOLUTELY INSANE OH MY GOD????? HUGE FAN OF THIS ARE YOU KIDDING ME ITS SO FUCKING GOOD DUDE. I'd listen to thins of repeat over and over and over

Technically elaborate and lyrically agile, extremely enjoyable listen

"As a person who likes protest music, this is ok. If you're into sample-heavy stuff, you'll like this. The best songs on this one have chuck and flav rapping together (Fight The Power, for instance). Personal fan of Fight The Power. 6/10 Probably in my collection"

Some absolutely classic 90's hip hop. Fight the power is amazing, some really good beats, incredible lyrical flow, full of bangers. Really a great album from beginning to the end, though it is a little long. Touches on pressing issues, really urgent and topical. A joy to listen to.

Pure sound, total immersion, energy and mission. The pivotal album of the early 1990s. A masterpiece. Shame about the homophobia.

Great album. Simmilar to MF DOOM. Ofcourse more the other way around. But i really like it. Great theme. Great arwork. Good sound.

nene.

no mi estilo pero bien espacial

(me equivoqué de álbum) está bueno pero las canciones son moooooy largas. el correcto tiene sonidos interesantes

Loved the Prince guitar sample

Crazy beats

When this record dropped it shook the world. Well, at least my world in tbe projects. This was street education of the highest level. This one definitely opened my eyes. A Masterpiece!

06/04/2026 1. contract on the world love jam - loove the scratching. *2. brothers gonna work it out - already really like this one :) the beat is reallly nice! the samples are phenomenal! the lyrics are great!!! 3. 911 is a joke - the bass is greaaat immediately!!! very relevant still.... 4. incident at 66.6 fm - ooo reaallly nice skit. *5. welcome to the terrordome - horns at the start are great!!! fantastic energy!! scratching is great!!! love the ending :) 6. meet the g that killed me - the lyrics on this one weren't great even when it was released..... for such an obviously politically aware and intelligent band from the lyrics on the other tracks, it's a real let down... 7. pollywanacraka - not as fond of the vocals on this one, but still really great. love the sampling in the chorus. *8. anti-* machine - the start is phenomenal!! loove the bass on this album!! love the phone ringing and sampling at the end <3 *9. burn hollywood burn - immediate start.. looove it!! spike lee <3 love the whistle in the chorus! *10. power to the people - really great!! love the energy throughout all the album <3 <3 11. who stole the soul? - same as the prev songs! the lyrics are phenomenal <3 *12. fear of a black planet - ooo looove the bass! droning sound in the back... fantastic beat.... great! *13. revolutionary generation - love the lyrics!!! samples are great as always <3 love how it recognises and stands up against the casual misogyny common in other hiphop, especially gangster, songs (wu tang clan....) 14. can't do nuttin' for ya, man! - nice :) 15. reggie jax - slower beat... love the bass again. *16. leave this off your fu*kin charts - loove the opening! real nice sampling!!! 17. b side wins again - looooove the instrumental!! great! 18. war at 33 1/3 - reallly great! 19. final count of the collision between - okay... like the bass :) *20. fight the power - already love this one <3 <3 <3 loooove the sound of public enemy..... the bass is absolutely fantastic and the lyrics are amazing!! did go on a bit towards the end, but maybe that was just me listening to it too late at night and getting tired lol... will def give a relisten soon <3

Solid samples and beats but that’s all I really liked from this one. I can tell why people like it, but it wasn’t for me.

I'm probably the opposite of the demographic for this album, but this fucking slaps. I love all the sampling and the relentlessness of it all. There's so much anger, but it feels like it's directed into action instead of violence. Never thought I'd like an album like this, but I love it! This is exactly why I do this challenge.

It's a one its not my type of music

fun

at first, I was excited for the change in vibe, but as it went on, I started to lose my mind

The sound is just not for me

One of the sickest album covers!! Super relevant themes and cutting lyrics. I think the production is kinda messy, and I think I prefer It Takes a Nation of Millions, but this album definitely has room to grow on me. Favorite song on first listen was maybe Burn Hollywood Burn, probably because the image of an LA on fire is one of the most salient, enrapturing, and one of my most favorite political motifs.

