Public Enemy's 1991 and 1992 Albums

Quotes
"Kicking wicked rhymes. . . . because [of] the wickedness done by Jack. . . . wearing Red-White-and-Blue, Jack and his crew. . . . ninety . . . days on a slave ship. . . . I pray to get my hands around the neck of the man with the whip. . . . it's all about money when it comes to Armageddon; mean, I'm getting mine; here I am; turn it over, Sam; 427 to the year; do you understand; that's why it's hard for the black to love the land";
"Can't Truss It"; Public Enemy, Apocalypse 91 . . . The Enemy Strikes Black, 1991, Def Jam, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony.

"Black people died when the other man lied. . . . 5 Percent [Nation, a militant off-shoot from Nation of Islam]. . . . suckers gonna pay. . . . there gonna be a day, because, the troop, they roll in to posse up. . . . it's suicide for the other side of town when I find a way to shut them down. . . . in a war to the core. . . . kicking down doors. . . . they don't want it to be another racial attack in disguise, so give some money back. . . . corporations owe; they gotta give up the dough to the town, or else, we gotta shut them down";
"Shut Em Down"; Public Enemy, Apocalypse 91 . . . The Enemy Strikes Black, 1991, Def Jam, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony.

"I remember when us blacks were on our backs across tracks. . . . I blame it all on Jack. . . . hit the road, Jack. . . . cracker proves to be a killer to me, like I refuse to be a Negro. . . . Jack and his boys. . . . some blacks act devil too. . . . we bleed all because of that lifestyle of a dirty rat. . . . let's get Jack the 'raper'; mothers cried while forefathers died from the whip. . . . here he come with that black s--t; I'm through with Jack being the quarterback of the scene";
"Hit Da Road Jack"; Public Enemy, Greatest Misses, 1992, Def Jam, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony.

Article
      On Public Enemy's 1991 album, a track repeats their 1988 declaration that "Farrakhan is a prophet" and that listeners ought to listen to him, and on the same track, the rappers question the "blackness" of any radio station that does not play their music. ("Bring tha Noize--with Anthrax.") Television and radio cannot be trusted, we hear, because it is not possible to see who is in cahoots when KKK members wear three-piece suits. ("Rebirth.")

      At the beginning of "Can't Truss It," excerpted voices say that there were many slave ships during slavery, and that when put in contrast to 400 years of violence against blacks, a non-violent course for redress should be thought of as a crime. "Wearing Red, White, and Blue, Jack and his crew" fooled blacks, lynched them, and continue the "holocaust" that destroys blacks today. It is because "the hater taught hate" that blacks today go out in gangs and commit violence. Typical in violently racist music, the rappers here express their hatred for whites by melding historical accounts with present day experiences. The rappers say that a judge today would have been a slave-ship captain years ago, and they delve right into a description of themselves as slaves suffering on a slave ship who wish they could put their "hands around the neck of the man with the whip." They jump back to present day to say they are on the microphone letting listeners know that 427 years after 1555 they demand from whites to "turn it over." When "Armageddon" comes the rappers will get theirs, they say.

      Sister Souljah introduces the track "By the Time I Get to Arizona" and announces that an example of white supremacy is the failure for a 1990 initiative to pass in Arizona that would have made Martin Luther King's birthday a holiday there. Public Enemy goes on to say "the whole state is racist." They demand reparations and are "thinking [that it is] time [to be] with a nine [millimeter pistol] until we get some land." Public Enemy says that they are trigger men looking for the Arizona governor. They "praise Jah[wey], the maker." They are "bringing down the Babylon" because whites made it "hard for the brown." Whites are also described as "oppressor [and] people beater." The rappers say that Public Enemy's attitude will "hang them high" and that "there will be the day we know those down" for the cause.

      On the album some of the fundamental responsibilities that black individuals face for uplifting themselves is lifted off of their shoulders and passed onto whites in the following ways: Arizona voters wanted to continue policies that make blacks die; (from the track "By the Time I Get to Arizona";) "the folk of the American joke kept [blacks] broke"; (from "Move";) the Constitution's 3/5 vote rule applying to blacks; (from "Move";) alcoholic beverage companies are responsible for blacks ruining their lives on liquor and beer that is more damaging than that sold in white neighborhoods; in turn the companies are responsible for the "genocide" of blacks because blacks often fight blacks after being drunk; and the "genocide" is caused by a "plan that's designed by the other man"; (the last three quotes being from "1 Million Bottlebags.")

