Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age
Encyclopedia
Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (stylization of Music and/in Our Message) 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. Upon its release, Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics, amid controversy among critics and fans over Public Enemy's relevance in hip hop at the time.
and The Source
were published a month prior to the album's first sales week. 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. The album quickly fell off the charts, as sales were negatively impacted by Def Jam's move from Sony
to Polygram
during its release.
, 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".
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.'
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group Public Enemy, released August 23, 1994 on Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
in the United States. The album debuted at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 56,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age received generally mixed to positive reviews from most music critics, amid controversy among critics and fans over Public Enemy's relevance in hip hop at the time.
Commercial performance
Due to a change of the album's release date, negative reviews from publications such as Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and The Source
The Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...
were published a month prior to the album's first sales week. 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. The album quickly fell off the charts, as sales were negatively impacted by Def Jam's move from Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
to Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
during its release.
Critical response
According to music journalist Neil StraussNeil Strauss
Neil Darrow Strauss , also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American and Kittitian author, journalist and ghostwriter...
, 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".
Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
(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
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
(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
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
(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
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
(12/24/94, p.22) - Ranked #20 in NME's list of the `Top 50 Albums Of 1994.'
Track listing
- "Whole Lotta Love Goin on in the Middle of Hell" – 3:13
- "Theatrical Parts" - 0:28
- "Give It Up" – 4:31
- "What Side You On?" – 4:07
- "Bedlam 13:13" – 4:07
- "Stop in the Name..." - 1:21
- "What Kind of Power We Got?" – 5:31
- "So Whatcha Gone Do Now" – 4:41
- "White Heaven/Black Hell" - 1:06
- "Race Against Time" – 3:21
- "They Used to Call It Dope" - 0:30
- "Aintnuttin Buttersong" – 4:23
- "Live and Undrugged, Parts 1 & 2" – 5:55
- "Thin Line Between Law & Rape" – 4:45
- "I Ain't Mad at All" – 3:25
- "Death of a Carjacka" - 2:00
- "I Stand Accused" – 3:57
- "Godd Complexx" – 3:40
- "Hitler Day" – 4:28
- "Harry Allen's Interactive Super Highway Phone Call to Chuck D" - 2:55
- "Livin in a Zoo (remix)" – 3:38
- The CD version of the album also includes a song, "Ferocious Soul", hidden in the pregapPregapThe pregap on a Red Book audio CD is the portion of the audio track that precedes "index 01" for a given track in the table of contents . The pregap is typically two seconds long and usually, but not always, contains silence...
.
External links
- Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Album Review — By SpinSpin (magazine)Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...