Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black

I bought all of the first four PE albums as they were released, and listened to them incessantly. This album is the bookend of their imperial period, when they were unarguably one of the most important bands in the world. Maybe not the masterpiece level of It Takes a Nation of Millions or Fear of a Black Planet, I have a massive love for this record. Reading about it now, they had lost all their data for what was supposed to be this album. This explains the slightly more straightforward production of this record, which is not quite as overwhelming a barrage of sound collage as the previous two records. But necessity is the mother of invention, and we have instead a more direct, though no less powerful, production. It is pretty abrasive, noisy and assertive, enhanced by the aggressive scratching of Terminator X. It draws heavily on funk and other black forms, and even their own previous records. It is a new thing, and yet stands on the shoulders of giants. It plants itself firmly in the history of black music. Chuck D has never sounded more authoritative, leavened by Flavor Flav, humorous but not a clown. Flav is angry on this record, and in a way, his number s(especially I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo N.) is the angriest song on the record (disguised with humour). The political message of this record is mature, thought out, and undeniable in its logic and emotional intensity. It is hard to think of a political band of the past 40 years that is both this eloquent and musically powerful. I was going to rate this 4 (for maybe not being on the level of Black Planet and Nation of Millions) but the more I write about it, the more I realise how much I love this powerful, focused, and forceful record. (Favourite song: By the Time I get to Arizona; the funky power of this song is really unique).

Apocalypse 91 is iconic but it's also really annoying. A lot of later music wouldn't exist without this album but, man... it did not age well. Three stars for its importance to music. Minus two stars because I just don't like it.

Again my deep lack of knowledge will likely handicap my understanding and enjoyment of this album. The album cover, title, and indeed the very name of the band immediately locates this music in a universe well outside my personal experience. Looking through the track listing I don't think I've ever heard any of these songs before. No, I take it back, I was a bit of an Anthrax fan back in the day, so I do know Bring Tha Noize and remember it fondly. The opening track, Lost At Birth, has a synth (presumably) repeating a descending riff, essentially acting as the baseline, but pitched to sound like a siren. Makes the song stressful to listen to, which I think is the point. Sets the atmosphere for the whole album. Building from there we get a variety of sounds, beats, styles, with I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo Niga very much reminding me of some of the funky albums I listened to earlier in this project. Setting aside the content of the songs for a moment, the music is interesting and layered and (to my uneducated ear) drawing on the best of past soul music and rap traditions to generate something fresh that remains quite listenable. The production is top notch. But you can't set aside the content, the quality of the music is just an aside; this is a band with something to say. I regret that I didn't listen to more hip-hop in my teenage and college years. Songs like By The time I Get To Arizona would have helped me get a more realistic grip on the world. Sadly the issues being discussed so poetically are still salient issues today. Clearly an important album, still relevant, and completely engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Can't do it. No way I'll get thru this whole album. I'm annoyed after the first 2:53 of the 1st song.

