The discography of Public Enemy, an American hip-hop group, consists of 16 studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, two remix albums, one soundtrack album, four video albums, 42 singles, four promotional singles and 39 music videos. The group released their debut studio album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, in March 1987; it peaked at number 125 on the United States Billboard 200. The album spawned the singles "Public Enemy No. 1" and "You're Gonna Get Yours". Public Enemy released their second studio album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, in April 1988. The album peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200. It has since sold 1.3 million copies in the US, earning a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Four of the album's singles charted on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart: "Bring the Noise", "Don't Believe the Hype", "Night of the Living Baseheads" and "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos". The former three, along with the single "Rebel Without a Pause", also charted in the United Kingdom.
Fear of a Black Planet, the group's third studio album, was released in April 1990. The album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of one million copies. Fear of a Black Planet also charted in countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The album spawned five singles; "Fight the Power" and "911 Is a Joke" both topped the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart and charted in countries such as the Netherlands and the UK. "Welcome to the Terrordome", "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" and "Can't Do Nuttin' for Ya Man" all became top 25 hits on the Hot Rap Songs chart and top 40 hits in New Zealand. The group's fourth studio album, Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black, was released in October 1991. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200; its first single, "Can't Truss It", peaked at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and gave the band their first hit on the chart. Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age followed in August 1994, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard 200. The album's lead single "Give It Up" peaked at number 33 on the Hot 100, becoming the group's most commercially successful single in the United States. In 1998, the group recorded the soundtrack for the film He Got Game. The film's soundtrack album peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the commercially successful single "He Got Game".
Following a shift of labels from Def Jam Records to Atomic Pop, the group released There's a Poison Goin' On, their sixth studio album. The album only managed to find success in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 55 and its only single, "Do You Wanna Go Our Way???", peaked at number 66. Public Enemy then signed to Koch Records, releasing Revolverlution in July 2002. Revolverlution peaked at number 110 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 71,000 copies in the US. The group collaborated with American rapper Paris on their ninth studio album, Rebirth of a Nation, which was released on Paris' own Guerrilla Funk label; it peaked at number 180 on the Billboard 200. How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? followed in August 2007 and spawned three singles. "Harder Than You Think", the album's third single, peaked at number 4 in the UK; it became the group's first top ten single in the country. In 2012, the group released two studio albums: Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp in July and The Evil Empire of Everything in October. In July 2015, the group released Man Plans God Laughs. The group's thirteenth album, Nothing Is Quick in the Desert, was released in 2017 as a surprise release. The album was available for free download through Bandcamp until July 4, 2017.In 2020, the group (minus Flavor Flav) under the name Enemy Radio released their fourteenth album, Loud Is Not Enough. That album was followed by 2020's What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down? which featured a returning Flavor Flav. On June 27, 2025, the group surprise released their sixteenth album, Black Sky Over The Projects: Apartment 2025 as an exclusive to Bandcamp where fans for the first 72 hours after the release can set their own price when purchasing the album.
Albums Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications US USR&B AUSPeaks for albums in Australia: All except noted: Greatest Misses and He Got Game: "Nighttrain", "Shut 'em Down" "Hazy Shade of Criminal" CANPeak chart positions for albums in Canada: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back: Fear of a Black Planet: Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black: Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age: He Got Game: GER NLD NZ SWE SWI UK Yo! Bum Rush the Show Released: March 1987 (US) p. 89 Label: Def Jam Formats: CD, CS, LP 125 28 — — — — — — — — US: 400,000 RIAA: Gold It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back Released: June 28, 1988 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: CD, CS, LP 42 1 — 93 — 40 — — — 8 US: 1,300,000 RIAA: Platinum BPI: Gold Fear of a Black Planet Released: April 10, 1990 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: CD, CS, LP 10 3 30 15 30 17 15 24 19 4 US: 1,300,000 RIAA: Platinum BPI: Gold MC: Gold Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black Released: October 1, 1991 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: CD, CS, LP 4 1 11 12 38 62 5 36 33 8 US: 1,000,000 RIAA: Platinum BPI: Silver MC: Gold Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age Released: August 23, 1994 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: CD, CS, LP 14 4 16 20 25 39 7 20 22 12 US: 500,000 RIAA: Gold There's a Poison Goin' On Released: July 20, 1999 (US) Label: Atomic Pop Formats: CD, CS, LP, digital download — — — — 66 — — — — 55 Revolverlution Released: July 23, 2002 (US) Label: Koch Formats: CD, LP, digital download 110 16 — — — — — — — — US: 71,000 New Whirl Odor Released: November 1, 2005 (US) Label: Slam Jamz Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — — Rebirth of a Nation(featuring Paris) Released: March 7, 2006 (US) Label: Guerrilla Funk Formats: CD, LP, digital download 180 54 — — — — — — — — How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? Released: August 7, 2007 (US) Label: Slam Jamz Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — 199 Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp Released: July 13, 2012 (US) Label: Slam Jamz Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — — The Evil Empire of Everything Released: October 1, 2012 (US) Label: Enemy Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — — Man Plans God Laughs Released: July 27, 2015 (US) Label: RCS Music Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — — — — — — Nothing Is Quick in the Desert Released: June 29, 2017 (US) Label: 916% Entertainment Formats: Digital download — — — — — — — — — — Loud Is Not Enough (released under the name Enemy Radio) Released: April 1, 2020 Label: SpitSLAM Records Formats: Digital download, streaming — — — — — — — — — — What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down? Released: September 25, 2020 Label: Def Jam Formats: Digital download, streaming — — — — 81 — — — 37 100 Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025 Released: June 27, 2025 Label: Enemy Records Formats: Digital download, streaming, CD, vinyl — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Live albums + List of live albums Title Album details It Takes a Nation: The First London Invasion Tour 1987 Released: May 17, 2005 (US) Label: Slam Jamz Formats: CD MKL VF KWR – Revolverlution Tour Manchester UK 2003 Released: 2006 (US) Label: SPV Recordings Formats: CD, DVD Fight the Power: Greatest Hits Live! Released: February 6, 2007 (US) Label: Titan/Pyramid Formats: CD, digital download
Compilation albums + List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US USR&B AUS NLD NZ SWE UK Greatest Misses Released: September 15, 1992 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: CD, CS, LP 13 10 57 72 15 30 15 RIAA: Gold 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Public Enemy Released: June 19, 2001 (US) Label: Universal Formats: CD, digital download — — — — — — — Power to the People and the Beats: Public Enemy's Greatest Hits Released: August 2, 2005 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: CD, LP, digital download 69 26 — — — — 39 BPI: Silver Planet Earth: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Greatest Rap Hits Released: April 22, 2013 Label: Weinerworld Formats: CD, digital download, vinyl, picture disc vinyl — — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Remix albums + List of remix albums Title Album details Bring That Beat Back Released: September 5, 2006 (US) Label: Koch Formats: CD, digital download Remix of a Nation(featuring Paris) Released: November 6, 2007 (US) Label: Guerrilla Funk Formats: CD, digital download
Soundtrack albums + List of soundtrack albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions US USR&B AUS CAN GER NLD UK He Got Game Released: April 21, 1998 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: CD, CS, LP 26 10 54 35 81 98 50
Video albums + List of video albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions USVideoPeak chart positions for video albums on the Top Music Video chart in the United States: Fight the Power... Live!: Tour of a Black Planet: The Enemy Strikes Live: Fight the Power... Live! Released: 1989 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: VHS 5 Tour of a Black Planet Released: 1991 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: VHS 8 The Enemy Strikes Live Released: 1992 (US) Label: Def Jam Formats: VHS 25 It Takes a Nation: The First London Invasion Tour 1987 Released: May 17, 2005 (US) Label: Slam Jamz Formats: DVD — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Singles {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="10" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UShttps://www.billboard.com/artist/public-enemy/chart-history/hot-100/ ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| USDance ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| USR&B ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| USRap ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUSPeak chart positions for singles in Australia: All except "Give It Up" and "He Got Game": "Give It Up" and "He Got Game": ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| FRA ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NLD ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NZ ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWI ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| UKPeak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom: All except "You're Gonna Get Yours", "I Stand Accused" and "What Kind of Power We Got?": "You're Gonna Get Yours": "I Stand Accused" and "What Kind of Power We Got?": |- ! scope="row"| "Public Enemy No. 1" | rowspan="4"| 1987 | — || — || — || — || 68 || — || — || — || — || — | | rowspan="2"| Yo! Bum Rush the Show |- ! scope="row"| "You're Gonna Get Yours" | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || 88
! scope="row"| "Rebel Without a Pause" | — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || 37 | | It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |- ! scope="row"| "Bring the Noise" | — || — || 56 || — || — || — || — || — || — || 32 | | Less than Zero (soundtrack) / It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back |- ! scope="row"| "Don't Believe the Hype" | rowspan="2"| 1988 | — || 21 || 18 || — || — || — || — || 46 || — || 18 |