I will never be a fan of the genre but I can tolerate Public Enemy for longer than most artists under the Hip-hop/Rap banner. There's something about their sound and style that sets them aside - I can't put my finger on what it is and I really don't want to spend too much time thinking about it, but, yes - tolerable.

Loved this. Thoughtful and incisive lyrics and I love the anger, the passion and the vibe. Also refreshing to not have a huge dose of dick measuring and misogyny so common in the genre, which is all well and good but pretty tiresome. Power to the People and Welcome to the Terrordome particular standouts.

Just a great album. Production, samples, lyrics. Powerful. 5.

This is how you do it...seems to fly by despite being over the hour mark, bangers nicely spaced between less headline tracks..

I don't play much hip-hop from pre 92/93 ish for whatever reason...this is absolute top drawer though, the production, the sampling, the uncompromising message, the relentless sound..probably the best album of that earlier period I've heard so far.

A classic of its genre. Very solid throughout and sample follows recognisable sample. Great social commentary but not an album I feel drawn into listening to frequently

This one is slightly more complicated than their previous album. This still has the driving and absolutely slamming beats but it feels more disconnected. Like it has super clear themes but there is so much interstitial stuff here that it makes everything feel disjointed. There have to be 5 or 6 sketches or news broadcast sections. Maybe more. It just makes me roll my eyes a bit and want to ask them to hurry up and get back to the songs. Sure none of that in-between stuff is bad in any way but im listening to a record. I want to hear music. It just makes the whole thing feel less whole. But otherwise its business as usual. Conscious and clear as day raps with just about the sickest beats of the time. Maybe all time. All the songs rock. They kick ass. Im just hung up on how much of this isnt the kick ass songs. Still a great record but not as great as it could be with a little more editing

pensé q era rock por la portada,,,, no es mi género ahora mismo pero taba bueno (2.5)

I don’t need to own it or anything, but I really dig it and I’m glad I finally heard it

Damn fine old skool fuck the system music!

Urgent, angry and righteous, and not diminished one iota with age. Hip hop isn't my normal choice, but this is a record that transcends genre. The sample and scratch production is more interesting than most of what I hear lately, too. A stone killer of a record.

this was a great time. hell yeah ✊🏼

I really enjoyed this album. Fight the power is a classic. But i did love the rythms. This urally isn't my sort of album, but I'll give it a 4. Was a fun listen.

Fight the power!!! Felt a bit repetitive at times, but solid 3.3

Wow, what a pleasant surprise! This is my kind of rap — backed by funky, groovy beats. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually revisit it, but it’s the first hip hop album on this list that has me tempted. 8/10 Most Excellent

Public Enemy rules. Maybe the most innovative and badass hip hop group ever. The first 4 albums are all perfect. Their message is clear and important, but I contend PE is great strutting music. Listening to it will make you feel 10-20% cooler.

It’s a classic, with tracks like fight the power, 911 is a joke and welcome to the terrordome it’s just amazing old school hip hop

some powerful songs but pretty intense

Better than It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, less crowded

Arguably one of the most influential albums in hip-hop, aggressive and expressive. Not my cup of tea though.

Public Wnemy and NWA were absolutely instrumental to the evolution of hip hop

Flavor Flav is a great hype man. Vh1 should give him a dating show or something

wowww wow wow. so insanely thick and intricate, so many samples and messages, extremely fun to listen to 4.5?

Fuck yeah.

Had this on repeat for most of the day. What a hoot and also a holler.

This is the first rap album I can remember listening to on my dad’s CD player. The samples still hit, the messages still hit, all in all still a great album. 4.5-5

So glad this is on this list, it's easily a top-5 concept album in the genre, maybe of all time. We wouldn't have albums like 'To Pimp a Butterfly' without this one or without Public Enemy more generally. It's easy to dismiss Flavor Flav because of his eccentricity and 'Flavor of Love,' but this and 'It Takes a Nation' emphasize how good of an emcee he was (and at times still is). Crazy how this is both the pinnacle of sampling and the last hurrah before clearance culture ruined part of the art form. Sampling is a beautiful thing, and I can see how it's twisted into "stealing." I was told in college that good writers steal, which is true about poetry but also a true statement about life. We aren't islands, we're constantly influenced by the people, things, and world around us. All of us are walking conglomerations of samples of the things we bump into. All that to say that I love seeing what artists do with previously released art and how they demonstrate the impact that art had on them.

