Burning The Ground Exclusive 1990
“911 Is a Joke” is a 1990 song by American hip hop group Public Enemy, from their third album, Fear of a Black Planet. The song is solely performed by Flavor Flav. It was released as a single and became a hit in April 1990, reaching number 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and number one on the Hot Rap Singles chart, becoming their second number-one rap chart hit after “Fight the Power”. It also reached number one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. This was due largely to its sales, which were unusually high for the level of mainstream airplay it received; Billboard reported that only one of the stations on its Top 40 panel was playing it.
The song is about the lack of response to emergency calls in a black neighborhood, but specifically references the poor response by paramedic crews and not the police, which is a common misconception regarding the track; the “911” in the title of the song refers to 9-1-1, the emergency telephone number used in North America.
The song was written by Public Enemy member Flavor Flav and producers Keith Shocklee and Eric “Vietnam” Sadler of The Bomb Squad, Public Enemy’s production team. Flavor Flav is the featured vocalist.
Among the samples used in “911 Is a Joke” is Vincent Price’s laughter from “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. Other samples include “Flash Light” by Parliament, “Misunderstood” by Mico Wave, “Think (About It)” by Lyn Collins, “Gottago Gottago!” by Robin Harris, “Devil With the Bust” by Sound Experience, “Feel Like Dancing” by Wilbur “Bad” Bascomb, and “Hit by a Car” and “Singers” by Eddie Murphy. According to law professors Peter DiCola and Kembrew McLeod, if the samples used on “911 Is a Joke” and the other tracks on Fear of a Black Planet had been cleared for copyright under 2010 rates, each copy of the album would have generated a loss of five dollars per album sold, instead of a profit.
In 1995, English pop rock band Duran Duran covered “911 Is a Joke” on their Thank You album.
SIDE A:
911 Is A Joke (Vocal) 3:19
911 Is A Joke (Instrumental) 3:19
SIDE B:
Revolutionary Generation (Vocal) 5:45
Revolutionary Generation (Instrumental) 5:45
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 911 Is A Joke | U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles | #1 |
| 1990 | 911 Is A Joke | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | #15 |
| 1990 | 911 Is A Joke | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | #26 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Def Jam Recordings – 44-73179, Def Jam Recordings – 44 73179, Columbia – 44-73179, Columbia – 44 73179
Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Stereo
Country: US
Released: Apr 1990
Genre: Hip Hop
Style: Hip Hop
CREDITS:
Art Direction, Design – The Drawing Board
Management –Rush Artist Management
Mastered By – Howie Weinberg
Photography By – Jules Allen
Producer – Carl Ryder, Eric (Vietnam) Sadler*, Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee, The Bomb Squad
Written-By –The Bomb Squad
NOTES:
A1, B1] Snatched Off The LP: Fear Of A Black Planet.
Also Available On A Cassette Maxi-Single
Printed In U.S.A.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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