Public Enemy - Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black

Maybe it's a concept album, but every odd numbered track on Apocalypse is incredible, while the even tracks fall apart or never come together at all. If you listen to the odds, you get PE breaking down issues facing African Americans almost to minutiae, outing everything from corporate sneaker pimps ("Shut Em Down") and 40oz. killers ("One Million Bottlebags") to a racially corrupt government ("By the Time I Get to Arizona"). And, thankfully, most of that dogma is couched inside PE's trademark air-raid drill noisematics so you can shake your ass while PE sublimates the gospel into your brain. Unfortunately, drop the odd tracks and you're listening to a sonically and lyrically inferior album. Suffer through Flav's reprehensible plea for martyrdom in "A Letter to the New York Post," or the inane and superfluous "Bring Tha Noize"--a co-op with Anthrax which takes rap-rock crossover back to a sad place, alongside Lou Reed's "Original (W)rapper". --Todd Levin Amazon.com

Mis-step? Not a chance!

This one has the reputation as being Public Enemy's first in a line of albums with decreasing relevance and power. Maybe it's nostalgia talking, but I could hardly disagree more. While it's true that the lyrical content of this album is a bit less confrontational than it's two immediate predecessors, the difference is very slight. The actual music itself, however, has taken a major step forward.

Now that's not to say that Chuck D (far and away the best MC rap has ever seen), has turned soft. His targets are various and unfortunate, from slave owners to the New York Post (in his own words the "worst piece of paper on the East coast") to African American booze hounds to the entire state of Arizona!

Like I said before, the instrumental aspect has been stepped up a notch. The Bomb Squad's production has never been more urgent - check the siren (or is it a vacuum cleaner?) on "Lost at Birth" or the heavier-than-plutonium beat on "Shut Em Down". Somehow they also managed to incorporate more melody at the same time, as you might find yourself humming tracks like "By The Time I Get to Arizona" and "Can't Truss It" before you realize it. It's still noisy and antagonistic, but this time just about every track has a memorable quality even before you consider the lyrical pearls Chuck is casting at your feet.

Even Flava Flav is on fire here! Many would argue that he was at his best with "911 is a Joke", but my personal fave of his has gotta be "I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo N!g@". The last verse is a riot. And did anyone else notice his successful, though brief, attempt at singing on "Nighttrain"? He actually sounds good doing it too. If only he had gone further in that artistic direction instead of ending up with "Flavour of Love"... but that's just wishful thinking.

I really can't identify with the editorial reviewer's thesis all the even-numbered tracks are throwaways. Not only does one of this album's biggest singles and dopest tracks ("Can't Truss It") fall in to this category, so too does the version of "Bring the Noise" as performed with Anthrax, which he thinks "takes rap-rock crossover back to a sad place". I hadn't heard this song in well over 10 years until I saw a video clip on TV, and I was BLOWN AWAY at how heavy it sounded all these years later. Whatever you think of clowns like Limp Bizkit, this version of the song just steamrolls over all in it's path, especially considering it's time and place. I submit that this track (and not "Walk this Way") is what truly paved the way for Rage Against the Machine a year later.

So anyone who has even a passing interest in Public Enemy that hasn't heard this album yet needs to pick it up right now. Forget what the crtics tell you, *this* is their best, although the albums building up to it are truly essential as well. October 28, 2007

Best P.E. album ever.

I bought Apocalypse 91 when it first came out on cassette back in the early 90's and i absolutely love it... every song on the album is incredible and is what classic hip hop is all about... you'll get your money's worth on this c.d... it's been over 15 years since the album dropped and it still sounds dope as hell and better than 99% of the rap music out there. September 7, 2007

The godfather of conscious rap

I have nothing but respect for Public Enemy. They opened up the doors for rappers who would raher give you insight in music than the same old playlist recommendations. Even though my respect for Flava Flav(or Tasteless Taste)has dwindled over the years, my respect for Chuck D has never changed. Standout Tracks: LOST AT BIRTH, REBIRTH, NIGHTTRAIN, CANT TRUSS IT(I used to be able to sing all the words to this song as a youth), I DONT WANNA BE CALLED YO N***A, BY THE TIME I GET TO ARIZONA, MOVE, I MILLION BOTTLEBAGS, SHUT EM DOWN(the skit at the end of this song is as truthful as it is hilarious), GET THE F*** OUTTA DODGE etc. Filler: None. Bottom Line: This is a hip hop classic from beginning to end. A lot of gems on this album, the lyrics were excellent and the production(provided by the Bomb Squad) is solid as usual. One of my favorite Public Enemy albums after It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. January 13, 2007

Bass for your Face , Not an 8 Track

After having released 3 critically acclaimed albums, PE came with Apocalypse 91. Unfortunately, this album (unfairly) marked a long downslide for them. Although the album itself is first rate, critics were already comparing their work to the near-perfect Nation of Millions. While Black Planet continued that barrage, 91 was a different record. It also came out at a time when Professor Griff and Chuck D were coming under heavy fire for statements they had made in press conferences. So as their public image suffered, so did this record. Standout cuts include "Can't Truss It" "Arizona" "Bottlebags" "Shut Em Down" and "Dodge". Granted, this project is more uneven than the other 3 PE tracks to this point, but still a great PE album. January 3, 2006

The Last Call

The last great album from PE. It was released when the minstrel show known as gangster rap was on the verge of taking over hip hop. November 20, 2005

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