I almost never throw on Public Enemy but whenever I do I get wow’d, so L for me I guess.

I think hip hop is at its absolute best at it's most political. Discovering albums like this is why I started this project. The only thing stopping me from giving it a 5 is things like the slight homophobia. But, given the politics of the rest of the album, I'd like to believe that was just a side effect of the time period and that the album would be much more queer friendly if it was released today.

Punchy, intense, meaningful

Not quite the masterpiece that is It Takes a Nation of Millions, but still . . . Fight the Power!

Hasta ahora no fue mi favorito pero no estuvo mal.

Sorry hope I’m not your next enemy.

Aclarando de antemano que no termine de escuchar el álbum, el mismo me pareció muy bueno, juega demasiado con coros, voces femeninas, samplings. Son canciones energéticas y divertidas. Le puse 3 estrellas por el hecho de q no es un género que consumo todos los días, pero me encantó.

Ouais pas mal

great album overall, good message and good tracks all around, powerful lyrics too

Fos

Ok, I get Public Enemy now. When I first heard Apocalypse '91, it was such a different time now that I think about it. Man, time really does fly. Anyways back then, that sounded like a whole storm of force. Bass in my face, politically charged commentary all throughout. It felt like sensory overload at the time. I appreciated what I heard though I didn't think it was too strong of a work. This is strong though for sure. I'm not giving this a 5 because there's some tracks I wouldn't come back to outside of a listen. But man, those really good tracks are really good. I loved going into Genius and reading Chuck D's lyrics up close, dissecting each message piece by piece. The usage of samples to add on to the hurricane being served up. It feels less abrasive this time around and yet still as powerful. The only features on this record also add on to this record real well: Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane on Burn Hollywood Burn. I found it especially hilarious when the guys straight up diss Driving Miss Daisy (Aw hell nahhh). The majority of this is well-spoken hard-hitting conscious hip hop. Once again, not a 5 for me just yet but like Sade, don't be surprised if there's an update. I make it a point to yell out MOTHERFUCK HIM AND JOHN WAYNE. In other words, better (8/10, 4/5 on this scale)

Good. 90s hip hop. 7.25/20 60.21%

✊️

Flavaaa Flavvvv

Love these guys, excellent powerful album, “Fight the Power” 👊🏿

Fuck yeah!!! Fuck the man!!!!

Good album. Maybe not quite as good as Nation Of Millions, but still classic P.E.

When to listen: walking through the streets of New York in the middle of August. Good beats. Good lyrics. Good listen.

Excellent stuff

While not as consistent as its masterpiece predecessor, Fear is still an incredible hip hop album with some of the cleverest production heard before or since. Highlights include the posse cut Burn Hollywood Burn, the foreboding Welcome to The Terrordome, and 911 is a Joke, proving that Flavor Flav can stand on his own away from just propping up Chuck D with his YEAAAAAAAAH BOYEEEEEEEs!

not a fan

Raw and unfiltered. Fight the power

For some reason this took me a few days to get through. No fault of the tunes. Just wasn’t vibing with it.

Public Enemy er kult, men de er også en one trick pony. Beaten går hardt & monotont mens Chuck D rapper over med sin karakteristiske, lite varierte flow. Noen tracks stikker seg ut. På denne skiva er det Welcome to the Terrordome og Fight the Power – begge bestående av en usannsynelig mengde samples.

Public Enemy er kult, men de er også en one trick pony. Beaten går hardt & monotont mens Chuck D rapper over med sin karakteristiske, lite varierte flow. Noen tracks stikker seg ut. På denne skiva er det Welcome to the Terrordome og Fight the Power – begge bestående av en usannsynelig mengde samples.

Not for me...

Really taken away by the production on this album. The energy is beautifully chaotic and moves so quickly you can barely keep up. Lyrically Chuck isn’t on the same level as some of the other GOATS but when you’re discussing complex political thought in a relatable way you get pass. Would love to spend more time with this one.

Holds up and still sounds good. Favorite songs: Brothers Gonna Work It Out, Fight The Power

I can understand that this album was influential to modern hip-hop and was very culturally significant at the time. However, I am judging these albums based on how they sound, and this one just did not sound good. The songs are very repetitive, and they are either uninteresting or straight-up bad.

