Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black

Epic. Should be mandatory listening everywhere.

Lepposa levy ja helppo kuunnella. Toni Haukasta tuttu klassikko kruunasi kokonaisuuden.

Hyvä ja tasanen kokonaisuus

It hasn't held up that great over the years.

I'm just not a big fan of 90's rap and hip-hop, and this album doesn't really do it for me. I really dislike the samples and repetitive nature of the songs. The lyrics are great, but I also feel like I'm getting preached at when I listen to this album. It also feels a little bit weird when the songs sound like "That's How I Beat Shaq" but the lyrics are telling me about oppression, but that's probably just a product of time.

I feel like Public Enemy aged a lot harder than other classics. There hooks weren't hooking, and the bars weren't hitting either. It acts like it has a lot to say, but that impact is really lost on me. The only redeeming song on this album is the one with Anthrax. Should have done a whole album like this.

An amazing hip-hop album, great production and flows + a lyrical focus on social issues that are /still/ relevant today makes for a fun but engaging listen

Brutal.

Pues Public Enemy de nuevo, así que no hay mucho que decir. Traen con qué: un álbum sólido, enérgico, con mucho qué decir y con un final muy divertido (esa colaboración con Anthrax jaja, que sí está buena, por cierto). Me gustaron especialmente "Nighttrain", "By The Time I Get To Arizona" y "Shut Em Down" 9/10.

Definitely sounds like it came out around the time I was born. Lyrical content shows that not much has changed in 30 years.

Me eh…

Old school hip-hop. Important album but it does sound dated. Best Tracks: Nighttrain; I Don't Wanna Be Yo Niga; Bring Tha Noize

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.

Still not my favorite rap but I heard plenty of references to rap classics, some social commentary, and there were way less yaa boiiiis in this album so in all, a big improvement

Better than the last public enemy album. More politically charged and less yeaaaaaa boiiiiiiiii’s

Really didn't age super well, not as good as the wutang one

6/10, there were some solid bars but it was often grating and I don’t think it has held up to time very well

7/10. Interesting to hear from a rap group that was against reclaiming the N-word. I really don't need the blaring noises in alternating ears in "One Million Bottlebags". "Bring Tha Noize" is an oddly fun note to end on considering how intense the social/political critique got towards the middle, but I'm not going to complain.

It's pretty good, I just wouldn't listen to it often. Beats are great but end up a little too similar in many songs. 8

Może jeszcze z pół gwiazdki za Bring The Noise z Anthraxem

This album is front to back energy

PE albums are so long! But I did enjoy this one

A groundbreaking album. Public Enemy dropping solid raps as per usual, funny segues between songs, and a collaboration with Anthrax for the final track. This is the first time I've actually listened to a full PE album - good all the way through.

Ich seh, warum das hier ist, aber kann sowas kaum hören…

Besser wird es in der hiphop Ecke nicht

Another strong and politically vocal album by Public Enemy and the suberb production team The Bomb Squad. Favorite track is "By the Time I Get to Arizona". I thought that Anthrax metal remix of "Bring the Noise" was an interesting addition. I did feel this was weaker than the previous two albums, with less funk and enthusiasm and interaction with the other rappers, but at least it did fix the drawn out news samples that Fear of a Black Planet had.

No thanks

It has a couple bangers, but also some downright unlistenable tracks.

Not great

Sure. Fine. Another album from Public Enemy. I don't think I've heard any of the songs before. It was okay. I probably should have given their previous album 3 stars too.

Embarrassed to say, but (mostly) new to me. The first half alone is a 5, but the 2nd half just brings it down with inconsistency. Deserves to be on the list.

- Unambitious rhyme schemes with some standouts (By the time I get to Arizona) - Interesting samples, nailing it occasionally (Can't Truss It) - Dated but stands up but is no Enter The Wu Tang - Strong variety of paces and beats

Classico prodotto anni '90 con lo stesso loop portato avanti per minuti, disc scratching e "yo!" random. Musicalmente li ho trovati pesanti e ripetitivi, ma credo che in questi casi il messaggio acquisisca il valore più importante.. Che però per me non basta. È un 1.5 che arriva a 2 solo perché sotto certi aspetti mi hanno ricordato i RATM e perché c'è persino una collaborazione con gli Anthrax che mi stanno simpatici.

Onze. Não vai abaixo, não cai. Não vai abaixo, não cai. O que eu aqui construí não vai abaixo, não cai. Funk fado, funk you, não vou abaixo, não caio. Isto é tudo persistência, boy daqui já não saio. MotA: Shut 'Em Down "The future holds nothing else but confrontation".

