| Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Public Enemy |
| Cover: | Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age.jpg |
| Released: | August 23, 1994 |
| Recorded: | 1993–94 |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 74:28 |
| Label: | |
| Prev Title: | Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black |
| Prev Year: | 1991 |
| Next Title: | He Got Game |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age is the fifth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on August 23, 1994, by Def Jam Recordings. The title is a reverse mondegreen of the phrase "music in our message" (emphasizing that their message is more important than the music, rather than the typical "message in our music"). Alternatively, it could be interpreted as "music and our message."[2] The album debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 56,000 copies in its first week.[3]
The album's first single, "Give It Up", peaked at number 33 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in August 1994, and was the group's only American top 40 hit in their career.[4] [5]
Upon its release, Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age received generally mixed-to-positive reviews from most music critics,[6] [7] amid controversy among critics and fans over Public Enemy's relevance in hip hop at the time.[8]
Mark Texeira illustrated the cover and inside sleeve.
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".[3]
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 ..."[9]
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.'
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.[3] In spite of this, the album performed well. Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 56,000 copies its first week.[3] This was more than most of Public Enemy's previous albums.[3] The album quickly fell off the charts, as sales were negatively impacted by Def Jam's move from Sony Music to PolyGram prior to its release. On October 25, 1994, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[10]
All songs were written or co-written by members of Public Enemy, except "Godd Complexx", which was written by Jalal Mansur Nuriddin a/k/a Alafia Pudim.
An extra track titled "Ferocious Soul" is included on the CD as a pregap hidden track.
Credits adapted from CD Universe.[11]
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] | 7 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] | 20 |
| US Billboard 200[14] | 14 |