Fear of a Black Planet

Review by Alan Koslowski for Care of a Black PlanetRating: With It Takes a State of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988), Public Enemy single-handedly shattered the limits and expanded the possibilities for hip-hop as an artist and cultural force.To that point, It Takes a State was the most inventive, powerful rap record ever.It`s mix of diverse samples, infectious beats, and intelligent lyrics (delivered with irrepresible cogence by the band`s frontman and lead rapper Chuck D) was unlike anything that preceded it.

Take The "A" Train: Giant Steps (John Coltrane, 1959)

Along with Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane has become the most influential and controversial tenor saxophonist in modern jazz. He is becoming, in fact, more controversial and possibly more influential than Rollins. While it's true that to musicians especially, Coltrane's fiercely adventurous harmonic imagination is the most fascinating aspect of his developing style, the more basic point is that for many non-musician listeners, Coltrane at his best has an unusually striking emotional impact.