The Fear of a Black Planet
Album by Public Enemy
Released	March 20, 1990
Recorded	Summer/Fall 1989 at Greene Street Recording in New York, New York & The Music Palace , West Hempstead and Spectrum City Studios in Long Island, New York
Genre	Rap & Hip-Hop
Length	64 min 04 sec
Record label	Def Jam
Producer	The Bomb Squad
Professional reviews
All Music Guide review	5 stars out of 5	link
Public Enemy Chronology
Fight the Power...Live! (1989)	The Fear of a Black Planet (1990)	Apocalypse '91...the Enemy Strikes Black (1991)

Fear of a Black Planet is an East Coast rap album by the hip hop crew Public Enemy, released on March 20, 1990 (see 1990 in music). The album's musical qualities were overshadowed by a recent controversy surrounding alleged anti-Semitic remarks by group member Professor Griff. Since the controversy has retreated into the past, the album's critical reception has been generally very positive, with many commentators ranking it equal to or better than their more popular and universally acclaimed prior album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The Bomb Squad's innovative and diverse production and Chuck D's incendiary and thoughtful songwriting have earned the album raves from many critics.

Track listing

1. "Contract on the World Love Jam" [instrumental] (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
2. "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
3. "911 Is a Joke" (Drayton/Sadler/Shocklee)
4. "Incident at 66.6 FM" [instrumental] (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
5. "Welcome to the Terrordome" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
6. "Meet the G That Killed Me" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
7. "Pollywanacraka" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
8. "Anti-Nigger Machine" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
9. "Burn Hollywood Burn" (Hardy/Jackson/Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
10. "Power to the People" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
11. "Who Stole the Soul?" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
12. "Fear of a Black Planet" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
13. "Revolutionary Generation" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
14. "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
15. "Reggie Jax" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
16. "Leave This off Your Fu*kin Charts" [instrumental] (Rodgers)
17. "B Side Wins Again" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
18. "War at 33 1/3" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
19. "Final Count of the Collison Between Us and Them" [instrumental] (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
20. "Fight the Power" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee/Shocklee)

Chart positions

Billboard Music Charts - album

 1990                   The Billboard 200                                 No. 10
 1990                Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums                 No. 3

Billboard Music Charts - singles

 1989      Fight the Power                           Hot Rap Singles                       No. 1
 1990   911 Is a Joke                                 Hot Rap Singles                   No. 1
 1990   Brother's Gonna Work it Out         Hot Rap Singles                     No. 22
 1990   Welcome to the Terrordome        Hot Rap Singles                        No. 3
 1990   911 Is a Joke                                 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks                  No. 15
 1990   Brother's Gonna Work it Out         Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks                    No. 20
 1990   Welcome to the Terrordome          Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks                     No. 15
 1990   Brother's Gonna Work it Out         Hot Dance Music/Club Play                   No. 31
 1990   Welcome to the Terrordome          Hot Dance Music/Club Play                    No. 49
 1990   911 Is a Joke                                 Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales                        No. 26
 1990   Brothers Gonna Work it Out          Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales                  No. 36
 1990   Welcome to the Terrordome         Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales                    No. 8
 1991   Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man          Hot Rap Singles                    No. 11

Personnel

• Big Daddy Kane - Rapper
• Ice Cube - Rapper
• Professor Griff - Rapper
• Chris Champion - Assistant Engineer
• Chuck D - Rapper
• Paul Eulin - Engineer, Mixing
• Flavor Flav - Rapper
• 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