Fear of a Black Planet

Not to be confused with Fear of a Blank Planet or Fear of a Black Hat.

Fear of a Black Planet
Studio album by
Public Enemy
ReleasedApril 10, 1990
RecordedJune 1989–February 1990[1]
Studio
Genre
Length63:21
Label
ProducerThe 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
  1. "Fight the Power"
    Released: July 4, 1989
  2. "Welcome to the Terrordome"
    Released: January 26, 1990
  3. "911 Is a Joke"
    Released: April 9, 1990
  4. "Brothers Gonna Work It Out"
    Released: June 8, 1990
  5. "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man"
    Released: October 29, 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.

  1. ^ Brian Coleman (2014-10-13). "The Making of Ice Cube's "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted"". Medium. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Fonseca, Anthony J. (2019). Listen to Rap! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO. p. 166. ISBN 978-1440865671.
  4. ^ Cader, Michael, ed. (2002). People: Almanac 2003. Time Home Entertainment. p. 175. ISBN 192904996X.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.