Many many years ago a friend put a tape in his mom's a car, and played the song "She Watch Channel Zero," a death metal loop with this big voice hammering rhymes at us and this little voice yelling silly things over it. Then came "Night of the Living Baseheads" with this relentless sax loop. All us 12 yr olds were blown away, thought it was the most awesome music ever. Up to that point, rap in my world was skate rink stuff, kinda fun stuff but nothing too engaging. The Freaks Come at Night, Run DMC, and sneakers. I knew sneakers were really, really important. But Public Enemy was fast, angry, funky, different. It sure was odd that a bunch of white skater kids were listening to Public Enemy while none of our black friends at school even liked them. "Too loud," or sometimes, "why do *you* like them??" Most liked Kool Moe Dee, MC Hammer (to be fair, "Turn this Mutha Out" MC Hammer was pretty good). Move up 4 years, rap had transformed and was in the golden age, and Public Enemy was fixed in this weird space of theirs - loved by MTV, ignored by radio and either loved or disregarded by kids. And yet, they basically helped shaped so much rap of the time. Sample-heavy, hard beats that didn't shy away from repetition: embraced it, hammered you with it. They either influenced the sound or paved the way for so many of the hip hop sounds of the era. One the west coast, NWA and Ice T etc seemed to pick up the hard and fast beats, but on the east coast, whether it was all from Public Enemy or whatever the cocktail was of wild west sampling at that point: a lot of clean, looped, lyrically clever sounds. Gone were the rhyme-trading party-starting styles of the Beastie Boys and Run DMC. Arrived were the pounding verses of Rakim, Pete Rock, Big Daddy Kane, etc. And unmatched, uncopied, was Public Enemy. Poetic, political, noisy, angry, borderline reverse-racist. And what I'm sure has always seemed weird to a lot of black fans of Public Enemy, maybe even Public Enemy themselves, is their white following. This album doesn't quite attack the white naivete as much as Fear of a Black Planet, but it is no doubt a black experience album. But the undercurrent of the Public Enemy sound has always been so rock-oriented - noise, distortion, uptempo, pounding, and however ignorant of racial bigotry or oppression white kids might have been, teen angst is always real, and PE has got some angry angst. It should be telling that the tracks chosen for MTV on this album were Can't Truss It, Shut Em Down, By the Time I Get to Arizona. But interlaced with those slower, no less hard-hitting songs, are borderline punk equivalent: blazing energy-filled tracks like Nighttrain, How to Kill A Radio Consultant, Move... To me, this album is pure genius. Listening to it after so many years, the lyrics are so brilliant and layered, the rhyming so relentless and referential, and I don't think there is a voice more perfectly suited for rap ever than Chuck D's. The previously Public Enemy albums broke the ground, but this album was a group at their peak, striking an amazing, balance, producing an incredibly impressive, brutally unapologetic set of serious yet sonically infectious songs unlike anything anywhere.

After hearing the cover of Black Steel on the Tricky album (it was probably my favorite track), I was excited to listen to a Public Enemy record. The beats were high energy and very 1991, which is basically my ideal when it comes to rap. I liked the voices of the MC’s although one or two of them I couldn’t always understand, which was a shame, because the lyrics I did hear were great. I didn’t know that Public Enemy would have such political lyrics. It was interesting and sad how many of the lyrics felt like they could have been written in 2021. The work is never done. My personal enjoyment: 3.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

I don't listen to a lot of hip hop, but when I do it's Public Enemy. Everyone needs a hype man like Flavor Flav. Bring the noise.

Did not expect it to be as good as Fear Of a Black Planet or It Takes a Nation, but was pleasantly surprised. 52 minutes of unrelenting energy with great production from The Bomb Squad. 4/5

Old school hip hop, yet another album to the list of "Listened once, was okay, never again". It's actually a pretty long list now. And that's all I have to say about this album, let's just move quietly to another position.

Social commentary mixed with great hip-hop and rap. Delicious.

The last truly great Public Enemy album. I love that Bomb Squad production, it still sounds like it's from some dystopian future.

I'm not the biggest hip hop person, but if this came on in a gym or something, I wouldn't be mad

Wow. A masterclass in quality sampling and beats that go hard. A lot of the boom bap of the time that I love (A tribe / Wu-tang etc) clearly draws on this a lot, not sure why I hadn't given them a listen before as this is just as good as their contemporaries. I'm looking forwards to hearing the rest of their discography now.

“Apocalypse 91 . . . The Enemy Strikes Black” by Public Enemy (1991) Unfocused rage draws attention to the raging subject, not the object, blunting its political force. Clownish braggadocio undermines the message. Peppered with irrational dichotomies, this apocalyptic screed struggles to execute judgment and fails to persuade or redeem. It’s perfectly clear what their interests are, and it’s not a flattering picture. Chuck D’s voice is good, given the genre, but Flavor Flav’s voice is simply bad. There’s a well executed and rational but desperate call for social justice to be heard on “How to Kill a Radio Consultant”. If you understand the sarcasm in that last sentence, you’re intellectually equipped to articulate everything wrong with this album. 1/5

Chuck is the GOAT

Another classic from my youth. We listened to this album so many times when driving round in our cars. It amazes me that it still sounds fresh now.

