POP/ROCK - Feb. 22, 1990

Critics Clap for Rap: Rap music took top honors in the Village Voice’s annual survey of the nation’s leading pop critics. In the vote of 255 critics, New York rap trio De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising” was named the best album of 1989, while New York rappers Public Enemy finished first in the single category with “Fight the Power.” Runners-up in the album voting: Neil Young’s “Freedom” and Lou Reed’s “New York.” Los Angeles rappers N.W.A finished sixth in the album voting with “Straight Outta Compton.”