      The rappers say that they have been pulled over unjustly by the police. ("Get the F--- Outta Dodge.") "Black people died when the other man lied," say the rappers in the "Shut Em Down" track. Upset with a judge, the rappers think of killing the judge but refrain because "suckers gonna pay anyway." Whites will pay because "there gonna be the day" when the troops roll in and "posse up," and when that happens "it's suicide for the other side of town." Poor blacks are overcharged in stores until "a brother kicking down doors." If "they don't want it to be another racial attack in disguise," say the rappers, whites better "give some money back." "Corporations owe" and so "they gotta give up the dough to the town or else," Public Enemy commands. "We gotta shut 'em down." Sometimes rappers put in excerpts taken from movies because statements made in them are peculiar to whites, or they put in staged statements which portray the speaker as being white. At the end of "Shut 'em Down" a speaker identifying himself as "Burning Cross of the KKK" expresses gratitude that the "inferior nigger race" is destroying itself without the help of whites. Violently racist rappers constantly put pressure on other rappers to conform to the cause.

      On the track "Move," the rappers condemn any rappers who do not put out messages conforming to Public Enemy's. As a result of the pressure applied by Public Enemy, "Jack moving out because the black moving in." More than once on the CD Public Enemy tells "Jack to stay in the back."

      The usual phrase giving praise to Allah was given. Thanked were Minister Farrakhan, Blackwatch, Reverend Jesse Jackson, FOI, NOI, Spike Lee, Mike Tyson, Brother Leonard Farrakhan Muhammad, 5 Percent Nation, The Source, Hip Hop Connection, "all the Nation of Islam mosques," Luke Skyywalker, Def Jef, and Wesley Snipes. Some artists thanked for participation in the "Black Planet Tour" were Heavy D and the Boyz, Queen Latifah, and Digital Underground. The "Xtra Strength Posse" grew to include Big Daddy Kane, Whodini, De La Soul, NWA, Doug E. Fresh, Ice Cube and Da Lench Mob, X-Clan, KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions, Ice-T and Rhyme Syndicate, Too Short, Kool Moe Dee, Geto Boys, Eric B. & Rakim, Kool G Rap, MC Lyte, and MC Hammer. Viewed as up-and-coming voices of the 90's were Gang Starr, Yo Yo, Black Sheep, Brand Nubian, Tim Dog, Poison Clan, Son of Bazerk, The Genius, Kid Capri, Two Kings in a Cipher, Paris, and Prince Akeem. The album was dedicated to the releases of Nelson Mandela and James Brown, and, "yes, there is apartheid in AmeriKK[K]a." Fans were encouraged to contact H.E.A.L., Human Education Against Lies, and Chuck D joined other rappers on H.E.A.L.'s album that year, it being called Civilization vs. Technology.

      Some of the tracks on the 1992 album, Greatest Misses, are repeats of violently racist tracks from previous albums. Released after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, the 1992 album follows the same formula which includes them making claims about their influence. Chuck D, the lead rapper as usual, says on the opening track that he is not joking with his music and that he is provoking thought. On a later track Public Enemy says that their concerts have large attendance because the rappers walk the streets and give out their messages. ("Gotta Do What I Gotta Do.") On the same later track, they bring up their "mission" to influence Arizona politics with their previous album, and Chuck D says that he "got dialogue, got them to even sing along, and got the semi-automatic tongue to the young." Listeners learn from the music, Chuck D says, and he will help to "recreate the realm of leaders." He refuses to be a "slave," and so he "hijacked the airwaves." He says that he is "on a level kicking word to the devils about God."

      On the opening track, Public Enemy says that they are "not surprised at all about the riot zone" and that "if this was Africa [they'd] try to give a necktie to those running and lying, disguising."

      In "Hit da Road Jack," Public Enemy says that whites whipped black forefathers to death, and the papers historically never covered atrocities committed by "Jack the 'raper.'" The rappers personalize slavery and make it seem recent: "I remember when us blacks were on our backs across the tracks." The rappers "blame it all on Jack," and they say that "Jack and his boys" make "some blacks act devil too" which causes blacks to "bleed." In the song whites are also referred to as "cracka" and "dirty rat." Public Enemy is "through with Jack being the quarterback," and they make claims about their influence: "the rhyme goes into your head down to your toes." "Here come Chuck with that black [bleep]," and Chuck D advises his listeners with "let's get Jack the 'raper.'" The chorus chants the following: "joke is on you, Jack," and "hit the road, Jack."

      On the track "Get Off My Back" the Islamic greeting "As-Salamu 'alai-kum" is presented as a symbol of taking down the whites.

      The track "Air Hoodlum" is a story about a black who was so good at basketball that his high school did not discipline him for bouncing the ball in the hallways and was so good that a college admitted him with low SAT scores. After suffering an injury in a professional basketball career, the man, lacking other skills, "resorted" to a life of crime that lasted briefly until the police "ambushed" him and killed him.