I bought all of the first four PE albums as they were released, and listened to them incessantly. This album is the bookend of their imperial period when they were unarguably one of the most important bands in the world. Maybe not the masterpiece level of It Takes a Nation of Millions or Fear of a Black Planet, I have a massive love for this record. Reading about it now, they had lost all their programming data for what was supposed to be this album. This explains the more straightforward production of this record, which is not quite the overwhelming a barrage of sound collage as the previous two records. But necessity is the mother of invention, and we have instead a more direct, though no less powerful, production. It is pretty abrasive, noisy and assertive, enhanced by the aggressive scratching of Terminator X. It draws heavily on funk and other black forms and even their own previous records. It is a new thing and yet stands on the shoulders of giants. It plants itself firmly in the history of black music. Chuck D has never sounded more authoritative, leavened by Flavor Flav, humorous but not a clown. Flav is angry on this record, and in a way, his numbers (especially I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo N.) are the angriest songs on the record (disguised with a bitter humour). The political message of this record is mature, thought out, and undeniable in its logic and emotional intensity. It is hard to think of a political band of the past 40 years that is both this eloquent and musically powerful. I was going to rate this 4 (for maybe not being on the level of Black Planet and Nation of Millions) but the more I write about it, the more I realise how much I love this powerful, focused, and forceful record. (Favourite song: By the Time I Get to Arizona; the funky power of this song is really unique, and shows the way for subsequent productions by Wu-Tang Clan, Dilla, MF Doom etc).

Now we're talking! I've listened to a few songs here and there from Public Enemy and also the album "Fear of a Black Planet". This album is equally good. Public Enemy is top tier east coast hardcore hip hop. The production, the beats, the lyrics and the overall aggressiveness is hard to top. The album keeps the momentum all the way through and ends on a perfect high note with song Bring tha Noize featuring none other than the thrash metal band Anthrax.

Wish I could give more than five stars. Lyrics, Chuck D’s voice, mysic/sound… all iconic. Love this album. I remember growing up in Arizona when this album came out and us kids saying “yep, we banned MLK day and now Chuck D will never come here.”

This is my first dive into Public Enemy, and holy shit it was good. The flows were amazing, the lyrics fun and poignant. But the real star for me is those beats, probably the best early hip hop type beats I’ve ever heard. Amazing.

Truly a masterpiece of Hip-Hop in the political vein. I think I always avoided Flavor, but Chuck D and Flavor Flav's balance is very strong, and the narrative style production augments an already strong duo. Plus, Anthrax mixing with Public Enemy feels just so right.

Rap music was pretty much forbidden in my house growing up, so my first exposure to Public Enemy was hearing "Bring Tha Noize" with Anthrax while playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, and I thought it was a great song. A few years ago, I wanted to seek out the best rap music of the nineties, so I listened to Fear Of A Black Planet, and I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed this album too, but not as much as Fear Of A Black Planet. Chuck D is probably my favorite rapper. His voice just has a certain authority and rich tone to it that sets it apart from his contemporaries. I love Public Enemy's political messages too; "Nighttrain," "By The Time I Get To Arizona," and "1 Million Bottlebags" containing my favorite lyrics on this album. Musically, I was probably only a fan of half the tracks on this album. Some of the beats and sampling here just weren't my style, especially on "Loss At Birth" and "Rebirth." However, "Bring Tha Noize" with Anthrax more than makes up for those two tracks. Anthrax's instrumentation takes a great song and makes it even more powerful; I love that the scratching and other original elements are still present though. Overall, this is a great album, and the rapping and lyrics are the stars of the show here. Favorite lyric: "'Cause now the KKK wears three-piece suits." I wonder if they knew how relevant that line would be almost three decades later.

Very noisy and thought this was heading straight to a 1 star… but it grew on me. 2 ⭐️

This hits hard no punches pulled intense ride.

