It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back [PA]

Performer: Public Enemy
Producer: Carl Ryder; Carl Ryder; Hank Shocklee
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Public Enemy: Chuck D, Flavor Flav (vocals); Norman "Terminator X" Rogers (scratches); Professor Griff (background vocals); The Security Of The First World. Additional personnel: Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, Hank Shocklee (programming); Johnny Juice Rosado (scratches); The Black To The Future Sample Stars (background vocals). Engineers include: Nick Sansano, Matt Tritto, Chris Shaw. Recorded at Greene Street Recording, Chung King House Of Metal, New York, New York, Sabella Recording, Roslyn, New York & Spectrum City Studios, Hempstead, New York. Personnel: Fab 5 Freddy, Harry Allen, Flavor Flav, Oris Josphe, Erica Johnson, Professor Griff, Chuck D (vocals); Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, Hank Shocklee (programming); Johnny Juice Rosado (scratches, turntables); Norman Rogers (scratches); Terminator X (turntables). Audio Mixers: Keith Boxley; DJ Chuck Chillout; Rod Hui; Steven Ett. Recording information: Chung King House Of MEtal, New York, NY; Greene Street Recording Studio, New York, NY; Sabella Recording, New York, NY; Spectrum City Studios, New York, NY. Photographer: Glen E. Friedman. Unknown Contributor Roles: Eric "Vietnam" Sadler; Flavor Flav; Professor Griff; Terminator X; Chuck D. Yo! Bum Rush the Show was an invigorating record, but it looks like child's play compared to its monumental sequel, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, a record that rewrote the rules of what hip-hop could do. That's not to say the album is without precedent, since what's particularly ingenious about the album is how it reconfigures things that came before into a startling, fresh, modern sound. Public Enemy used the template Run-D.M.C. created of a rap crew as a rock band, then brought in elements of free jazz, hard funk, even musique concr�te, via their producing team, the Bomb Squad, creating a dense, ferocious sound unlike anything that came before. This coincided with a breakthrough in Chuck D's writing, both in his themes and lyrics. It's not that Chuck D was smarter or more ambitious than his contemporaries -- certainly, KRS-One tackled many similar sociopolitical tracts, while Rakim had a greater flow -- but he marshaled considerable revolutionary force, clear vision, and a boundless vocabulary to create galvanizing, logical arguments that were undeniable in their strength. They only gained strength from Flavor Flav's frenzied jokes, which provided a needed contrast. What's amazing is how the words and music become intertwined, gaining strength from each other. Though this music is certainly a representation of its time, it hasn't dated at all. It set a standard that few could touch then, and even fewer have attempted to meet since. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine The title says it all. In 1988, when this album was released, Public Enemy's music cut with a wholly revolutionary edge. Rarely has fear, anger, paranoia and anxiety been so masterfully compressed onto a record's grooves. The Bomb Squad's artistry is the keynote to the hard, lean delivery, while Chuck D's supremely pointed lyrics leave no stone of the black experience unturned. It is not comfortable listening, but on tracks such as 'Don't Believe The Hype', 'Night Of The Living Baseheads' and 'Rebel Without A Pause' the listener is left in no doubt that they are facing a fantastically potent force.

Rolling Stone (11/89) - Ranked #12 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The Eighties" survey. Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.110) - Ranked #48 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "...Loud, obnoxious, funky, avant-garde, political, uncompromising, hilarious..." Spin - Included in Spin's list of the Top Ten College Cult Classics - "...In any context, a revolutionary work..." Spin (12/03, p.122) - "...NATION OF MILLIONS lived up to its hype and then some..." Q (10/01, p.44) - Ranked #47 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime" Q (9/95, p.132) - 5 Stars - Indispensable - "...the greatest rap album of all time, a landmark and classic...." Q (p.140) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Packed full of loud, obnoxious classics....You really should own this by now." Alternative Press (11/00, p.144) - Included in AP's "10 Essential Political-Revolution Albums" Alternative Press (8/01, p.112) - Included in AP's "10 Essential '80s Albums". Alternative Press (7/95, pp.76-77) - Ranked #6 in AP's list of the 'Top 99 Of '85-'95' - "...After IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK, rap couldn't just be stupid and boom and yelp--it had to have production values and 'relevance'..." Vibe (12/99, p.158) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Vibe (6/02, p.108) - Ranked #1 in Vibe's "Top 10 rap albums". Melody Maker (7/22/95, p.35) - Bloody Essential - "...I hadn't believed it could get harder [than YO! BUM RUSH THE SHOW]. Or better....It was like being beaten over the head in four/four time with a skip..." Mojo (Publisher) (6/00, pp.124-5) - "...Responsible for the angriest polemic since The Last Poets....[They] revolutionized the music, using up to 80 backing tracks in the sonic assault....to these ears PE sound like the greatest rock'n'roll band in history." NME (Magazine) (9/25/93, p.18) - Ranked #5 in NME's list of The 50 Greatest Albums Of The '80s - "...[IT TAKES A NATION...] drags punk, rock, and hip-hop screaming towards the end of the century....Definitive..." NME (Magazine) (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #9 in NME's list of the 'Greatest Albums Of All Time.' NME (Magazine) (7/15/95, p.47) - 10 (out of 10) - "...the greatest hip-hop album ever....this wasn't merely a sonic triumph. This was also where Chuck wrote a fistful of lyrics that promoted him to the position of foremost commentator/documentor of life in the underbelly of the USA...."

In the late 1980s, Public Enemy connected the dots between politics, soul music, hard rock, marketing, turntablism, and rhyme, and turned hip-hop into an urban global youth movement. PE's pioneering albums are heralded as avant-garde artworks whose disparate sample sources combine into a gloriously chaotic mosaic of polyphony and African-American unrest. Powered by Chuck D.'s political fury, enlivened by Flavor Flav's antics, and made controversial by Professor Griff's ethnocentrism, Public Enemy influenced virtually every rapper who followed in their wake.

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