4.
Public Enemy – Fear Of A Black Planet
This record was the sound of summer in ’90. I have always felt a strong sentimental attachment to it. In 1990 I was in high school and spent most of my time skating, often taking the train into NYC where I would hear ‘Fight The Power’ blaring from car windows or sidewalk boomboxes. It still gives me the same exact feeling it did when I heard it that summer. Few records do that to me in the way that this one does. As a teen it made me feel completely alive and present, and taught me to hold my head up and take pride in the righteousness of a stance that was frowned upon by people in power. It is a true masterpiece, both sonically and lyrically. Chuck D and the Bomb Squad were completely un-fuck-with-able. The energy, the message, the spirit, the soul, the aesthetic – everything perfect. And what a rarity to have such artistic and musical perfection also be educational and completely empowering. This record houses parts of the soul that have been left homeless in the current landscape of music. Do The Right Thing…
