By the Time I Get to Arizona

"By the Time I Get to Arizona" is a song by American hip hop group Public Enemy from their 1991 album Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black. The song was written by frontman Chuck D in protest of the state of Arizona, where governor Evan Mecham had canceled Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the people voted against its reintroduction.

"By the Time I Get to Arizona"
US promo release
Song by Public Enemy
from the album Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black
A-side"Shut 'Em Down"
ReleasedJanuary 1992 (1992-01)
StudioThe Music Palace, Strong Island
GenrePolitical hip hop
Length4:48
LabelDef Jam
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • The Bomb Squad
  • Stuart Robertz
  • Cerwin "C-Dawg" Depper
  • Gary G-Wiz
  • The JBL

It was released as a B-side to the single "Shut 'Em Down" in January 1992, but had its own music video. The video was controversial for its depiction of black paramilitaries assassinating Arizona politicians in revenge for King, who was non-violent. Some black activists and King's widow Coretta Scott King condemned the themes of the video. Chuck D and Public Enemy's spokesman Harry Allen defended the video as a fictional revenge for King's assassination.

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