Apocalypse 91…The Enemy Strikes Back ‘Clear the way for the ass to ass 1ws’ I know he doesn’t sing that, but it certainly sounds like it. I don’t know this one as well as Fear of a Black Planet and A Nation of Millions, I do know it’s not quite as well regarded as those two, but listening through now I do it’s just as good as those. Because it is less densely produced, due to them re-recording and Hank Shocklee being less hands on, it’s more musically direct and with some of the live drumming has a more organic feel. I do love it when they go full kitchen sink, but this does benefit from the contrast with their other albums, even if thematically and lyrically it's still just as intense and aggressive. Lost at Birth shows the less full on style, it’s just one descending, repeating siren rather than 8 sirens all competing at once, and the clarity makes it much more immediate, a great opening track. Can’t Truss It’s intro sounds a bit like The Way I Are by Timbaland I think, but I love the repeating horn piano breakdown samples. The guitar sample is also excellent on I Don’t Wanna Be Called Yo N***, and the bass is also excellent. By The Time I Get To Arizona is my standout, the bass sample/groove is mesmerically good. Move! Feels most akin to Black Planet and Nation of Millions in it’s sound. 1 Million Bottlebags, Shut ‘Em Down and Get The Fuck Out of Dodge are also great. I’m not sure the Anthrax version of Bring Tha Noise adds much to proceedings though It’s interesting coming so soon on the list after 3 Feet High and Rising, as there are a few references to it, the same This is a Recording sample in Lost at Birth, Me, Myself and I in By the Time I Get to Arizona. Over multiple listens I do think this is just as good as Black Planet Nations, the sound is a bit easier to digest, and there are some slower grooves and tempos, but lyrically it’s still as dense and as interesting and as confrontational, and it just gets into the 5s 📢📢📢📢📢 Playlist submission: By the Time I Get to Arizona

11/05/2025 I didn't ever expect myself to be into old skool hip hop.

Working on the that permanent revolution is an illusion, “Apocalypse 91” is the point in Public Enemy’s I never got past as I’d read they had settled, that this was just another solid PE record. It’s solid and I’m sold: it doesn’t have the star turns of FOABP, but it’s altogether a more clubbable record while also tougher: some of the loops on the first half are amongst their most juggernaut, and if it goes on too long they were far from alone in that habit over that decade. The fuzzed-out “By the Time I Get to Arizona” sounds like Chuck D guesting on a stalwart New Kingdom track, except that it came out a year or two earlier than NK’s first LP. They were still trying new stuff. Chuck D and Flavour Flav are the most recognisable vocal partnership I’ve heard, and I’m embarrassed it’s taken me this long to appreciate that.

Public Enemy is one of the only rap groups I genuinely like, so this was easy listening today. I actually don't know much about them and didn't know until today that Flavor Flav is part of the group. I was about 20-25 feet away from Mr. Flav a few months ago. He was hanging out with the sound guys for the Green Day concert I was at, and I was in the last row in front of the sound board. We had a drone scare mid-show which was terrifying because we didn't know at first what was going on. I turned around and saw Flavor Flav smiling and laughing with the sound guys, so I knew we were fine. I definitely never had "Seeing Flavor Flav smiling made me realize I probably wasn't going to die today" on my bingo card but life is weird that way.

Was somewhat familiar with Public Enemy’s game, and thought “Apocalypse 91” was just fine… Their style is their style, and it did get a bit repetitive after a while – but I’m okay with that… Going to say that “Shut Em Down” was the best track IMO, as I’d give that song 4-stars out of 7-stars in my little rating system… Nothing mind-blowingly awesome on this album – but nothing all that awful either, so going to slot it in at a solid 2.50 stars – but just can’t get it to a 3, so a 2 it is…

Sounds like something out of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

дженерик реп про превосходство чёрной расы, хули, ещё и строчку про "нига виз хис фингер он э триггер" у Наза спиздили. Да и вообще вся песня I dont wanna be called - кринжатура ебаная. В общем и целом - хуйня старая, 4/10

meh!

More like an enemy to my ears and musical enjoyment.

Fantastic, can't beat a bit of PE. The best beats, the best rapper of all time and of course Flavor Flav.

This album rules

Five stars under protest. One Public Enemy album is enough to draw a reasonable conclusion. You don't need to listen to three of them before you die. You should... but it's not required.

