In 1990, after two years of controversy and uncertainty, Public Enemy returned with Fear of a Black Planet; the most coherent, focused rap album to date. On Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy amazingly build on the near perfection of It Takes a Nation, elevating the music to an even higher artistic level. Fear of a Black Planet begins with an instrumental track, "Contract on the World Love Jam", that quietly describes the band's precarious situation from the previous year. Then, the album explodes into an intense, funky song that manipulates a Prince sample so creatively you probably won't recognize it. The lyrics and title assure everyone that, "Brothers Gonna Work It Out". That song sets the tone for the entire album and from that point Public Enemy takes hold and never relaxes their grip.

Fear of a Black Planet is a remarkably complex record; each song seems to change gears and move in a different direction. It's unpredictable, yet it always sounds like Public Enemy knows exactly where they're going. On, "Incident at 66.6 FM", The Bomb Squad samples a call-in radio interview with Chuck D. The comments by the interviewer and numerous callers introduce the next track, "Welcome to the Terror Dome". Chuck D effectively shoots down his critics against a menacing soundscape that includes a refined siren sample, with a muted vocal harmony in the background. On, "Fear of a Black Planet", he addresses the baseless fear of interracial marriage. He displays an uncharacteristic sense of humor, as some of the vocals are manipulated to sound munchkin-like (yet still sound in character with the song). On, "B Side Wins Again", he berates mainstream radio for refusing to play anything unusual or controversial. Chuck's voice is treated with a reverberation effect, creating a fuzzy echo after the initial vocal sound.

Though Chuck D is clearly the primary creative force behind Public Enemy, Flavor Flav has a number of strong moments. On, "911 is a Joke", he berates emergency response crews for incompentence. On, "Can't do Nuttin' For Ya Man", he tells a seemingly hopeless case to solve his own problems. Flavor Flav delivers his clever rhymes with his trademark humorous flamboyance. He and Chuck D collaborate on the final song, the best rap anthem ever recorded and Public Enemy's statement of purpose, "Fight the Power". "Fight the Power" is the perfect conclusion for an adventurous record that, despite it's many musical directions, is always focused.

Many have condemned Public Enemy for promoting bigotry. In some sense this is not without basis, as some lyrics on Fear of a Black Planet appear, at least superficially, to be prejudicial. On, "Welcome to the Terror Dome", Chuck responds to a Rabbi who critized the group with words like, "Told the Rab, get off the rag" and, "they got me like Jesus". Even though he later stated that he doesn't harbor hostility for all Jews, this isn't apparent while listening to the album. "Meet the G That Killed Me", contains blatantly homophobic lyrics such as, "Man to man, don't know if they can, from what I know, that parts don't fit". While you may not agree with these and other viewpoints (which I sometimes don't), they are irrelevant to Public Enemy's artistic achievement. The entire presentation is what makes their music artistically viable.

After Black Planet, Public Enemy released Apocalypse 91: The Enemy Strikes Black (1991). It's a strong effort with several outstanding tracks, but a bit uneven and not a progression from their previous work. In 1994, they released Muse Sick-N-Hour Message; a listless, redundant disappointment. Since then, the group has shown flashes of innovation, but is mostly just treading water (as evidence of this, Chuck D is now known more for his support of music on the internet rather any artistic contribution). With It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy took rap to an artistic and cultural level that had not been reached before and hasn't been reached since.


RACISM IS ALIVE & WELL.   February 14, 2002
12 out of 51 found this review helpful

Never excuse racism in the name of art. Many have heaped praise on these creative but racist rappers. I won't. Needless to say, if this had been recorded vice versa by "crakas", it would be universally condemned. That is a double standard I will not endorse. "Elvis was simple... racist" shows ignorance of the facts and a kind of twisted, racist/artistic jealousy. Chuck D., you can be obsessed with race and continue spewing hate, or move past it as Malcolm eventually did. Life is short. Do some good. Malcolm & Martin did. So did Elvis.


As racist and hateful as they people they where against   April 15, 2005
11 out of 25 found this review helpful

P.E. are often called "revolutionary", "political" and "angry". This is true to a degree, but they also proved you could make hate and racism ok as long as its blacks against whites. In the late 80's, Griff, a member of P.E., publicly stated how he believed whites where descended from bestiality and that all whites- including impoverished peoples in corners of Europe he probably knows nothing about (..) And Chuck D? He calmly "backed up" his homey Griff and seemed to ignore the blatant hypocracy of the whole thing. Why does being from one minority group excuse you to be as racist as the people you are against?

The irony being that P.E.'s core audience where white suburban kids(remember John Connor from Terminator 2?), not angry urban black youths. Flava Flav is now reduced to reality TV, Chuck D had an unsuccesful stint as a silent spokesmodel for Sony headphones, and people have seemed to have forgotten about this so-called revolutionary rap group. The songs are so dated. "Burn Hollywood Burn" could never be written today, and its a total exaggeration of how "racist" Hollywood is seeing as how there where a fair amount of black films from the black perspective coming out in the 80's. Ice Cube guest stars on the track and its funny hearing him rant about whitey when nowadays his rap career takes a sideseat to his successful Hollywood career.

Bye bye Public Enemy, Don't believe the hype, or the hate.


Rap, hip-hop, rock classic   July 10, 2001
R. Riis (NY)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Back before there was East Coast and West Coast, Public Enemy were THE important artists in rap and this was their best CD. "Welcome to the Terrordome" is a classic in any genre, and "911 Is a Joke" is another gem. The whole CD holds together as one programmed piece of eloquent socio-politics and sonic art. One CD that every rock (let alone rap or hip-hop) fan should own.


A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES   January 16, 2000
Hoin Jumlos (Australia)
8 out of 34 found this review helpful

Anybody who likes this type of music should see a psychiatrist. Hateful, aggressive, when they called it rap they left off the C. This group in particular would have to be the biggest bunch of hypocrites in existence. They offer pious platitudes about how hard done by the African-American is while at the same time calling gays evil. That says it all, really. It would be a good thing if all rap music was dumped on a huge bonfire with this group leading the way.