Old school hip-hop från några av de absolut största! Alltid välkomponerade beats, alltid politiska och flytande rapverser från Chuck D. Första spåret, Lost at Birth, tar dig med storm om du inte är beredd, med sin experimentella produktion och sampling. By The Time I Get To Arizona är en replik från Chuck D på hur Arizona röstade nej till att införa Martin Luther King's day som en helgdag, och har ett helt fantastiskt och unikt beat. Shut 'Em Down en höjdpunkt, har tydligen blivit mer av en hit efter Pete Rocks remix, men även originalversionen är bra. Bring The Noise är en klassisk Public Enemy-låt från 1987. En cover/samarbete gjordes av metalbandet Anthrax(!) och det är den versionen som avslutar detta album, som Bring Tha Noize. Föredrar originalversionen, men Anthraxversionen är en föregångare till många senare metal/hip-hop mashups. Chuck D:s andra vers är magisk. Sammantaget ett bra album, varje låt behandlar ett nytt viktigt sociopolitiskt ämne, mest om svartas kamp i USA. Flavor Flav är en hype-man som man själv önskar man hade med sig i vardagen. Låtarna som han själv rappar på blir inte lika bra, men det är också svårt att jämföras mot Chuck D. Bästa låt: By The Time I Get To Arizona

1 1/2

3/5 it was alright. They were the first band I ever saw. The album was not worthy as a four as nothing stood out to me.

A good solid hip-hop album. Very representative of the time and still very relevant today.

Hiphop is probably my favorite and most listened to genre so I was quite excited for this one. Sadly, I found it kinda boring and repetetive.

Noisy beats, repetitive drums and vocal loops and questionable quality of audio overall a make this a hip-hop record that does not impress me at all. I find the sampling and deep synthesizer sounds grating at times, the lyrics uninspiring, and most tracks downright annoying. A 1/5 is deserved.

The power behind these songs are incredible. The lyrics and political content are so blunt, and the production, while of its time, is certainly top notch. It may not compete with some of the best rap to this point in history, but there is no doubt that this album is significant for the genre.

Very good

Not my thing, and it was weird hearing Flava Flav

This was a really good album.

So relevant in 2021. Ageless truth.

This was a really fun album and I enjoyed listening to it.

really fun to listen to, not their best album but still loved it.

Classic album by the pioneers. Virtually flawless.

It’s probably because I grew up in the era of Flavor Flav on VH1 but his voice annoys me so much! I still enjoyed this but it would have been so much better without him.

Great classic hip hop album!

Public Enemy were one of the first music acts that I finally listened to the lyrics seriously (kind of hard to ignore them in this genre). Chuck D made all other rappers look subpar :P and virtually all of his tracks are fantastic. "By The Time I Get To Arizona" is probably my favourite rap song of all-time (I'm old enough to remember it being banned on MTV. :) ) so that's the starting point for me. Other highlights include "Move" "...Radio Consultant" and "Shut 'Em Down" - the samples/beats are perfect. Flavor Flav is a fine sideman for Chuck D but I've never much liked Flav's featured tracks, so I tend to skip most of his lead cuts on any PE album (and a few on here are indeed immediate skips...) - his goofy takes and abrasive voice get old quickly and don't really carry a song for me. Having said that, the strong points on this album are great and the themes are still so timely that even though it's nowhere near perfect (lyrics are mostly great, but some that have not aged well....) it's one I come back to often. "these days you can't see who's in cahoots cuz now the KKK is wearing three piece suits..."

This shit goes hard as FUCK.

Clocks for necklaces was nearly as big as the jumpers for goalposts movement. People often mistook me for a gangbanger thanks to the claw shape I made when I waved at them. I was a pretty good crip so I was told.

a classic for me

Great 90s hip hop

In conclusione: dalla prima traccia pensavo sarebbe stata dura, invece poi sono entrato un po' nel sound ed è stato sorprendentemente piacevole. Ho apprezzato abbastanza i beat pure se super anni 90 ma ho apprezzato più di tutti i testi che finalmente parlano di questioni socio politiche come mi aspettavo piuttosto, che quanto ce l'hai più grosso di tutti (sì devo fare un'invettiva a notorious big a disco). In alcuni pezzi ho trovato idee interessanti, come il fatto che il governo usi l'alcool e la droga per soggiogare la popolazione povera o la critica al New York Post. Ho letto su Wikipedia di varie controversie tra cui un membro in particolare accanito con l'omofobia e l'antisemitismo e qualche uscita infelice col video di by the time I get to Arizona ma in ogni caso secondo me almeno sto rap/hip hop c'ha senso.