Another impossible, radical release from PE #1, Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black will probably never have the same cultural significance as It Takes a Million or Fear of a Black Planet, but it's absolutely on their level & may just be more perfected than those two prior classics. Chuck D never had any want of confidence, but this sounds like a group that knew exactly what they could do & did it grandly, savvily, elegantly. That's right, this is a gracious ride, & The Bomb Squad, being so good at what they produce, are masters of noise, craft, & majesty. +, Chuck learns to lighten up just a bit, a welcome maturation: 'The ass is connected to the brain stem / Ah so I sing a simple song, so you can see the sucker in 'em.' In short, that's 4/4 in '91.

Surely it’s clear by now that this is one of my fave genres but let me restate it for the record. I really really enjoyed this album. Of all the early 90s hip hop albums we’ve had thus far, I’d be inclined to say this one is my favourite. In addition to the bops, I found the overarching narrative to be cohesive and compelling. Loved it!

Bring The Noize is the marquee track but overall, this is a phenomenal example of hip hop taking center stage.

Not sure I ever listened to this one… Interesting, this album has some of the most recognizable tracks: By the Time I Get to Arizona, More News at 11, but it just doesn’t feel as coherent as the previous two albums. Fear of a Black Planet feels particularly organic to me, and it’s as if this album is working off the template laid down by Fear, which means it just doesn’t have the same energy. Still awesome. 4 Boolean: True

this is 3.5 stars and I can't figure out whether I should round up or down

Relentless, political, prescient and righteous "You can't see who's in cahoots, Cos now the KKK wears three-piece suits"

I feel like I've already heard this album before, but that's probably because the other two Public Enemy records on this list cover this one's material just fine. It's still a great record, but putting three albums that from the same part in their discography is kind of bound to cause problems. That being said, the Thrash Metal version of Bring tha Noize is the most "guys will look at this and say 'hell yeah'" thing in rap music and makes me retract any criticism I wrote prior to this sentence.

🎯😎💥🎧💰

7/10

I've seven Public Enemy albums in my collection, but not this, and that needs to change, if only for 'Bring Tha Noize'. So this is going on the list. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ ★★★★☆(7/10) Total reviewed : 408 Already owned : 91 Purchased : 21 To buy : 4 Nope : 291

It's been 24 hours since I've generated it and I only just now realized that it's "strikes BLACK" and not "strikes back". I may be a professional idiot.

Well, within the first 70 records I listen from this list, this is my third Public Enemy record (and the last one). Another amazing record. Compared to It takes an nation and Fear of a Black Planet this album sounds more of the same, but still above par of other rap/hiphop from that time.

There is a lot of noise here, but it's very entertaining noise. I think the sound still holds up in 2026, which shows how innovative Public Enemy was. The collaboration with Anthrax was a nice touch. I also like that there's is a powerful message presented, not the usual self-hype of the era. Liked Songs Added: Can't Truss It How To Kill A Radio Consultant By The Time I Get To Arizona

Better than Coldplay

Back half was stronger, sick song intros and interludes between songs. Lots of creativity poured in. The beats kinda just kept grooving for the majority of each song without much variation within each one, except for in the lyrics. Some instrumentation got a bit annoying, I cant lie. The bars being dropped down were hard though.

I'm thankful for this journey because it has led me to discover Public Enemy. As a Hip-Hop fan for decades, why did it take me this long to discover this legendary crew? Admittedly, this is an album that takes time to warm up, but the second half is one hell of a payoff. Favorite Track: "Bring Tha Noize".

6 out of 7. I got this not too long after 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'. Listening to them together, shows the genius of Public Enemy. They have created and are exploring a fictional universe, and it is awesome. Imagine an 80's or 90's Saturday morning cartoon. Public Enemy are the elite special agents of secret resistance that resides in some underground bunker, launching guerilla missions to fight and defeat the injustice of The System. We're talking spy planes taking off from out of secret volcano lairs with giant multi-screen displays kind of stuff. The origin story was in 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back', when the government imprisoned Chuck D for refusing to be drafted into their army. This resistance force recognized his value, broke him out of jail, and now has recruited them. And here we see their crazy Saturday morning exploits in full glory.

