Not to be confused with Fear of a Blank Planet or Fear of a Black Hat.
1990 studio album by Public Enemy
Fear of a Black Planet
Studio album by
Public Enemy
Released
April 10, 1990
Recorded
June 1989–February 1990[1]
Studio
Greene St. Recording (New York City)
The Music Palace (West Hempstead)
Spectrum City (Hempstead)
Genre
East Coast hip hop[2]
hardcore hip hop[3]
political rap[4]
progressive rap[5]
sampledelia[6]
Length
63:21
Label
Def Jam
Columbia
Producer
The Bomb Squad
Public Enemy chronology
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991)
Singles from Fear of a Black Planet
"Fight the Power" Released: July 4, 1989
"Welcome to the Terrordome" Released: January 1990
"911 Is a Joke" Released: April 1990
"Brothers Gonna Work It Out" Released: June 1990
"Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" Released: October 1990
Fear of a Black Planet is the third studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was released on April 10, 1990, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records, and produced by the group's production team The Bomb Squad, who expanded on the sample-layered sound of Public Enemy's previous album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988). Having fulfilled their initial creative ambitions with that album, the group aspired to create what lead rapper Chuck D called "a deep, complex album". Their songwriting was partly inspired by the controversy surrounding member Professor Griff's anti-Semitic public comments and his consequent dismissal from the group in 1989.
Reflecting its confrontational tone, Fear of a Black Planet features elaborate sound collages that incorporate varying rhythms, numerous samples, media sound bites, and eccentric loops. Recorded during the golden age of hip hop, its assemblage of reconfigured and recontextualized aural sources took advantage of creative freedom that existed before the emergence of a sample clearance system in the music industry. Thematically, Fear of a Black Planet explores organization and empowerment within the black community, social issues affecting African Americans, and race relations at the time. Its critiques of institutional racism, white supremacy, and the power elite were partly inspired by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing's views on color.
A commercial and critical hit, Fear of a Black Planet sold two million copies in the United States and received rave reviews from critics, many of whom named it one of the year's best albums. Its success contributed significantly to the popularity of Afrocentric and political subject matter in hip hop and the genre's mainstream resurgence at the time. Since then, it has been viewed as one of hip hop's greatest and most important records, as well as being musically and culturally significant. In 2004, the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry. In 2020, Fear of a Black Planet was ranked number 176 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
^Brian Coleman (2014-10-13). "The Making of Ice Cube's "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted"". Medium. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
^Henderson, Alex (2001). "Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet". In Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (eds.). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music. Backbeat Books/All Media Guide. ISBN 9780879306274.
^Fonseca, Anthony J. (2019). Listen to Rap! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO. p. 166. ISBN 978-1440865671.
^Cader, Michael, ed. (2002). People: Almanac 2003. Time Home Entertainment. p. 175. ISBN 192904996X.
^Pinn, Anthony (2005). "Rap Music and Its Message". In Forbes, Bruce; Mahan, Jeffrey H. (eds.). Religion and Popular Culture in America. University of California Press. p. 263. ISBN 9780520932579. Retrieved March 1, 2021 – via Google Books.
^Blyweiss, Adam (August 5, 2013). "The Top 100 Hip-Hop Albums of the '90s: 1990-1994 - 1. Public Enemy – Fear of a Black Planet". Treble. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
and 24 Related for: Fear of a Black Planet information
FearofaBlackPlanet is the third studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was released on April 10, 1990, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia...
is a direct reference to the 1990 Public Enemy album FearofaBlackPlanet; while the former tackled race issues, the latter is about the fearof losing...
her thesis. The title is derived from the 1990 Public Enemy album FearofaBlackPlanet. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24...
Fearofa Punk Planet is the third album by the southern California punk rock band The Vandals, originally released in 1990 by Triple X Records. It was...
critics' poll. Their next three albums, FearofaBlackPlanet (1990), Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991) and Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994)...
single "Rebel Without a Pause", also charted in the United Kingdom. FearofaBlackPlanet, the group's third studio album, was released in April 1990. The...
(1989) FearofaBlackPlanet (1990) He Got Game (1998) K-9 Posse It Gets No Deeper (1989) Young Black Teenagers Nobody Knows Kelli / Proud to be Black (1990)...
released an album, Fearofa Pink Planet, in July 2014. The single "Let's Take It Naked" preceded the album in January 2014, followed by a controversial video...
Rush the Show / It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back / FearofaBlackPlanet / Apocalypse 91.... The Enemy Strikes Black / Greatest Misses (Island/Def...
Terrordome" is a song by the American hip hop band Public Enemy, recorded for their 1990 album FearofaBlackPlanet. It was released as a single in January...
title is a play on words relating to Public Enemy's FearofaBlackPlanet album. On 2007 they collaborated with Yoko Ono on the song "Death of Samantha"...
(1987), It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988), FearofaBlackPlanet (1990), Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991), the compilation...
concept of the album was inspired by Bret Easton Ellis novel Lunar Park and the title alludes to Public Enemy's album, FearofaBlackPlanet, both sharing...
Jackson Jr. – Out of the Shadows ('My Thing' and 'The New Jazz Swing') Bell Biv Devoe – Poison Public Enemy – FearofaBlackPlanet Ice Cube – AmeriKKKa's...
Valley of the Jeep Beets (1991) Super Bad (1994) Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987) It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) FearofaBlackPlanet (1990)...
Australian stand-up comedian of Bangladeshi descent. He is best known as one half of comedy duo Fearofa Brown Planet, along with Nazeem Hussain. Rahman's...
For Ya Man" from their album FearofaBlackPlanet and also appeared on their album Apocalypse '91...The Enemy Strikes Black. Apocalypse '91 (Media notes)...
(2008-06-01). "Bro Knows Football". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-07. Black, Johnny (August 2002). "The Greatest Songs Ever! Fight the Power". Blender...