Shut 'Em Down (Public Enemy song)

Last updated
"Shut Em' Down"
Shut 'Em Down.jpeg
Single by Public Enemy
from the album Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black
A-side "Shut Em Down"
B-side "By The Time I Get To Arizona"
Released1991 (1991)
Studio The Music Palace
Genre Hip Hop
Length4:18
Label
Producer(s) The Bomb Squad
Public Enemy singles chronology
"Can't Truss It"
(1991)
"Shut Em' Down"
(1991)
"Nighttrain"
(1992)

"Shut 'Em Down" is the fourth single from Public Enemy's fourth studio album Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black .

Chuck D of Public Enemy explained to Melody Maker in 1991: "'Shut 'Em Down' is about major corporations like Nike taking profits from the black community, but not giving anything back, never opening businesses in black areas. And it's saying that the best way to boycott a business is to start your own."

Part of group member Chuck D's voice was sampled on the track "Ten Crack Commandments" by The Notorious B.I.G., off the album Life After Death .

The opening of the song was used by Russell Simmons Television Productions (RSTV) during the closing credits of Def Comedy Jam.[ citation needed ]

This song was used in the 2008 thriller film Lakeview Terrace , the 2009 video game Madden NFL 10 and the 2014 video game NBA 2K15 .

A mashup of the song with The Prodigy's "Stand Up" was created by fan Pony Sixfinger, who posted it on his YouTube channel. [1] [2] After Liam Howlett of The Prodigy saw it, the band released an official version of the mashup, the song "Shut 'Em Up". (The new release's title was a combination of the words from the two original songs' individual titles, making the title, like the song itself, a mashup.) The song was included as a bonus track on the expanded edition of The Day Is My Enemy . [3] The mashup was eventually used in a commercial for Nike, and as the opening song for the Showtime documentary series Shut Up And Dribble. The song was also used in the movie Fist Fight .

Charts

Chart (1992)Peak
position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [4] 26
US Hot Rap Songs ( Billboard ) [5] 1

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References

  1. The Prodigy v Public Enemy - Shut 'Em Up. YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
  2. "NE student's musical 'mash-up' included on Prodigy album". The Northern Echo.
  3. "The Prodigy include fan's bootleg mash-up on deluxe edition of 'The Day Is My Enemy' – listen - NME". NME . 9 November 2015.
  4. "Public Enemy Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  5. "Public Enemy Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.