Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black

Recording and release

Apocalypse 91 was recorded at The Music Palace in Long Island, New York and produced by The Bomb Squad and The Imperial Grand Ministers of Funk, which consisted of producers Stuart Robertz, Cerwin "C-Dawg" Depper, Gary "G-Wiz" Rinaldo, and The JBL. The album title refers to the films Apocalypse Now and The Empire Strikes Back. It was released on October 1, 1991, by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. On November 26, 1991, Apocalypse 91 was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies in the United States.

Apocalypse 91 produced four singles: "Can't Truss It", "Night Train", "Shut 'Em Down" and its B-side "By the Time I Get to Arizona". The latter featured a controversial music video where Public Enemy was depicted killing the 17th Governor of Arizona, Evan Mecham, who refused to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday. "Can't Truss It" was Public Enemy's most successful single, peaking at No. 9 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also peaked at No. 5 on the Dance chart, becoming their most successful release there. The song "Get the Fuck Outta Dodge" was a previously released as a B-Side to the "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" single from Fear of a Black Planet. The album also includes the thrash cover of their earlier hit "Bring the Noise" featuring Anthrax.

Critical reception

Upon release, Apocalypse 91 received critical acclaim. Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone praised the album's production and lyrics, stating that Apocalypse 91 "attempts nothing short of setting a sociopolitical agenda for the black community." Similarly, Ronin Ro of The Source highlighted Chuck D's powerful and focused lyrics as well as the uncompromising and rawness nature of the album. NME credited the album for being "more soulful" and funkier than its predecessors, but also admitted that it includes some filler songs. In his review for Playboy, prominent music critic Robert Christgau highlighted the first half of the album, calling it "Public Enemy's most exciting sustained sequence ever", but criticized the second half for not being as consistent.

Apocalypse 91 was ranked at No. 2 in The Village Voice's 1991 Pazz & Jop critics' poll, behind Nirvana's Nevermind, while editors of Spin ranked it 7th in their list of 20 Best Albums of the Year. Retrospectively, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine cites the album as one of the great records of the golden age hip hop. The record was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

All tracks written by Carlton Ridenhour, Stuart Robertz, Gary "G-Wiz" Rinaldo, and Cerwin "C-Dawg" Depper unless otherwise noted.

Personnel