Quite intense black hip/hop rap. Sings about very controversial things but in a good way. Very good music but maybe not for public use.

The kings and O.G.s.

me gustó mucho y su significado

3.25

J'étais hype pour cet album, J'ai été un peu laissé sur ma faim. Je comprends l'aspect social (racial) du moment et ils ont été en quelque sorte les pionniers du style de mélange ''média, sample. radio, loop''. Bien que ce soit le meilleur album de hip to the top selon moi, j'ai beaucoup d'admiration pour le fait qu'ils ont été précurseurs dans ce golden age de ce style musical.

no

It’s on the longer side, but if the album stays good for an hour then I’m happy to listen. I read about the background and concept for this, and it’s just really cool, and I love getting snapshots of an era through music like this.

Another unexpectedly excellent album. The bars, the beats, the boom bap, the subject matter - what an excellent project. 5/5

This was good. I listened while away from keyboard, but I generally approve, without having a ton more to say. Simple solid stuff. 3.5 rounding down because I'm self conscious of how high my ratings are

The fact that this album's message is as relevant today is kind of depressing and makes it an evergreen album. I might edit a song or two out since it's a bit on the long side, but I think that this is a 4.5 star album worth rounding up to five.

Quite a long album but a lot of good material.

I appreciated how this really emphasised the album format, as listening to it as a whole allowed the story to unfold. However, this wasn't really for me. Some parts sounded like when you're messing around on Garage Band and using every special effect possible. Rating: 2.

6/10 - some strong lyrics but the music just meddles into the same thing, could've used more variety

Liked this a lot, incredibly powerful vocals

Bnager, love the way the album construct itself, truly an amazing experience. Today´s bird: Grey Go-away-bird

One of my favorite rap groups, this album falls just short of the previous and following efforts of PE. Still a strong 4/5, though.

Were it not for all the interludes, I might have given this 4.

This doesn't hit quite as hard for me as it did in 1990, but it's still a great album. I continue to appreciate just how packed these songs are with samples, such that it's really part of the music rather than an add on. The skits, though, I could do without.

Not my favorite Public Enemy record, but still very good. I think Flavor Flav is better as a hype man than MC, but I get why 911 became the single. But my heart belongs to Welcome to the Terrordome.

Not my thing, but I do like some of the tracks -- just not the super-long, super repetitive ones. And it's obviously important, even prescient.

This is a good album and they have a good vibe. Strong 3, weak 4. Can't think of a lot else to say.

Chuck D's delivery is so good and Flav is an iconic hype man. The beats are the epitome of the New York sound. Substantial lyrical content. The overall punch is watered down by the long playtime.A handful of bits that would just be skipped on repeated listen. Ends on a high with Fight the Power Rounding up from a strong 3.

I am not interested in Rap so my opinion is not important. 2 stars or D+.

This album hits you wave of passion and energy right from the off, and this doesn't let up for the whole 1 hour runtime. Some wonderful tracks in here, not least the closer which featured in Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing". A power house of an album. Favourites: Pollywanacraka Burn Hollywood Burn Fear Of A Black Planet Fight The Power

Feeling better this time

in yo face! da truth! political.

Solid follow up to It Takes a Nation of Millions, but like a lot of rap albums, it’s just too long.

Something my uncle would listen to (in a good way) my head was banging. Such a good era of music

highly suggest listening this with high quality headphones or sound system, otherwise you'll miss out on the textures and beats...

Great album, not just rap but a collection of many genres

now this... this was fun

It slaps, but I might not ever get into this type of 90s hip hop much more

A Classic one!

lyrics, beats, influence, pioneers.

Never hit for me. So cluttered

Not my genre but a decent listen for a change of pace

don't really enjoy the lyric heavy east coast political rap scene but i bet i'd like it more if i actually listened to the lyrics. cool to learn about how this sound became impossible due to impending sample law changes.

Okay this sadly wasn’t anything too special to me. Obviously the messaging and themes this album tackles is very important, however for my taste the delivery of these topics comes off incredibly dated when listening to today. I did enjoy the chaotic and all-encompassing production, and the sampling lays a very clear groundwork for why followed in hip-hop. Yeah sadly for me, just wasn’t something I’d put on.

Kicks you in the teeth for an hour and doesn’t let up.

really really great, of course!

