Disco de Public Enemy: “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back”

Perhaps the greatest rap/hip-hop album ever made, and one of the great albums of any genre. PE rock harder than any of today's gangstas with solid beats and magnificent sound collages that front eloquent raps not about violence, sexism, and nihilism, but empowerment, self-respect, and self-determination. Just as fresh today as it was in 1988. Five times five stars.

There's a reason why this album is consistently listed near the top of any list of great albums, hip-hop or otherwise. The layered production and album's thematic cohesion represented a quantum leap over anything that had been released in hip-hop to that point. Yet, it doesn't sound the slightest bit dated (like, for example The Chronic) because no one was able to emulate the Bomb Squad's sound the way that G-Funk or RZA-style production were constantly bitten years later. The result is an album that was monumentally important at the time of its release, and still just as fresh and jaw-dropping nearly 20 years later.

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is the definitive group statement from one of hip-hop's greatest acts. Chuck D is a true force on the mic, but PE doesn't get by on his skills alone, though they certainly could. Despite rhymes that convey his considerable intelligence, he has a presence on the microphone that has rarely been matched. Even if he wasted his flows on cookie-cutter battle raps, he could do so convincingly. Fortunately for us, that isn't the case. Flava Flav, far from the caricature he is now, provides the perfect foil for Chuck. Abrasive and wild, he underscores all of Chuck D's statements like an exclamation point. Meanwhile, Terminator X and the Bomb Squad propel the backing tracks into the stratosphere with a constant barrage of samples, scratches and funky beats. Constantly self-referencing, the music here is dense and complex, adding to the epic feel of the album (though it runs just under an hour). Not to mention, they have the best song titles in all of music: "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos", "Terminator X on the Edge of Panic", etc.

I am usually a little wary of artists that are this overtly political, and I always thought that Ice Cube traveled too far down that road, for example. With PE, however, the politics only add to the urgency of the album. It doesn't hurt that Chuck D is typically right on with his lyrics. It also doesn't hurt that all of the themes touched on (drugs, war, police, the justice system, etc.) are always relevant.

To say that It Takes a Nation... is a good rap album with a couple of classic tracks would be a gross understatement of this album's value. This is a masterwork, and nearly every other track has become a standard ("Rebel w/out a Pause", "Bring the Noise", "Night of the Living Baseheads", "Don't Believe the Hype", "She Watch Channel Zero?!"...). No filler. The consistency is staggering. In fact, at first listen, the record can be a little intimidating, since there aren't any concessions made in the effort to vary their output or spawn a hit single. Chuck D even anticipates that they won't have commercial success in his line: "Radio stations/I question their blackness/They call themselves black/But we'll see if they'll play this." Multiple listens reveal more and more of what Public Enemy has embedded into this startling effort. Any fan of hip-hop who doesn't own this album needs to. As does any fan of music who has dismissed hip-hop as anything less than a vibrant art form.

this IS the best rap/hip-hop album of all time and neither genre has been the same since. hard rhymes with a message over funky drum beats and dead-on samples. but not only did this album make a huge impact on rap and hip-hop, but it really helped shape modern electronic music as well. everyone from Fatboy Slim to the Chemical Brothers have tipped their hats to this record. i even saw Beck in concert and his DJ spun some of "It Takes A Nation.." just before the encore. the success of this album is not measured by total record sales, but by the respect it's gained from other musicians and the incalculable impact that it's had on the music world since it's release. do i even need to tell that you've got to buy this album? "power of the people, say!"

If there's one rap-album that has created revolutionary conditions, then it has to be this. At the starting point Chuck D and Flavor Flav basically followed in Run-DMC's footsteps (Yo! Bum Rush The Show), but with help from Eric "Vietnam" Sadler and the Shocklee-brothers, better known as The Bomb Squad, this record titled It Takes A Nation Of Millions... turned out to be an explosive sophomore record which immediately achieved classic status.

In 1988 political rap dominated, and Public Enemy where the leaders. It Takes A Nation... were their manifest, and Chuck D delivered his message with authority and justice, much on same level as Malcolm X in his time. Songs as "Don't Believe the Hype", "Black Steel in the Hour Of Chaos", "Rebel Without A Pause" and "Night Of the Living Baseheads" are all classics. In fact I could have mentioned each and every track that deserves the same label. Actually everything was perfect. The sound-picture really showed Chuck D's frustration, and horns and sirens that created a feeling of paranoia. Compared with other producers at the time, the Bomb Squad made more complex beats. They used a lot of samples, and the result got energetic and loud, like we had never heard before.

Chuck D, Flavor Flav and Terminator X have become hip-hop icons, and PE have blessed us with several great albums. It Takes A Nation Of Millions... clearly stands out though, not just because it was innovative, but `cause it was truly consistent and a compromise less record. Perfectionism might be the word. Let me conclude by saying that this must be one of the most important albums ever, not just hip-hop, but music in generally. Even in a cultural perspective, does Public Enemy have huge importance. Believe that!

What can be said about this album that hasn't already been covered? Maybe that Public Enemy changed the entire landscape of hip-hop with this album. How so?

First, the production of the "original" Bomb Squad. Prior to PE, the best hip-hop production came from Marley Marl with his lifts of single horn notes and loops of mostly James Brown guitar riffs and baselines. The Bomb Squad instead created a sort of collage of beats, soundbites, snippets, and, for lack of a better word, noise to create a completely different sound than the original recordings. Although Prince Paul of Stetsasonic fame had been playing around with similar ideas, nothing prior to It Takes a Nation... had the kind of cohesion that this album had.

Second, the agressiveness of Chuck D. Chuck was given a gift at birth of having a voice that booms in such a manner that it can not be ignored. I was a sophomore when this album came out and I remember my mother who was a big Run DMC and Rakim fan objecting to how angry and agressive PE sounded. Chuck had an urgent message to get out and his voice insisted he would be heard.

Third, their image. PE had a strong sense of organization from the get go. Behind the scenes there may have been a different situation but in 88 the appearance was that PE was a tight, focused collective with a sort of single-mindedness in their goals of indoctrinating and empowering struggling innercity youth. They were flashy, stylized, and controlled all at the same time. The balance of Chuck's ferocity, Flavor Flav (the world's greatest hype-man), Terminator X's silent focus, and Professor Griff with the S1W's keeping organized watch was something different than the music world (hip hop or not) had ever seen.

Finally, the message. It Takes a Nation... was and remains stunning with the ground it covers. There is no point in trying to go over the topics, information, or righteous indignation included in the lyrics. Listen for yourself instead. But recognize, whether or not you agree with what PE says or not, that there was NEVER before such an overload of political conviction and community upliftment combined with the sense of rage and urgency that this album carries. That alone makes this album worth the initial listen and the guaranteed repeated listens that will follow.

While It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is not my personal choice for favorite album, it is the hip-hop album with the greatest impact so far. And regardless of the upheaval that was to follow for PE and the strong influence of NWA's Straight Outta Compton, this album should be in everyone's collection.