Don't Believe the Hype

"Don't Believe the Hype"
"Don't Believe the Hype"
Single by Public Enemy
from the album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
B-side	"Prophets of Rage" & "The Rhythm The Rebel"
Released	June 1988
Genre	Political hip hop
Length	5:23
Label	Def Jam; Columbia; CBS Records;
Songwriter(s)	Carl Ridenhour; Hank Shocklee; Eric "Vietnam" Sadler; William Drayton;
Producer(s)	The Bomb Squad
Public Enemy singles chronology
Music video
	"Don't Believe the Hype" on YouTube

"Don't Believe the Hype" is a song by hip hop group Public Enemy and the second single to be released from their second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The song's lyrics are mostly about the political issues that were current in the United States at the time of its release. "Don't Believe the Hype" charted at number 18 on the U.S. R&B chart and also reached a high of 18 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1988. Chuck D has stated the song was inspired by the works of Noam Chomsky.^[2]

The B-side includes "Prophets of Rage" and "The Rhythm The Rebel", an a cappella of the opening verse from "Rebel Without a Pause" which was a popular scratching phrase.^[3]

Charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles	21
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles	18
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	17

References

^ Strong, Martin Charles (October 21, 2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate U.S. p. 1226. ISBN 1841956155.
^ "Chuck D Talks Romney, Regrets And Why Public Enemy Are The 'Rolling Stones of Rap'". The Huffington Post. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
^ Smolenyak, Megan. "Don't Believe the Hype; Public Enemy". Rapgenius.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.

This 1980s hip hop song–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Strong, Martin Charles (October 21, 2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate U.S. p. 1226. ISBN 1841956155.

[2] "Chuck D Talks Romney, Regrets And Why Public Enemy Are The 'Rolling Stones of Rap'". The Huffington Post. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-22.

[3] Smolenyak, Megan. "Don't Believe the Hype; Public Enemy". Rapgenius.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.

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v t e Public Enemy
Chuck D Flavor Flav Professor Griff DJ Lord S1W Terminator X Sister Souljah
Studio albums	Yo! Bum Rush the Show 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 There's a Poison Goin' On Revolverlution New Whirl Odor Rebirth of a Nation How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp The Evil Empire of Everything Man Plans God Laughs Nothing Is Quick in the Desert What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down?
Live releases	Fight the Power... Live! Fight the Power: Greatest Hits Live!
Compilations	Greatest Misses Power to the People and the Beats: Public Enemy's Greatest Hits
Singles	"You're Gonna Get Yours" "Rebel Without a Pause" "Bring the Noise" "Don't Believe the Hype" "Night of the Living Baseheads" "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" "Fight the Power" "Welcome to the Terrordome" "911 Is a Joke" "Can't Truss It" "Shut 'Em Down" "Give It Up" "Make Love Fuck War" "Hell No We Ain't All Right!" "Harder Than You Think"
Other songs	"Self Destruction" "By the Time I Get to Arizona" "Long and Whining Road"
Related articles	Discography Harry Allen 360 Degrees of Power The Bomb Squad Bring the Noise 2000 East Coast hip hop PE 2.0 Political hip hop