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.

No es de mi agrado

A solid rap album with some great lyrics, although lacking a solid hook on some songs. 7.8/10

good sound, lyrics were a bit crude.

ouvi 4 de 14, não é meu estilo

"The future holds nothing but confrontation" Oh how right they were 😆 Powerful vocal delivery, great beat production. But nothing catchy, all I can tell is that these are some dudes who are either pissed off or have a lot of energy for their music. I Don't Wanna Be Called definitely would not go out of place on an NWA record. The instrumentals are good, but the flow of the lyrics always bring the music down. All of the songs sound so similar to one another. The only variation comes from their heavy carrying singles and rare beat switches and skits. I'd give this 3 stars.

Beats were ok, definitely early 90s. I liked it but not the strongest from then

I enjoyed the topics and the social/political commentary on it but wouldn't return to it for the music.

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

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.

It's like the one song is good (Bring the noise) even though the rest of the songs messages are great. It was OK

A mensagem é interessante, mas o som... A música é algo completamente fora do meu espectro musical, tudo muito sujo e tremido com pessoas a cuspir palavras por cima. Nota:3/10

I enjoyed this album even more than their earlier one that I was given through this. Classic 90s Rap

1 to 3 public enemy tracks is a good number 4-7 is pushing it, a full album and the enjoyment of public enemys MO is lost completely and you start thinking its shit. well in to the homemade low budget album cover.

Amazing old school hip hop, the issues portrayed in this project are still relevant today. Production aged really well.

Public enemy never misses on production from what I’ve heard and this album shows that, the producing is probably my favorite part of this. The flows are amazing and always full of energy this makes the album consistently energetic and interesting. The lyrical ability of public enemy is also great throughout the whole album. This is one of those albums you can’t get bored of and that’s what public enemy is good at. Also, by the time I get to Arizona has to be atleast a top 3 public enemy song that one is fucking amazing. 8.8/10

Retreading this album reminds me why they had such a huge effect on the industry. Lot of iconic styles.

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

Enjoyed this, I preferred the first half of the album but it's a strong album in this genre. 4*

Loved it, second half tailed off a bit though sadly. As close to a 5 without being one.

This is good. Never listened before, go for different albums of theirs.

Mwha, leuk weer eens te horen maar het klinkt wat te gedateerd.

2nd time in two days? Give us a break. I'm just going to assume it was similar to the other one. Fine, I'll listen to a bit.... ... It's similar to the other one. Fun fact: Robert Plant's favourites from this are Rebirth and Lost at Birth.

Sorry to disappoint Mystic Meg's shite cousin Quaylo but this one's only getting a 3. To me it feels a bit tired and phoned in musically in comparison to the first three albums. But note to the mystic meff, Fear Of A Black Planet will join It Takes A Nation... on a 5 when it comes up.

pretty old and slightly grating, yet strangely timeless. Appreciate the political commentary and aggressiveness. flows are generally aiite

Samen met mijn broer op zijn 'stereo-set' veel gedraaid! Cool, maar inmiddels toch wat minder krachtig.

I do think chuck D is one of the better rappers out there (in my very limitted knowledge of this genre). Despite Flavour Flav's being preeetty ridiculous , Chuck's Rhymes/raps are just bloody good. Funky beats on this album and content is super political and hard-hitting as with most of their material. By The Time I get to Arizona is an absolute tune.

Lekkere 'flow' en 'energy', boyyyyyyyy!

Leuk!

Enjoyed this one. I can see the hype with why everyone respected PE and what they brought to the table in the early days of hip hop and rap.

This album slaps, obviously.

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

After starting with a track that I thought was full of energy, it then became a linear decline of listenability. Flavor Flav is a musical genius, just don’t give him a mic.

Solid all the way through, but I still liked fear of a black planet better. Great commentary all the way through

This album is pretty sweet for what it is - but Fear of a Black Planet is better.

Musicaa que no esta hecha para mi.

Very good tracks (Arizona, Nighttrain, Bring Tha Noize)... not a masterpiece, but still very strong after all these years...

