15. Public Enemy, "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back"

 


I am properly embarrassed to say that this album slipped right by me when I was younger and although I had certainly heard tracks from it, like "Bring the Noise," I ahd never heard the album all the way through until yesterday.  So I am here to say, as a totally unbiased listener: this album is fucking great.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this just seems way ahead of its time for 1988.  The Bomb Squad's production on these songs is a thing of beauty, whisking together some expertly chosen funk, soul, and rock samples with booming percussion, all serving as a backdrop for Chuck D's muscular voice.  Take the aforementioned "Bring the Noise," for example; it has samples from "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic, "The Assembly Line" by Commodores, "Give it Up or Turnit a Loose (Remix)" by James Brown, and a speech by Malcolm X.  

That last sample is absolutely representative of the themes of this album, which is concerned with Black empowerment, structural racism, and inequities in society.  For example, from "Louder Than a Bomb":

Once again and I say it for you to know
The troop is always ready, I yell, "Geronimo!"
Your CIA, you see, I ain't kiddin'
Both King and X, they got rid of both
A story untold, true but unknown
Professor Griff knows, "Yo, I ain't milquetoast!"
And not the braggin' or boastin' and plus it ain't no secret
Why they're tappin' my phone, although I can't keep it a secret
So I decided to kick it, yo
And, yes, it weighs a ton, I say it once again
I'm called the enemy, I'll never be a friend

"Don't Believe the Hype" is a direct hit at PE's critics, in which Flavor Flav expounds, "A lot of people on daytime radio scared of us/Because they too ignorant to understand the lyrics of the/Truth that we pumping into them clogged-up brain cells."  Speaking of Flav, I was surprised to hear how front and center he is on this record.  I'd thought of him more as the traditional hype man, but on this album, he is right there with Chuck D., not just playing off him but making a solid contribution with his own verses.  

"She Watch Channel Zero?!" is built on an aggressive guitar riff that turns out to be from "Angel of Death" by Slayer.  It's a total jam of a song, about the evils of watching too much TV (ironic. considering Flav's later career trajectory).  I loved "Rebel Without a Pause," a song whose urgency is underscored by the siren sound (sampled from "The Grunt" by The J.B.'s), and sounds like a manifesto for the group:

From a rebel, it's final on black vinyl
Soul, rock and roll coming like a rhino
Tables turn, suckers burn to learn
They can't disable the power of my label
Def Jam, tells you who I am
The enemy's public, they really give a damn
Strong Island, where I got 'em whylin'
That's the reason they're claiming that I'm violent

Listening to this now from the 2023 perspective is wild.  (One humorous note: I was momentarily confused when, in "Hype," I heard Chuck rap "Caught in the middle and not surrendering/I don't rhyme for the sake of Ritalin," but it's actually "riddlin'," my bad.)  Flav, of course, reinvented himself as a reality star and cable court jester, so it's soberng to hear him throwing down some impressive verses on this album.  Public Enemy is still making music!  They released an album in 2020.  

I could have been listening to this the whole time!  Bummer.

Is this album in my personal Top 100? No.

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