Fear of a Black Planet

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Fear of a Black Planet is Public Enemy's third album, released on 10 April 1990 by Def Jam and Columbia. It was produced by the team The Bomb Squad, who further developed the sample fabric of the previous album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The rapper Chuck D wanted to make a deep, complex record. The furore around Professor Griff, who was thrown out of the group after anti-Semitic remarks, played a part in the writing.

The sound consists of intricate collages of shifting rhythms, many samples, fragments from the media and idiosyncratic loops. The lyrics deal with organisation and strength within the black community, social problems and race relations, and criticise institutional racism. The record was a commercial and critical success and sold two million copies in the United States. In 2004 the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry.

Listening

Track list

1. 1Contract on the World Love Jam1:46Apple Music ↗
2. 2Brothers Gonna Work It Out5:07Apple Music ↗
3. 3911 Is a Joke3:17Apple Music ↗
4. 4Incident at 66.6 FM1:38Apple Music ↗
5. 5Welcome to the Terrordome5:26Apple Music ↗
6. 6Meet the G That Killed Me0:45Apple Music ↗
7. 7Pollywanacraka3:52Apple Music ↗
8. 8Anti-N****r Machine3:17Apple Music ↗
9. 9Burn Hollywood Burn (feat. Ice Cube & Big Daddy Kane)2:48Apple Music ↗
10. 10Power to the People3:48Apple Music ↗
11. 11Who Stole the Soul?3:49Apple Music ↗
12. 12Fear of a Black Planet3:45Apple Music ↗
13. 13Revolutionary Generation5:43Apple Music ↗
14. 14Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya, Man!2:47Apple Music ↗
15. 15Reggie Jax1:36Apple Music ↗
16. 16Leave This Off Your Fu*kin Charts2:31Apple Music ↗
17. 17B Side Wins Again3:46Apple Music ↗
18. 18War at 33 1/32:08Apple Music ↗
19. 19Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned0:49Apple Music ↗
20. 20Fight the Power4:45Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