Man Plans God Laughs is the thirteenth studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy. The album was released on Spotify on July 16, 2015.[1][2][3]
| Man Plans God Laughs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 16, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2014–2015 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 27:55 | |||
| Label | Spitdigital | |||
| Producer | Gary G-Wiz, Carl Ryder | |||
| Public Enemy chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe title of the album, "Man Plans God Laughs", is a well known English translation of a Yiddish proverb: "Der mentsh trakht un got lakht"[4] as reported in The Forward[5] and reviewed on Pitchfork.[6]
The album is a critique of corporate domination of the recording industry, what Public Enemy frontman Chuck D calls a "corporate plantation". According to Chuck D, "CBS, RCA and EMI, today's music-biz corporateplantationopolies are Apple, Google and Facebook. He says "The pigs are walking as tall as the men, but it's impossible to say which is which." and adds "I feel like the government controls the media and the people are not being fed the truth. " He says the album's title 'Man Plans God Laughs' was inspired by legendary basketball player Julius Erving mentioning the proverb in the documentary about him titled The Doctor. Chuck D had narrated the project. He says "When Dr. J said it, he was referring to all his plans for him and his brother, and then his brother passed away. That spoke volumes." Chuck says, "The message I got from that was, 'Stay humble'." He also included the song 'Mine Again' written ten years earlier about African Americans feeling conflicted about their African roots.
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| The Arts Desk | [9] |
| Consequence of Sound | B−[10] |
| Newsday | B+[11] |
| NME | 6/10[12] |
| Pitchfork | 6.2/10[13] |
| Spin | 7/10[14] |
| Vice (Expert Witness) |  [15] |
Man Plans God Laughs received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70 based on 7 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[7]
Track listing
editAll tracks are produced by Gary G-Wiz
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No Sympathy from the Devil" | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Me to We" | 2:15 |
| 3. | "Man Plans God Laughs" | 2:04 |
| 4. | "Give Peace a Damn" | 3:01 |
| 5. | "Those Who Know, Know Who" | 2:11 |
| 6. | "Honky Talk Rules" | 3:48 |
| 7. | "Mine Again" | 2:12 |
| 8. | "Lost in Space Music" | 2:26 |
| 9. | "Corplantationopoly" | 2:27 |
| 10. | "Earthizen" | 2:27 |
| 11. | "Praise the Loud" | 2:14 |
References
edit- ^ Blistein, Jon (2015-07-16). "Public Enemy Navigate Violence, Salvation in 'Man Plans, God Laughs'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ Reeves, Mosi (2015-07-13). "Inside the 'Most Intense Public Enemy Record of the Century'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ Vain, Madison (2015-07-17). "Chuck D finally got to use Rolling Stones' 'Honky Tonk Woman' on new Public Enemy album". EW.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ Yiddish proverb
- ^ Rogovoy, Seth (August 26, 2015). "The Secret Yiddish History of Public Enemy". The Forward. New York City: Forward Association. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- ^ Pearce, Sheldon (July 27, 2015). "Public Enemy: Man Plans God Laughs". Pitchfork. Chicago, Illinois: Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Man Plans God Laughs by Public Enemy". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (July 24, 2015). "Man Plans God Laughs - Public Enemy | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Harsent, Barney (15 August 2015). "CD: Public Enemy – Man Plans God Laughs". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Madden, Michael (July 24, 2015). "Public Enemy – Man Plans God Laughs". Consequence of Sound. New York City: Consequence Holdings, LLC. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Gamboa, Glenn (July 24, 2015). "'Man Plans God Laughs' review: Timely statement from Public Enemy". Newsday. Melville, New York: Newsday Media. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ Pattison, Louis (3 August 2015). "Public Enemy - 'Man Plans God Laughs': Flimsy beats outweigh blistering funk on the Long Island hip-hop titans' 15th album". NME. London, England: TI Media. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ Pearce, Sheldon. "Public Enemy: Man Plans God Laughs". Pitchfork. Chicago, Illinois: Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
- ^ Staff, Spin (18 September 2015). "SPIN Overlooked Albums Report: Tenement's Sprawling Half-Time Punk, Matana Roberts' Free Sax Collages". Spin. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (September 25, 2015). "Chance the Rapper and Friends Count Their Blessings: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. New York City: Vice Media. Retrieved September 25, 2015.