Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black 1991 Album

Public Enemy

The previous album was a tough act to follow; even tougher considering the upheaval the group went through during the lead-up to Apocalypse 91's release. Long story short, the final product suffered from an influx of sheer filler and the simple fact that the backing tracks were not nearly as formidable as before. Still, there were plenty of strongholds to be encountered, such as "Can't Truss It", "Shut'em Down", and the massive "By The Time I Get To Arizona" which protested New Hampshire and Arizona being the only states to not declare Martin Luther King Day as a national holiday. This, along with the infamous rap/rock remake of "Bring The Noise" with Anthrax, exposed the group to a wider audience, and made Apocalypse '91 their biggest selling record, but not their best. Not even close.

I actually enjoy this more than the more heralded 'It Takes a Nation'. This is party due to Flav not saying YEAH BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY about 50 times through the album and the production is more my thing being a few years more modern. It's still not brilliant but a fairly consistent album with a few stand outs and Chuck D's performance is awesome as usual. Best Tracks: Can't Truss It, I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo Niga, Move!, Bring Tha Noize