FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET

'''Fear of a Black Planet''' is the third full-length album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on March 20, 1990 on Def Jam Recordings (see 1990 in music). The album's musical qualities were overshadowed by a controversy surrounding alleged anti-Semitic remarks by group member Professor Griff. After the controversy had been forgotten, however, the album's critical reception was generally very positive, with many commentators ranking it equal to or better than the previous album, ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'' (1988). In particular, critics were favorable to The Bomb Squad's innovative and diverse production and Chuck D's songwriting. 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).
It was ranked 21 in ''Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums. In 2004, ''Fear of a Black Planet'' was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.

Contents

Track listing

Billboard music charts

Album

Singles

Personnel

Partial list of samples

References

Track listing

#"Contract on the World Love Jam" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 1:44
#"Brothers Gonna Work It Out" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 5:07
#"911 Is a Joke" (Drayton/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:17
#"Incident at 66.6 FM" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 1:37
#"Welcome to the Terrordome" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 5:25
#"Meet the G That Killed Me" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 0:44
#"Pollywanacraka" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:52
#"Anti-Nigger Machine" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:17
#"Burn Hollywood Burn" (Hardy/Jackson/Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 2:47
#
★ Featuring Ice Cube & Big Daddy Kane
#"Power to the People" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:50
#"Who Stole the Soul?" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:49
#"Fear of a Black Planet" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:45
#"Revolutionary Generation" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 5:43
#"Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 2:46
#"Reggie Jax" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 1:35
#"Leave This Off Your Fu
★ kin Charts" (Rodgers) – 2:31
#"B Side Wins Again" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 3:45
#"War at 33⅓" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 2:07
#"Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee) – 0:48
#"Fight the Power" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee/Shocklee) – 4:42

Billboard music charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1990	Billboard 200	10
1990	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	3

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1989	"Fight the Power"	Hot Rap Singles	1
1990	"911 Is a Joke"	Hot Rap Singles	1
		Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	15
		Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	26
		Hot 100 (Sales)	34 ★
	"Brothers Gonna Work it Out"	Hot Rap Singles	22
		Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	20
		Hot Dance Music/Club Play	31
		Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	36
	"Welcome to the Terrordome"	Hot Rap Singles	3
		Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	15
		Hot Dance Music/Club Play	49
		Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	8
1991	"Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man"	Hot Rap Singles	11

:
★ First Sales Only Hot 100 single

Personnel

★ Chuck D – rapper

★ Flavor Flav – rapper

★ Professor Griff – rapper

★ Big Daddy Kane – rapper

★ Ice Cube – rapper

★ Chris Champion – assistant engineer

★ Paul Eulin – engineer, mixing

★ 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

Partial list of samples

The following lists some of the songs and sounds sampled on ''Fear of a Black Planet''.
;"Contract on the World Love Jam" (instrumental)
:
★ "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown
:
★ "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic
:
★ "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James
;"Brothers Gonna Work It Out"
:
★ "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince
:
★ "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton
:
★ "Buffalo Girls" by Malcolm McLaren
:
★ "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
:
★ "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & the Family Stone
:
★ "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved" by James Brown
:
★ "Fantastic Freaks at the Dixie" by DJ Grand Wizard Theodore
:
★ "Rappin' Ain't No Thang" by Boogie Boys featuring Kool Ski, Kid Delight & Disco Dave
:
★ "Bring the Noise", "Don't Believe the Hype", & "Rebel Without a Pause" by Public Enemy
;"911 Is a Joke"
:
★ "Flash Light" by Parliament
:
★ "Thriller" by Michael Jackson
:
★ "Hit by a Car" by Eddie Murphy
;"Welcome to the Terrordome"
:
★ "AJ Scratch" by Kurtis Blow
:
★ "Bon Bon Vie" by T.S. Monk
:
★ "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang
:
★ "Psychedelic Shack" by The Temptations
:
★ "You're Gonna Get Yours" by Public Enemy
:
★ "I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get it Girl)" by Instant Funk
:
★ "Cold Sweat", "I Got to Move", "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved" by James Brown
;"Pollywanacraka"
:
★ "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton
:
★ "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson
:
★ "Schoolboy Crush" by Average White Band
:
★ "I Wanna Do Something Freaky to You" by Leon Haywood
;"Anti-Nigger Machine"
:
★ "Flash Light" by Parliament
:
★ "There It Is" by James Brown
:
★ "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins
:
★ "Buffalo Girls" by Malcolm McLaren
:
★ "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang
:
★ "More Bounce to the Ounce" by Zapp
:
★ "Change Le Beat" by Fab Five Freddy
:
★ "We Got More Soul" by Dyke & the Blazers
:
★ "South Bronx" by Boogie Down Productions
:
★ "Love Child" by Diana Ross & the Supremes
:
★ "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" by Public Enemy
:
★ "Last Night Changed It All (I Really Had a Ball)" by Esther Williams
;"Burn Hollywood Burn"
:
★ "Hot Wheels (The Chase)" by Badder Than Evil
;"Power to the People"
:
★ "Gimme Some More" by The JB's
:
★ "Turn Me Loose" by Sly & the Family Stone
;"Who Stole the Soul?"
:
★ "Getting Better" by The Beatles
:
★ "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins
:
★ "Stand!" by Sly & the Family Stone
:
★ "Bring the Noise" by Public Enemy
:
★ "It's a New Day (Live)", & "Make It Funky" by James Brown
:
★ "Blow Your Whistle" by Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers
;"Fear of a Black Planet"
:
★ "Flyte Time" by The Blackbyrds
:
★ "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson
:
★ "Underdog" by Sly & the Family Stone
;"Revolutionary Generation"
:
★ "Pass the Dutchie" by Musical Youth
:
★ "Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix)" by Double Dee and Steinski
:
★ "I Don't Know What This World Is Coming To" (Live) by Soul Children
;"Leave This Off Your Fuckin' Charts"
:
★ "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash
;"B Side Wins Again"
:
★ "N.T." by Kool & the Gang
:
★ "Tougher Than Leather" by Run-D.M.C.
;"Fight the Power"
:
★ "Bird of Prey" by Uriah Heep
:
★ "Hot Pants Road" by The JB's
:
★ "Pump Me Up" by Trouble Funk
:
★ "Funky President" by James Brown
:
★ "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa
:
★ "I Know You Got Soul" by Bobby Byrd
:
★ "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & the Family Stone
:
★ "What You See Is What You Get" by The Dramatics

References

★ ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Edited by Colin Larkin. 1992. London. Muze UK Ltd. ISBN 0-333-74134-X

★ Librarian of Congress Names 50 Recordings to the 2004 National Recording Registry