      In "Hazy Shade of Criminal," Public Enemy jumbles past with present to make their case against whites. Whites robbed non-whites, stole their land, and lynched them; white faces are on the currency; and whites are the real criminals today. A rumor that passes through black communities today is that the feds will invade black neighborhoods and begin killing blacks, and the following quote shows how Public Enemy passes along the rumor with an opening statement that is not on the lyric sheet: "500 FBI agents coming after us with a license to kill 30 mill', claiming it's just a drug bust." Public Enemy chooses to take an offensive saying that they are "rolling in a blue and white gang [CRIPS] ready to bang," and pledging to "take a piece of America back." In their musical propaganda, black rappers join Mexican-American rappers to claim that they speak for American Indians, and Public Enemy does so as follows: "but who had it [America] first, hear the Indian curse." The police cannot be trusted, we hear on the track, so the rappers keep pistols loaded and cocked.

      In "Louder than a Bomb," Chuck D says that the CIA and FBI issue lies, and he repeats previous claims that the CIA assassinated Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Additionally he claims that the FBI taps his phone. The claim about conspiracies to assassinate black figures is also given on track 12, and track 12 is a repeat of the 1988 rap song "Party for Your Right to Fight." Public Enemy cannot be stopped, the rappers say, because one "can't stop reality from being real."

      The CD pamphlets have written on them that Professor Griff, Sister Souljah, and Brother Malik (Tony King) Farrakhan were part of the Past-Present-and-Future PE Force. Considered part of the "Extra Strength Posse" now increased to include Naughty by Nature, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Heavy D & the Boyz, Queen Latifah, Digital Underground, and EPMD. Respect was given to 2-Pac, Black Sheep, Cypress Hill, Das EFX, Arrested Development, Kris Kross, and Tim Dog. The rock bands Anthrax, Primus, and YBT were on a 1991 tour with Public Enemy, and they were thanked. Bands that were part of what Public Enemy called the "Greatest Rap Tour Ever" were Geto Boys, Ice-T, Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Naughty by Nature, Kid N Play, A Tribe Called Quest, Leaders of the New School, Tim Dog, Son of Bazerk, NSC and the Band, MC Breed, and Oaktown 357." "All praise due to Allah (God)" is given. A book called Nation Conscience Rap is advertised, the CD pamphlets showing that the book features Public Enemy, KRS-One, X-Clan, Doug E. Fresh, Paris, Poor Righteous Teachers, Sister Souljah, Daddy-O, Prince Akeem, Defiant Giants, "Zulu Nation and many more." According to a quote typed on the page, Nation of Islam's weekly, The Final Call, wrote that the book is "filled with the gospel of black liberation."

      Promotional CD's are often released before albums, and the one released before the 1992 album contained five different mixes of two tracks, namely "Hazy Shade of Criminal" and "Tie Goes to the Runner," the lyrics being almost identical to those given on the album. The cover art is a photograph of whites surrounding a public hanging of two black men, and the two dead bodies dangle from a tree, their torn clothes showing they had been bloodied. Chuck D makes the following statement on the back cover: "The picture on the cover is of two black men in 1930 Indiana getting hanged for bullshit that they didn't do based on cracker racism, jealousy, envy and greed. In 1992 by no coincidence in the state of Indiana a good friend of mine, Mike Tyson, was hanged the same goddamn way. Some things never change. Free Mike Tyson and Geronimo Pratt and all the hundreds of thousands of black men and women who are political prisoners in the jail cells of the United Snakes of AmeriKKKa . . . Hell is on earth!" As on the album's version of "Hazy Shade of Criminal," Public Enemy claims that whites still make a practice out of hanging blacks when say the following: "we hanging from the rope by real criminals."

      A 1993 release of CD's repeated the following tracks, with lyrics being almost the same, from their 1988 and 1990 albums: "Welcome to the Terrordome (Vocal Mix)," Rebel Without a Pause (Vocal Mix)," "Don't Believe the Hype," "911 Is a Joke," and "Can't Do Nuttin for Ya Man (Bass in Your Face 12" Mix)."

References
Apocalypse 91 . . . the Enemy Strikes Black, Public Enemy, 1991, Def Jam, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony.
Hazy Shade of Criminal [Single], Public Enemy, 1992, Def Jam, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony.
Greatest Misses, Public Enemy, 1992, Def Jam, Columbia, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony.
Twelve Inch Mixes [Single], Public Enemy, 1993, Def Jam, Columbia, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony.

Posted at http://home.att.net/~phosphor on June 30, 1999.

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