Public Enemy is an American hip hop group formed by Chuck D and Flavor Flav on Long Island, New York, in 1985. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as American racism and the American media. Their debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, was released in 1987 to critical acclaim, and their second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988), was the first hip hop album to top The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll. Their next three albums, Fear of a Black Planet (1990), Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991) and Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994), were also well received. The group has since released twelve more studio albums, including the soundtrack to the 1998 sports-drama film He Got Game and a collaborative album with Paris, Rebirth of a Nation (2006).
Raising Hell is the third studio album by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C., released on May 15, 1986, by Profile Records. The album was produced by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. Raising Hell is notable for being the first Platinum and multi-Platinum hip hop record. The album was first certified Platinum on July 15, 1986, before it was certified as 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 24, 1987. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most important albums in the history of hip hop music and culture.
Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Black Star, composed of rappers Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey. The album was released on September 29, 1998, to critical acclaim. The title is a reference to the Black Star Line, a shipping line founded by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey. The album deals with modern-day issues, philosophical ideas, and life in Brooklyn, New York City as the two artists know it.
Fear of a Black Planet is the third studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was released on April 10, 1990, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records, and produced by the group's production team The Bomb Squad, who expanded on the sample-layered sound of Public Enemy's previous album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988). Having fulfilled their initial creative ambitions with that album, the group aspired to create what lead rapper Chuck D called "a deep, complex album". Their songwriting was partly inspired by the controversy surrounding member Professor Griff's anti-Semitic public comments and his consequent dismissal from the group in 1989.
Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One is a 1999 solo mix album by Liam Howlett of The Prodigy, initially produced for BBC Radio 1's mix show The Breezeblock.
I Phantom is the debut studio album by American rapper Mr. Lif. It was produced mostly by alternative hip hop artist El-P, among others, at Boston Butta Beats in Boston and the New York City-based Steel Acres, The Danger Room, and Def Jux Studios. Mr. Lif composed I Phantom as a concept album about the working life of an African American who is pressured into pursuing the dubious rewards of the American dream.
New York–London–Paris–Munich is M's first album, released in 1979, the title being taken from a line in the verse of the March 1979 hit single "Pop Muzik", an extended version of which is featured on the album. The album features future Level 42 members Phil Gould on drums, Wally Badarou on keyboards and Gary Barnacle on saxophone and flute.
Yo! Bum Rush the Show is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on February 10, 1987. It was recorded at Spectrum City Studios in Hempstead, New York, and became one of the fastest-selling hip hop records, but was controversial among radio stations and critics, in part due to lead rapper Chuck D's black nationalist politics. Despite this, the album has since been regarded as one of hip hop's greatest and most influential records.
I'll Give All My Love to You is the second studio album by the American R&B recording artist Keith Sweat. It was released on June 12, 1990, and went to number one on the Top R&B albums chart and number 6 on the Billboard 200. It spawned Sweat's second and third number 1 R&B hits: "Make You Sweat" and the title track, while "Merry Go Round" and "Your Love Part 2" were Top 5 R&B hits.
Ask the Ages is the final album recorded by jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock during his lifetime. It was produced by Bill Laswell and released in 1991 on his Axiom Records label. It features saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, bassist Charnett Moffett and drummer Elvin Jones.
Murda Muzik is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Mobb Deep, which was released on August 17, 1999, through Columbia Records and Loud Records. It features one of the group's best-known tracks, "Quiet Storm." It is also the duo's most commercially successful album to date, for shipping over 1 million copies in the United States and was certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 26, 1999, debuting at #3 on the Billboard 200 charts. Murda Muzik also garnered positive reviews from The Source and Allmusic, among others. A censored version of the album, titled Mobb Muzik, was released simultaneously.
Revolverlution is the eighth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released July 23, 2002 on Koch Records in the United States. The album debuted at number 110 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Upon its release, it received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 65/100 from Metacritic.
The soundtrack of the 1999 Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai features an original score by RZA and also features hip-hop songs by such artists as Wu-Tang Clan, Killah Priest, and Public Enemy. Two soundtrack albums were released, one internationally and another in Japan, each with different song mixes, some of which do not appear in the film. There are many songs, however, that can be heard in the film that appear on neither soundtrack album. It is the first of RZA's fully scored film works.
How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? is the tenth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released August 7, 2007 on Slam Jamz Recordings in the United States. Its release coincided with the 20th anniversary of their career. The album debuted at number 49 on Independent Albums chart, and it received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 71/100 from Metacritic. Music critic Robert Christgau named How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? his second favorite album that didn't make Rolling Stone's Top 50 albums of 2007. In September 2012, the album finally entered the UK chart at number 199, followed by success of the top 5 single "Harder Than You Think" after it became the theme song to the British comedy talk show The Last Leg, which debuted the previous month as The Last Leg with Adam Hills.
"Heartbeat" is a 1981 dance single by Taana Gardner. It was arranged by Dennis Weeden and Kenton Nix, and released by West End Records, with the more famous club mix created by Larry Levan. It reached the US Billboard R&B Singles at No. 10 and the No. 6 on the US Billboard Dance. It has sold over 800,000 copies.
It's Heavy in Here is the first solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Eric Matthews. It was released by Sub Pop Records on September 26, 1995. A track from the album, "Fanfare", was released as a single, charting at No. 95.
There's a Riot Goin' On is the fifth studio album by American funk and soul band Sly and the Family Stone. It was recorded from 1970 to 1971 at Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California and released later that year on November 1 by Epic Records. The recording was dominated by band frontman/songwriter Sly Stone during a period of escalated drug use and intra-group tension.
How I Do is the debut studio album by American singer Res. It was co-written by Santi White, produced by Martin "Doc" McKinney, and released by MCA Records on June 26, 2001. The album charted for nine weeks on the Billboard 200, with the singles "Golden Boys" and "They-Say Vision" also charting.
Sorry to Bother You is the sixth and final studio album by American hip hop group The Coup. It was released on Anti- on October 30, 2012.
Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s is a music reference book by American music journalist and essayist Robert Christgau. A follow-up to Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), it was published in October 1990 by Pantheon Books.
