How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? is the tenth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released August 7, 2007 on Slam Jamz Recordings in the United States. Its release coincided with the 20th anniversary of their career.[13] The album debuted at number 49 on Independent Albums chart,[14] and it received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 71/100 from Metacritic.[2] Music critic Robert Christgau named How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? his second favorite album that didn't make Rolling Stone's Top 50 albums of 2007.[15] In September 2012, the album finally entered the UK chart at number 199, followed by success of the top 5 single "Harder Than You Think" after it became the theme song to the British comedy talk show The Last Leg, which debuted the previous month as The Last Leg with Adam Hills.
| How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 7, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2003–2007 The Mountain (Anaheim, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Public Enemy chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Blender |  [4] |
| HipHopDX | [5] |
| MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A−[6] |
| NME | 6/10[7] |
| Pitchfork | 7.1/10[8] |
| Q | [9] |
| Record Collector | [10] |
| Rolling Stone | [11] |
| USA Today | [12] |
Reception
edit- Alternative Press (p. 176) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Public Enemy remain fiercely independent and definitely seem revitalized."
- The Wire (p. 75) - "[T]his is PE's tenth studio album in their 20th year and their blunt anti-artiste, anti-materialist stance carries serious weight."
Track listing
edit- "How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???" – 2:36
- "Black Is Back" – 2:42
- "Harder Than You Think" – 4:09
- "Between Hard and a Rock Place" – 0:59
- "Sex, Drugs & Violence" (feat. KRS-One) – 3:35
- "Amerikan Gangster" (feat. E.Infinite) – 4:03
- "Can You Hear Me Now" – 3:58
- "Head Wide Shut" – 1:31
- "Flavor Man" – 3:44
- "The Enemy Battle Hymn of the Public" – 3:24
- "Escapism" – 4:53
- "Frankenstar" – 3:23
- "Col-Leepin" – 3:58
- "Radiation of a RADIOTVMOVIE Nation" – 1:10
- "See Something, Say Something" – 3:46
- "Long and Whining Road" – 4:24
- "Bridge of Pain" – 3:07
- "Eve of Destruction" – 4:15
- "How You Sell Soul (Time Is God Refrain)" – 2:31
Personnel
editCredits adapted from Allmusic.[16]
- James Bomb (S1W) – group member
- Chuck D – executive producer, group member, vocals
- Flavor Flav – group member, vocals
- Bernie Larsen – guitar
- Khari Wynn – guitar
- Michael Faulkner – drums
- Pop Diesel (S1W) – group member
- La Aerial Owens – vocals (background)
- E. Infinite – choir, chorus
- Gene Barge – saxophone
- Gebre Waddell – engineer
- Vincent Arbelet – photography
- Le Bijoutier – photography
- Mathieu Cavaliere – photography
- Derek Welte – photography
- Gary G-Wiz – Producer
- Mike "mGee" Gregoire – package design
- Earle Holder – mastering
- Walter Leapheart – liner notes
- Amani K. Smith – associate producer, mixing, producer
- Paul Stone – cover illustration
- Andrew Williams – sound technician
- Ron Wynn – liner notes
Chart performance
edit| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 199 |
References
edit- ^ a b "How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? - Public Enemy - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ a b How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ Dolan, Jon. How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul. Blender. Retrieved on 2010-01-02. Archived October 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Udoh, Meka (29 August 2007). "PUBLIC ENEMY - HOW TO SELL SOUL TO A SOULLESS PEOPLE WHO SOLD THEIR SOUL". HipHopDX. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???". MSN Music: September 2007. Archived from the original Archived 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine on 2010-01-02.
- ^ Cashmore, Pete (2007-08-29). How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul. NME. Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ McGarvey, Evan (2007-12-06). How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ Those familiar with their late-'80s classics will be glad to hear them back on form, though it's hard to see this winning over many new fans. [Nov 2007, p.144]
- ^ Bent, Grahame. How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???. Record Collector. Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2007-08-23). "Public Enemy: How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-01-06. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
- ^ Jones, Steve. This week's reviews: Ben, Joc, Emily, Ledisi, Crowns, Lyle & PE. USA Today. Retrieved on 2010-01-02. Archived October 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Koslow, Jessica, Jessica. "Public Enemy's 20 Years in the Game". LA Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2010.
- ^ Chart History: How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. Critic’s Picks: Robert Christgau’s Favorite Albums That Didn’t Make the RS Top 50. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ Credits: How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ "Public Enemy | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