I can't stop thinking about the reviewer who said this album reminds him of Mumford and sons

I like his voice and it's got that 90's rap people-jumping-around-in-circles sound that's fun and makes me want to jump with them. But sometimes it's too much and I want them to stop jumping for a few. 4 instead of 3 because it's interesting

Yeah, this is a masterpiece of hip-hop. The naysayers and "scared" listeners have no idea. First off, let's backtrack with a bit of context. Fresh from "It Takes a Nation...", Public Enemy already showed that they were hungry to elevate hip-hop to a more elevated style in music and in art. They were shaking off controversy with former member Griff amid his allegedly antisemitic remarks (he apologized later), and wanting to bring their confrontational message to widespread audiences beyond Black listeners. So, what they did was perhaps one of the most ambitious efforts at the time to create a truly important piece of work not just for Black culture, but for popular music as we know it. They sampled through thousands of records and radio recordings, manipulating the tracks to the max and using different rhythms, sounds, and noises to create a truly intense sound collage of sorts. As for the lyrics? Chuck D and Flavor Flav tell it like it is, delivering vocal takes faster than a machine gun. They go beyond simple storytelling, coating this album with sociopolitical messages about institutional racism, power structures, and white supremacy. In 1990! Today, no one would bat an eye, but back then this was truly seen as a threatening album, like the Sex Pistols or the Clash of hip-hop. Here are some examples of great lyrics: "In a game, a fool without the rules Got a hell of a nerve to just criticize Every brother ain't a brother 'Cause a Black hand squeezed on Malcolm X the man The shootin' of Huey Newton From the hand of a nig' who pulled the trig'" "Burn, Hollywood, burn, I smell a riot goin' on First they're guilty, now they're gone Yeah, I'll check out a movie But it'll take a Black one to move me Get me the hell away from this TV All this news and views are beneath me So all I hear about is shots ringing out About gangs putting each other's head out" "Ain't we all people? How the hell can a color be no good to a neighborhood? Help straighten me out 'Cause my tribe gets a funny vibe Sayin' I'm wrong for singin' a song Without solutions All the dancers answer questions Try to be the best and Let everybody know before I blow 'Cause I wanna know what sucker stole the soul" "Elvis was a hero to most, but he— Elvis was a hero to most— Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant— to me You see, straight-out racist, that sucker was simple and plain Mother**** him and John Wayne 'Cause I'm Black and I'm proud, I'm ready, I'm hyped, plus, I'm amped Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps Sample a look back, you look and find nothing But rednecks for four hundreds years if you check "Don't Worry Be Happy" was a number-one jam Damn, if I say it, you can slap me right here Get it, let's get this party started right" Keep in mind that Chuck D wasn't actually anti-Elvis per se, but more so the fact that he wanted the narrative of our society and establishment to change and become more inclusive and transparent—otherwise, rage continues on. Yeah, it's masculine and angry and intimidating, but so is a lot of other music that gets free passes on this site. Give this a 5 and move on—it's fucking great.

One of the greatest hip hop records ever. I still can’t put it as high as ‘91 or A Nation of Millions

It's rap and it's shit.

I actually loved this.

It was pretty good, but I think I just like West Coast hip-hop better.

“The counterattack on world supremacy” aspect is five out of five….turns out I don’t like a hype man though. On another day I could give this a four.

Didn’t really have the impact I thought it would. Pretty cool that there’s 1001 albums on this list and they keep throwing in the same genre/years in a short time span >:(

I do think It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is a bit more immediately accessible, but this is obviously still incredible and has Fight the Power on it.

Um disco com capa e nome muito legais, claramente um grupo já consolidado em sua identidade, começo fraco, porém o álbum vai ganhando corpo e termina muito forte, a música que dá nome ao disco é Public Enemy na sua melhor forma. Poderia ser uma obra mais enxuta, porém permanece muito boa.

Big fan of political music

For the time and context in which this album came out, it is really an incredible record. It has so much in it, and while it is long, all the interludes, instrumentals, cuts, and mix of both hard-hitting and more "radio-friendly" tunes make it an album I do think people should hear. I want to listen to it a second time, as I think it will flow even better now knowing the arc it takes. I'd give it a 4.5, but I'm going to round up. I also could see people giving it a 4, but I think that even if it isn't someone's thing or seems dated, at this point, if put in the proper context of 1990, this rises up.

