Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age

Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age
Studio album by Public Enemy
Released	August 23, 1994
Recorded	1993–1994
Genre	Hip hop
Length	74:28
Label	Def Jam/Columbia 314 523 362-1
Producer	The Bomb Squad, Gary G-Wiz, Keith Shocklee, Kerwin "Sleek" Young
Public Enemy chronology
Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black (1991) Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994) He Got Game (1998)

Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (stylization of Music and/in Our Message^[1][2]) is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released August 23, 1994 on Def Jam Recordings in the United States. The album debuted at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 56,000 copies in its first week.^[2] Upon its release, Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics,^[3][4] amid controversy among critics and fans over Public Enemy's relevance in hip hop at the time.^[5]

Reception

Commercial performance

Due to a change of the album's release date, negative reviews from publications such as Rolling Stone and The Source were published a month prior to the album's first sales week.^[2] In spite of this, Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age fared better with its first week sales of 56,000 copies than most of Public Enemy's previous albums.^[2] The album quickly fell off the charts, as sales were negatively impacted by Def Jam's move from Sony to Polygram during its release.

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]
Chicago Tribune	[7]
Robert Christgau	(A-)[8]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[9]
Los Angeles Times	[10]
The New York Times	(unfavorable)[11]
Rolling Stone	1994[12]
Rolling Stone	2004[13]
Vibe	(favorable)[14]
The Washington Post	(favorable)[15]

According to music journalist Neil Strauss, music critics initially accused Public Enemy of "being out of touch, of launching a weak attack against the trend toward gangster rap, of writing second-rate rhymes, of producing the album poorly, of using a bad pun for the title ('music in our message') and of being too old".^[2]

Spin (8/94, p.84) - Highly Recommended - "Knee deep in the age of gangsta, at the anticlimactic millennial edge of a world already gone wrong, Public Enemy has dropped its latest."

Entertainment Weekly (8/26 - 9/2, p.112) - "...it takes true guts to dis gangsta rap and to challenge the black community to confront its problems..." - Rating: B

Q magazine (9/94, p.106) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "Fact is, the lay off has just made Public Enemy sound fresh again...because they've regained the wicked combination of sonic disturbance and loose, rabblerousing funk that drove classic jams like 911 is A Joke."

Alternative Press (9/94, pp.80-81) - "Yeah, we've heard it before but Chuck can make waves even when he's treading water...MESSAGE may be PE's most consistently enjoyable disc."

Vibe (8/94, p.105) - "...a tour de force of densely constructed music and verbiage. Snippets of Stax-Volt grooves, reggae, soul, and metal bop and weave over gut-punching bass lines and wicked drumming while front man Chuck D lets fly with...pronouncements, warnings, and accusations..."

Melody Maker (8/20/94, p.35) - Recommended - "This LP isn't just a stunning return to form for Public Enemy, it's perhaps the most powerful horrified answer to what you are doing to black culture yet."

NME (12/24/94, p.22) - Ranked #20 in NME's list of the `Top 50 Albums Of 1994.'

Track listing

1. "Whole Lotta Love Goin on in the Middle of Hell" – 3:13
2. "Theatrical Parts" - 0:28
3. "Give It Up" – 4:31
4. "What Side You On?" – 4:07
5. "Bedlam 13:13" – 4:07
6. "Stop in the Name..." - 1:21
7. "What Kind of Power We Got?" – 5:31
8. "So Whatcha Gone Do Now" – 4:41
9. "White Heaven/Black Hell" - 1:06
10. "Race Against Time" – 3:21
11. "They Used to Call It Dope" - 0:30
12. "Aintnuttin Buttersong" – 4:23
13. "Live and Undrugged, Parts 1 & 2" – 5:55
14. "Thin Line Between Law & Rape" – 4:45
15. "I Ain't Mad at All" – 3:25
16. "Death of a Carjacka" - 2:00
17. "I Stand Accused" – 3:57
18. "Godd Complexx" – 3:40
19. "Hitler Day" – 4:28
20. "Harry Allen's Interactive Super Highway Phone Call to Chuck D" - 2:55
21. "Livin in a Zoo (remix)" – 3:38

• The CD version of the album also includes a song, "Ferocious Soul", hidden in the pregap.

Notes

1. ^ McGovern, Gerry. "Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age". Hot Press: September 21, 1994. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Strauss, Neil. The Pop Life: Public Enemy's Enemies. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.
3. ^ Iwasaki, Scott. "Musical Scene Fizzed with Nostalgia, Trends". Deseret News: F3. December 15, 1994.
4. ^ Product Page: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. Muze. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.
5. ^ Considine, J.D. "Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age". Chicago Sun-Times: August 28, 1994.
6. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.
7. ^ Kot, Greg. "Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age". Chicago Tribune: 8. September 1, 1994. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
8. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age". The Village Voice: September 13, 1994. Archived from the original on 2010-01-01.
9. ^ Browne, David. Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.
10. ^ Siegmund, Heidi. Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.
11. ^ Pareles, Jon. Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.
12. ^ Touré. Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-01-01.
13. ^ Hoard, Christian. "Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age": Rolling Stone. 661–662. November 2, 2004.
14. ^ Sinclair, Tom. "Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age". Vibe: 105–106. August 1994.
15. ^ Harrington, Richard. "Review: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age". The Washington Post: b.07. August 24, 1994. (Transcription of original review at talk page)

References

• Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. 

External links

• Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age at Discogs
• Album Review — By Spin