Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet 2xLP - Blue Vinyl & Brown Vinyl

Vinyl Me Please (2021, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

As much as I try to avoid it, I do end up getting sucked into buying fancy reissues of records I already have from time to time.  While I bought the Public Enemy vinyl box set many years ago, which has a perfectly serviceable copy of Fear of a Black Planet in it, I could not resist the pull of this version from Vinyl Me Please.

All prior versions of this LP were single disc affairs.  This is the first time this landmark record has been given room to breathe and there really is a difference.  I am not one of those crazy audiophile guys who pretends I can hear whether or not there was ever any digital process on a vinyl record.  But what I can tell you is that this version seems louder, has a fuller sound (particularly when it comes to bass and low end) and really is the best version of this record I've heard.  The packaging is pretty nice too, with a cool booklet along with the gatefold sleeve.

The record itself is just about flawless.  Even though my favorite Public Enemy record has always been It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, I will never downplay how utterly incredible Fear of a Black Planet is as well.  It's really one of those records that just about anyone with even a passing interest in hip hop should own.  And this is probably the best version out there to pick up if you need it.

Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nc7t87mKkvlfEswFLut7ePpcD_nJMRwck