The album considered by many as the magnum opus of hip-hop recordings, would sell one million copies in its first week.
Fear Of A Black Planet influenced by Dr. Frances Cress Welsing’s 1970’s essay The Cress Theory Of Color – Confrontation And Racism (White Supremacy).
Fear Of A Black Planet was the last album produced solely by the original Bomb Squad team consisting of Hank and Keith Shocklee, Eric “Vietnam” Sadler and Public Enemy leader Chuck D.
psychology pays tribute with The Diamond In The Rough: The Public Enemy Session
Fear of a Black Planet is recognized as one of hip hop's greatest and most important albums. In 2003, the album was ranked number 300 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2004, it was chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
April 10th, 2010 is a a day worth noting as it marks the 20th anniversary of the release of one of hip hop's greatest & most important albums, Fear Of A Black Planet.
Recorded during the months of June to October 1989 at Greene Street Recording in New York City, Fear of a Black Planet was produced entirely by The Bomb Squad, containing layers upon layers of samples, which became the signature sound of the Bomb Squad. Fear of a Black Planet contains themes of organization and empowerment within the African-American community. From black exploitation in the film & music industry to miscegenation & racism, the album "was as much a musical assault on America's racism as it was a call to blacks to effectively react to it", according to author Marcus Reeves in his book Somebody Scream!: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power.
The 3rd studio album from Public Enemy, Fear Of A Black Planet was chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2004.
A timeless album from one of the most significant groups, not only in hip hop, but in music, contains some of hip hops most prolific & important anthems of the 20th century:
Brothers Gonna Work It Out
911 Is A Joke
And of course, Fight The Power, which is still regarded as one of the most popular and influential songs in hip-hop history and was the theme song of Spike Lee'sDo The Right Thing
Tonight (April 8) on K103, psychology pays tribute to Public Enemy & Fear Of A Black Planet with The Diamond In The Rough: The Public Enemy Session. This edition of DITR is one of the most anticipated mixes, and has been on the the calendar for at least 2 years. The mix & anticpation culminates tonight at midnight.