Hartes Stück Rap, elequente Wut, schwarzer Punk und so auch etwas gleichbleibend knüppelig. Nicht was ich mir je gerne aus musikalischen Gründen anwerfen mag. Extra Punkt für politisch klare Haltung. Beat up 2.2

Ich sag mal wie‘s läuft: „It Takes A Nation ..“ bekommt 4, „Fear of A Black Planet“ 5, und die hier 3. Weil: hier wird das Erfolgsrezept der anderen beiden nochmal aufgewärmt - seht viel mehr auch nicht. Ok, Chuck D rappt jetzt smoother, aber der Bomb Squad Sound war auch schon dichter, und insgesamt wird sehr viel sich selbst zitiert. (Not so) Fun Fact: konnten sie kaum für; man hatte die Nutzungsrechte für fremde Samples deutlich komplizierter/teurer gemacht - gut, nimmt man halt die eigenen. Leider aber eben zulasten der fetten Fülle, die mein 15jähriges ich so geliebt hatte (und bis heute liebt), auch mehr als Anthrax-Kollabos. Naja, trotzdem: 3. Und Grüße gehen raus an Clawfinger!

I'm good.

Para afines al estilo. Buenas bases

“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

Did not expect Anthrax

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

flava flav never does anything I like a lot of the songs on here tho

This was fucking dope, last song is excellent

not my style

3.5. Militant. Aggressive. A little long. But I liked it.

Bon album mais pas non plus un coup de coeur

meh!

Better than I expected

Love the political nature. Weak repetitive beats. Decent lyricism

Meh

Pretty solid, Bring the Noise is a great little time capsule to the beginning of rap/rock.

Soberbio. Elegante. Justo y necesario.

nel

Classic 90s hip-hop. I don't normally listen to this genre, so I'm glad to get more exposure. Bring Tha Noise brought be back to THPS 2 for sure... Highlights: -Nighttrain -By The Time I Get to Arizona -Bring Tha Noise

It’s no Fear Of A Black Planet, but still a great album by PE.

Is good

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

awesome 😎 flavvy flavvy

High energy, classic PE

quite funky but not for me

Banger

Hard hitting production and Chuck D's socially relevant writing is kind of compromised by FLAVA FLAVS direct references to his own personal wife beating and (almost extreme) homophobic undertakings outlined in A Letter to The New York Post. Seems like this is FLAVA FLAV'S only real contribution to the record which totally decimates any sincere attempts at addressing broader social issues. I thought Chuck D's delivery was 5/5 though, there are a couple of songs where you can really prominently here is breathing techniques which was interesting. I'm conflicted on my rating, FLAVA FLAV deserves a 1/5 but Chuck deserves a 5 so I'm landing on 3.

Blew my ass off. The first half is so strong and powerful.

This is not my thing. I don't have the patience for this type of rap I am sorry. I do like the bit where it goes 'night train!'

Great!

Yo

really good hip hop, maybe a tad overly aggressive about certain issues

Chuck d is a legend. Good album but not there best. 3.5 stars

A great album with some great social commentary

Assez redondant avec des flows similaires sur quasi la totalité, des rythmes peu variés Lyrics contestataires mais assez balourds Samples et prods quelques fois intéressants Album trop marqué dans son époque ce qui n'est pas un défaut en soi mais qui en fait un disque peu intéressant et ennuyant à découvrir en 2021

Conflicted with this one. One one hand, I love the sound of this era of hip hop. Always have, even the weird rap/rock Anthrax mashup at the end. Politically charged, lots of lyrics about race relations. On the other hand, some of the lyrics are terribly homophobic and anti-Semitic. Flavor Flav also sounds like a total asshole (convicted of beating his partner, and then complains about the New York Post writing about the story).

This might actually be my favorite Public Enemy album? It's still super overwhelming and some of the lyrics haven't aged super well but I can dig it.

Very good.

+

wat

Strong message, not a fan of the style

I thought I’d need to be in the mood but I enjoyed it anyway

Listening to this album makes me wonder what the hell happened to rap music.

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.

It's a Flava Flav heavy album, which makes it lesser Public Enemy for me. Best track: By the Time I Get to Arizona

Interesting

Public Enemy is bad background music. Some of the sound design on this record was quite fresh. Flavor Flav is hilarious.

Valoro el aporte, pero no me gustó tanto. un 3 que en realidad es un 2 1/2

Some real solid tracks.

This album is fkn cool. If modern hip hop sounded like this I'd buy every new album coming out. 4/5.

Good album with some substance involving race represented in music.

Banger