Fear of a Black Planet

Fear of a Black Planet
Missing image PublicEnemyFearofaBlackPlan.jpg Album cover
Album by Public Enemy
Released	March 20, 1990
Recorded	Summer/Fall 1989 at Greene Street Recording in New York, New York & The Music Palace, West Hempstead and Spectrum City Studios in Long Island, New York
Genre	Rap & Hip-Hop
Length	64 min 04 sec
Record label	Def Jam
Producer	The Bomb Squad
Professional reviews
All Music Guide review	5 stars out of 5	link (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:cj9us38ba3vg)
Public Enemy Chronology
Fight the Power...Live! (1989)	Fear of a Black Planet (1990)	Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black (1991)

Fear of a Black Planet is an East Coast rap album by the hip hop crew Public Enemy, released on March 20, 1990 (see 1990 in music). The album's musical qualities were overshadowed by a recent controversy surrounding alleged anti-Semitic remarks by group member Professor Griff. Since the controversy has retreated into the past, the album's critical reception has been generally very positive, with many commentators ranking it equal to or better than their more popular and universally acclaimed prior album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The Bomb Squad's innovative and diverse production and Chuck D's incendiary and thoughtful songwriting have earned the album raves from many critics. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music credits Fear of a Black Planet's atmosphere to the "bunker mentality" of "clashes with the press", and specifically cites "Fight the Power", which "bites harder than just about any other track in rap's history" (p. 1864).

Contents

1 Track listing 2 Chart positions 3 Personnel 4 References

Track listing

1. "Contract on the World Love Jam" [instrumental] (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
2. "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
3. "911 Is a Joke" (Drayton/Sadler/Shocklee)
4. "Incident at 66.6 FM" [instrumental] (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
5. "Welcome to the Terrordome" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
6. "Meet the G That Killed Me" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
7. "Pollywanacraka" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
8. "Anti-Nigger Machine" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
9. "Burn Hollywood Burn" (Hardy/Jackson/Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
10. "Power to the People" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
11. "Who Stole the Soul?" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
12. "Fear of a Black Planet" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
13. "Revolutionary Generation" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
14. "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
15. "Reggie Jax" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
16. "Leave This off Your Fu*kin Charts" [instrumental] (Rodgers)
17. "B Side Wins Again" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
18. "War at 33⅓" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
19. "Final Count of the Collison Between Us and Them" [instrumental] (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
20. "Fight the Power" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee/Shocklee)

Chart positions

Billboard Music Charts - album

1990	The Billboard 200	               No. 10
1990	   Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	              No. 3

Billboard Music Charts - singles

1989    Fight the Power	                    Hot Rap Singles	                             No. 1
1990	911 Is a Joke	                       Hot Rap Singles	                                No. 1
1990	Brother's Gonna Work it Out	       Hot Rap Singles	                                No. 22
1990	Welcome to the Terrordome  	       Hot Rap Singles	                                No. 3
1990	911 Is a Joke	                       Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	                No. 15
1990	Brother's Gonna Work it Out	       Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	                No. 20
1990	Welcome to the Terrordome	       Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	                No. 15
1990	Brother's Gonna Work it Out	       Hot Dance Music/Club Play	                No. 31
1990	Welcome to the Terrordome	       Hot Dance Music/Club Play	                No. 49
1990	911 Is a Joke	                       Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales               No. 26
1990	Brothers Gonna Work it Out	       Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	        No. 36
1990	Welcome to the Terrordome	       Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales               No. 8
1991	Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man	       Hot Rap Singles	                                No. 11

Personnel

• Big Daddy Kane - Rapper
• Ice Cube - Rapper
• Professor Griff - Rapper
• Chris Champion - Assistant Engineer
• Chuck D - Rapper
• Paul Eulin - Engineer, Mixing
• Flavor Flav - Rapper
• Rod Hui - Engineer, Mixing
• Steve Loeb - Engineer
• Branford Marsalis - Saxophone
• Carl Ryder - Arranger, Director, Producer, Sequencing
• Nick Sansano - Engineer, Mixing
• Keith Shocklee - Arranger, Director, Producer, Sequencing
• Paul Shabazz - Programming
• Christopher Shaw - Engineer, Mixing
• Hank Shocklee - Arranger, Director, Producer, Sequencing
• Howie Weinberg - Mastering
• Kirk Yano - Engineer
• Eric "Vietnam" Sadler - Arranger, Director, Programming, Producer, *Sequencing
• Mike Bona - Engineer, Mixing
• Norman Rogers - Scratching
• Jules Allen - Photography
• Dave Patillo - Assistant Engineer
• Dan Wood - Engineer, Mixing
• Tom Conway - Assistant Engineer

References

• The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Edited by Colin Larkin. 1992. London. MUZE UK Ltd. ISBN 033374134X