get in:)

This album slaps harder than Mike Tyson in his prime and serves social commentary like it's going out of style. It's not my usual jam, but I appreciate their fire. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Lost At Birth - Can't Truss It - By The Time I Get To Arizona - Bring Tha Noize

Not quite as bold and skillful sounding as its two predecessors but plenty to enjoy of similar intensity. I know the highlights from my trusty Def Jam compilation, in addition to my state's unofficial anthem and confirmation that the New York Post has been a piece of shit rag for at least 35 years. Fucking Murdoch

I don’t really have much of a frame of reference for most rap and hip hop, but over the years, if there is one group that resonates more than most, it is Public Enemy. They will never be on my most listened list but I can appreciate the production values and the political anger. And the links to Anthrax and ROTM make it a little more accessible for me. This is certainly miles ahead of the gangsta/bling/look at what I got stuff that seemed to dominate the genre a few years later.

Politically charged early 90s hip hop. Chuck D and Flava Flav are excellent MCs.

My favourite hip-hop album in this list so far. I don't know enough abut the genre at all, but I liked this - the energy and hardness of it got me much more than Gas did earlier in the week. And probably the overt political messages helped. I'd listen to this again.

Public Enemy Number 1! Public Enemy Number 1! Kna what I'm sayin? Yeah Chuck! I like how aggressive their rapping style is on a lot of songs, and I like a bunch of their beats. A lot of other tracks are really upbeat and quite funky. Overall the album is solid, with no real dips in quality. Standout tracks: Nighttain, By the Time I Get To Arizona, Move! And of course... Bring Tha Noize - Tony Hawk reprazent! 3.5 rounded up

Like an underground train rattling the grate beneath your feet and blowing hot summer city heat up into your face

Not as good as the first two albums but still a corker

The skit from the KKK got me off guard

Este género, particularmente en los 80 y principios de los 90, me pasa por encima. Nunca acabo de entenderlo. Pero no es como en el Country, género que activamente detesto, así que acá al menos puedo apreciar la musicalidad y las letras. Incluso hay canciones que con la desventaja de escuchar alejado geográfica y temporalmente, puedo apreciar y hasta tararear.

Pretty generic 90s rap to me

As far as hip-hop goes, I find Public Enemy the most accessible for someone who is not into it in anyway whatsoever. Chuck D has a commanding and engaging voice. However even with all the positives, this is just not my kind of music at all. I can only rate on my own experience of the music.

Drago mi je što završavam s njima bukvalno 10 dana nakon što sam vidjela da imam i treći album, nisu mi ništa posebno upečatljivi ni zanimljivi. Ovo mi je najdraži album zbog Bring Tha Noize.

I played this at work and when track #5 came on I had to turn the volume wayyy down.

Non dovendo valutare l'importanza storica ma puramente la musica questo disco fatica. Mi ha stupito il fatto che alla fine alcune produzioni siano la parte migliore mentre il rapping è veramente acerbo. Manca spesso la cognizione musicale non a caso tra i pezzi migliori c'è bring tha noize dove gli anthrax aiutano a dare una struttura alla loro energia. Al giorno d'oggi è un disco che si fatica molto a riascoltare.

Ну не. В целом, имидж чуваков импонирует, с Флейвор Флейвом даже не без детского удовольствия смотрел шоу "Вкус любви" на Муз-тв. Наверное и борются не за самые зашкварные вещи. Но камон, альбом в 2к21 представляет с музыкальной точки зрения, вероятно, лишь исторический интерес. В кайф сознательно слушать чёт ваще трудновато. Ну да, головой покачать можно на фоне, но "музыкальные обои" запилить вроде особо ума не надо. Слишком лаконичные биты, какие-то раздражающие звуки, репетитивность (оказывается, так правильнее писать, хотя я не уверен до сих пор). Ну флоу в принципе нормальный, харизматишный, но не настолько, шоб тащить. Умеренно хорошим треком могу назвать I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo Niga. У Can't Truss It бит интересный, но не столь, чтоб его на 5 минут растягивать. В Bring Tha Noize партии Anthrax свели до выработанных для битов стандартов, только репетитивные минималистичные удары, из-за чего всё равно неинтересно слушается. Хотя дебютник Beasty Boys показал, что можно и нормас запилить, если захотеть. Жаль Anthrax, группу уважаю.