Fight the power

Only slightly familiar with their singles, but an incredible album. It's fun to hear flava flav in the background and all I can picture is him as an old man on Flavor of Love.

Leuke provocative og hiphop. Niet echt iets waar ik vaak in volledigheid naar zou willen luisteren door alle scènes tussendoor, maar zitten wel bangers in

Very mid

woke

Loved this.

Some of these hip hop albums are hard for me to rate. A lot of the individual songs are enjoyable enough, but the album as a whole just goes on and on and I’m so fucking ready to be done by the end

I think is in the Rage Against the Machine lane. I recognize the quality and I think I liked this more than It Takes a Nation but it's just not for me at my present stage of life. I am afraid of the black planet.

This might be the most impressive sample collage I've ever heard.

I gotta admit, by the time I get to "I can't do nuttin' for ya, man!", I'm kinda waiting for Fight the Power to wrap it up. I still really love it though. Maybe it's just a bit too long.

Kyllähän minun, 90-luvun rap faniin, pitäisi tästä tykätä. Mutta soundi ei vaan natsaa kohdilleen

It’s ok, just not my vibe. Sound quality is decent and the vocals are authentic and well written.

i haven’t heard this album before. i like some rap. i’m very very picky with rap, im even pickier with rap from the 90s. here’s hoping i fuck with this one. it does somewhat worry me that there’s 20 tracks on this thing and it’s over an hour long. i’m going to go in with an open mind though. i like this intro quite a bit :D i’m on brothers gonna work it out. it sounds old, but it doesn’t sound obnoxiously outdated for me yet. i’m still a little sick, maybe this was a bad album for me to get today. just bc it’s a genre i’ve never really been into. i like the message of 911 is a joke. the song is cool. it’s definitely better than a lot of old school rap i’ve heard. okay yea this album is neat. i like the fuck you attitude. it’s very punk. the beats are mixed dark as hell. it’s a sweet vibe. this is good. i’m very tired. burn hollywood burn is my favorite song so far. i took a long break after burn hollywood burn. took a long nap. the takeout at the start of it power to the people is really funny. i think this is an album i’ll have to revisit. i generally have to listen to rap albums a ton to get really into them. the chopped vocals can get really grating at times. i am liking this more after the break :) it is kind of a lot though. because of the dark sounding beats and the very aggressive tone and how long it is, this album is kind of a marathon. i do like it though. okay i finished it. i think it kinda drags near the end, fight the power is good though.

Can't believe I haven't listened to these guys before. I love the chaos

Another great chunk of hardcore hip- hop, love it

ja rap hiphop 90er ist halt gut aber nix besonderes

Finally a hiphop album that clicks with me.

It’s shit, but I fully endorse the notion of burning Hollywood, I think we should all unite and focus on achieving this goal.

This was ok. A little too chaotic to my taste from time to time but the samplings of speeches worked really well. Also the beats made me nod to the groove with out my notice so plus from that. 2,5/5 and I round to 3 as this was another rap album that had something else than genitals and what to do with them on the lyrics.

Love this album

Holds up surprisingly well. Probably in large part due the emphasis on great vocals feom Chuck D and great work as always from Terminator X. Songs have a lot going on without losing the foundational beat driving the song.

Hope this is the last one from Public Enemy

So I heard the album before this, It Takes A Nation, and it didn't sit well with me. I'm glad I tuned into this one with an open mind because they doubled down on the production and it paid off. The music and the lyrics provide a similar quality and aggression, yet they play off each other really well. It's still a little outside of my comfort zone as far as cadence goes, I can't imagine I'd put this on regularly, but I'd buy this record. 3.3/5

Cool but not my style

KICK IT Fight the power is a 10/10

instrumental goes so fucking crazy love 9.5/10

4/5, definitely listen again

This is a good album but it always paled in comparison to PE’s first two. FOABP is enjoyable but definitely on a lesser scale to those. After Apocalypse 91… they really took a downturn for me (until Muse Sick…) Some good songs on here though, and every now and then I enjoy it. I find it a little patchy, but a solid 3.

First time listening to this album. Great beats, great samples but I am once again asking: why are rap albums so damn long. Not even the good instrumentals could stop me from losing interest halfway through 2/5

Rap, Hip hop? Nicht meins.