Public Enemy ‘Apolocalypse 91’ 25th Anniversary
Release date: 1st October 1991
Label: Def Jam / Columbia
Producers: The Bomb Squad, The Imperial Grand Ministers of Funk
Profile (courtesy of Wikipedia):
“Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on October 1, 1991, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. The album received critical acclaim, ranking at No. 2 in The Village Voice’s 1991 Pazz & Jop critics’ poll.
Apocalypse 91 was recorded at The Music Palace in Long Island, New York and produced by The Bomb Squad and The Imperial Grand Ministers of Funk, which consisted of producers Stuart Robertz, Cerwin “C-Dawg” Depper, Gary “G-Wiz” Rinaldo, and The JBL. The album title refers to the films Apocalypse Now and The Empire Strikes Back. It was released on October 1, 1991, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. On November 26, 1991, Apocalypse 91 was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the United States.
Apocalypse 91 produced four singles: “Can’t Truss It”, “Night Train”, “Shut ‘Em Down” and its B-side “By the Time I Get to Arizona”. The latter featured a controversial music video where Public Enemy was depicted killing the 17th Governor of Arizona, Evan Mecham, who refused to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.‘s birthday as a national holiday. “Can’t Truss It” was Public Enemy’s most successful single, peaking at No. 9 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also peaked at No. 5 on the Dance chart, becoming their most successful release there. The song “Get the Fuck Outta Dodge” was a previously released as a B-Side to the “Can’t Do Nuttin’ for Ya Man” single from Fear of a Black Planet. The album also includes the thrash cover of their earlier hit “Bring the Noise” featuring Anthrax.”
Additional info:
- The track ‘Can’t Truss It’ appears on our 1991 Rap Megamix.
- The single ‘Shut Em Down (Pete Rock Remix)’ comes in at #4 in Ego Trip’s Top 40 Rap Singles of 1991.
- Listen to samples used in the making of the album on WhoSampled.
Purchase: Discogs