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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsDU Album of the Day: Public Enemy - "Fear of a Black Planet"
As I was eating breakfast this morning I ran across "Do the Right Thing" on HBO (it was about halfway thru the movie). You have to admit that the movie was something powerful - a masterpiece by Spike Lee about racial tensions in America - mainly a Brooklyn neighborhood that was predominently African American and a neighborhood pizza place run by an Italian American family. One of the main songs played during the movie was 'Fight the Power' by Public Enemy - it was blared off the boom box being carried by Radio Raheem.
You'd thing in 20+ years that somehow race relations would improve but personally I think it's getting worse. You'd think that by electing a man president who is both black and white it would reflect that our country is unifying together and yet I see it being pulled apart even worse today. America is still like that neighborhood in Brooklyn - just one incident away from being torn apart at the seams; from bedlam.
Public Enemy's "Fear of a Black Nation" was the very first rap album I ever bought. I was always a rock girl and never thought much of rap music but this one wasn't just about the message but the music was amazing too. A blend of rap, rock, jazz all fused with some amazing sampling - together it was one that I found enjoying again and again.
So today I'm picking it as DU's Album of the Day. Twenty-two years later this album still is a great sounding album. Not only did Rolling Stones Magazine list it as #300 of their top #500 albums of all time but it was also listed at the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress - that's a HUGE thing to have for an album.
Of course the signature son of the album is "Fight the Power"
911 is a joke
Enjoy today's DU Album of the Day!
Brickbat
(19,339 posts)It's fucking brilliant.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)marmar
(77,091 posts)In my top 10.
underpants
(182,904 posts)it truly identified the problem
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)Did anyone try to fix it?
20+ years later it's still bad.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)when I hear someone say rap music is shit.
It never works but I get to listen to it again so it's all good.
Please note that I did not say this is a go to album if someone says they don't like rap music. I can respect that someone doesn't like something and I give them the benefit of the doubt that they have tried or even that they are just basing their decision off whatever they may have heard. There's a lot of music I don't like too but I don't think it's shit.
Except Nickleback. That's pure shit.