Meh

Who made this list?

Oh no.. how did this ever come about

Public Enemy is one of the greatest rap groups to ever do it. Every track hits hard and many of the rhymes are still relevant today

Even though Flavor Flav became a punchline, these guys legitimately set the standard for sociopolitical rap.

Wow

No skits, no bullshit, just grievance upon grievance delivered in the tightest combination of flow, samples and live instruments

Hver gang jeg sætter det her album tænker jeg, at det umuligt kan være så godt som It takes a nation of millions og Fear of a Black planet, og hver gang er jeg lige overrasket. Legendarisk run

The album absolutely fucks.

Didn't love Fear of a Black Planet so didn't have high expectations for this, but wow. Hits really hard, and seems like a much more focused record while still retaining the same uncompromising attitude. It struggles to maintain the momentum as the album goes on but that means the back half is merely good rather than great

Goes hard, love the beats and Chuck D/Flavor Flav's lyrics/delivery. "When I Get To Arizona" is gonna be stuck in my head for a while, and the Anthrax cover that ends the album is a fun little oddity. 9/10.

Nice

God bless Chuck D & Flavor Flav

By today's standards, this is a pretty transgressive album. The number of n-bombs dropped here is hard to keep count of. It's for effect: Public Enemy are making an explicit commentary on the word's use (its reclamation was a hot topic of public conversation in the early 90's, spurred not least by the world of hip-hop). That's all part and parcel with the political commentary that Public Enemy have always been invested in. The effect is substantial; lyrics are largely thoughtful and cutting. They are at times militant. They're also catchy as all hell. The vocal work is great. The flows are not as diverse as listening through early Snoop or another 90's group (later waves like Wu Tang just benefitted from having more members and standing on the shoulders of these giants) but it's still excellent -- even moreso considering what 80's rap flows sounded like. This is a bridge between the truly old school of the first generation or two of MCs and something much more recognizable to today's rap audiences. The samples and hooks are great. There's a ton of blues and rock stuff underpinning these tracks and it keeps things moving. Public Enemy has a well-deserved reputation as an essential group in the world of hip-hop and this is no exception. Few groups put out an album this good, let alone a *fourth* album so good. Expressing anger at issues as diverse as the n-word and the failure of some American states to recognize Marth Luther King, Jr's birthday, it is as vital and politically charged as their reputation would suggest. Just excellent. 5/5

Wow, I didn't really know much about this album but it blew me away. Very powerful lyrics about meaningful themes at the time. Themes which are also still relevant today. Yeah it sounds somewhat dated musically, but the message stands out very strongly. 5/5

Was only slightly familiar with Public Enemy before this. Badass album; I did not want it to end!

such an easy 5 oh my god

Always thankful when classic hip hop bangers drop as my pick of the day. Public Enemy absolutely brings it on this album, and has a very important track in “By the Time I Get to Arizona”. A must listen in PE’s catalogue

Old school, top notch rap!

Public Enemy goes hardcore!!! i like their other stuff pretty well but this is exactly what i'd been wanting from them! i think i literally never stopped grooving my first time listening. utterly phenomenal

Well famn

Definitely an album that is underrated.

Damn, I love early nineties hip hop.

What a vibe! Love Public enemy

damn we're hoppin from the jump. This is sick. I think some of the drum loops in this are crazy. Crazy relevant themes. I really like this one.probably my first 5. Yeah it's a 5. The last song is insanely stupid. Mind-melting.

Hardcore hip hop, political rap.

Classic

Public Enemy electrified my consciousness in 1989. I was in college. Daniel & I played them at all the Arts House parties.

This was the peak of their popularity. The album was a behemoth and the videos were nonstop on MTV. Chuck D went hard. The Masters of Funk went hard. Even Aflac went hard. Fun to read up on, tapes lost, etc.

Reaaally fire. Just great all around