Public Enemy-It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (JHO Hall Of Fame)

There are a few moments in hip-hop that really rival some of the best music ever produced and recorded. In 1988, Public Enemy had one of those moments when they released their sophomore album "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back." While hip-hop had already received mainstream status to the likes of LL Cool J, Run DMC, and the Beastie Boys' "Licensed To Ill", Public Enemy took a different approach to reach the masses. They put together perhaps the best and most diversified album in its genre.

It's revolutionary and the songs still hold together today because of the underlying message of self-empowerment. Not only is it a call for African Americans to realize and understand life and the realizations of that empowerment as a tool, it reached out to white kids in the suburbs with the same kind of eternal message. Stay strong. Be honest to yourself. LL Cool J at the time was rapping about his radio, which isn't a knock, it's just Public Enemy led the pack as using rap and hip-hop as a more purposeful tool. PE was about pushing the boundaries of what could be done with hip-hop. That, to me, is what makes them so essential.

Chuck D. leading things with a militant voice, Flavor Flav being the comedian to give some light flavor to Chuck's direct approach, and Terminator X being the DJ who brings so many influences and samples to the table that it all came together perfectly. Instead of just simply rapping over music, Public Enemy had the smarts to make the whole experience more rich and full. Some may point to "Fear Of Black Planet" or "Apocalypse 91" as their finer moments, but I disagree. This is where there is all killer-no filler.

Just look at the range of different topics and songs on the album. Before they partnered with metal band Anthrax a few years later and pretty much started the rap metal movement, "Bring The Noise", in it's original form, is an upfront and honest call for the rap genre to be taken seriously. Their second single "Don't Believe The Hype" re-works James Brown's "I Got Ants In My Pants" and always sticks in my mind as the first time remembering hear that crazy teapot kettle sound that I immediately associated with the band. "Louder Than A Bomb" is a straight up frenzied moment with samples ranging from Mountain to Kool and The Gang, with the continuing "Louder" call in the chorus working you up into a the frenzy.

Delving even deeper you've got the aggressive attack on television with almost rap metal like music on "She Watches Channel Zero?!". You've got Chuck D's message about the draft and the consequences through the eyes of a black man on "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos". You've got Chuck D and Flavor Flav coming through different speakers as they turn the Beastie Boys biggest hit upside down and on its head with "Party For Your Right To Fight."

The two finest moments, for me, are "Rebel Without A Pause" and "Night Of The Living Baseheads". On "Rebel", Chuck D. gives a spot on performance in a song that has him rightfully proclaiming his spot as the best emcee on the scene, "Attitude-when I'm on fire/Juice on the loose-electric wire". "Baseheads" is just James Brown hyped up on crack, as the theme for the song is about addiction and dependency on crack cocaine, the song hits you over the head with it's vivacious beat that goes along with Chuck D.'s portrait of people degrading themselves to the drug. "Shame on a brother when he dealin'/The same block where my 98 be wheelin'/And everybody know/Another kilo/From a corner from a brother to keep another - Below." You've just got to feel the perfect flow.

So call me old fashioned. Back in the days when sampling anything under the sun was legal, the golden age produced rap music that stood the test of time. What puts "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" at or near the top is that it is lyrically and musically the smartest rap album to ever be created. And that is something that shall never be taken lightly. Hear the drummer get wicked....

Source: http://www.jhostation.com/2010/10/public-enemy-it-takes-nation-of.html

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