Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation of Millions

Public Enemy
Artist: Public Enemy
Title: It Takes A Nation of Millions
Label: Def Jam
Rating: 9/10

The world is pronouncing Rage Against The Machine to be one-of-a-kind geniuses, but without Public Enemy they’d have no career or inspiration. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back takes the political records of the last fifteen years and renders them completely insignificant.

It doesn’t even take hindsight to realize that this record was genius. Chuck D is perhaps the most skilled individual in the rap game. And his skill goes beyond his rhyming skills; his voice is power personified. It digs deep into your soul until you’re ready to burst. Then there is Flavor Flav, the clowned prince of rap. His silly rhymes add a lighthearted spirit to the heavy depths that Public Enemy takes you to. The undercurrent is heavy, but a lot is owed to the master of the turntables, Terminator X, who was far ahead of his time. The beats are timeless and the cuts will leave you in awe.

The album boasts front to back classic tracks. Not one track goes by where you don’t miss a line that is so significant that every band in the world is sampling it today, so significant that Public Enemy would sample themselves within the same record. The first bomb is dropped on “Bring The Noise”. Chuck D will turn you out. His voice booms while Flavor Flav agitates him throughout. “Don’t Believe The Hype” is an anthem, and though not as groundbreaking as their biggest hit, “Fight The Power”, it is still damn meaningful. “Flavor Flav Cold Lampin’” is silly as hell but a complete trip. Flavor has the flavor and it tastes like fun.

Then you take a break for a song or two. “Louder Than A Bomb” starts off calm and tranquil, but Chuck kills that. He is fiery as hell and even madder. And you know Public Enemy doesn’t dance around topics; just check out “Caught, Can I Get A Witness”. Chuck announces, “Caught, now in court ’cause I stole a beat/ this is a sampling sport,” and goes on to bust more heads with, “you singers are spineless/ as you sing your senseless songs to the mindless/ your general subject love is minimal/ it’s sex for profit.”

“Night Of The Living Baseheads” is the most memorable track from this album, thanks to a crazy video. How could anyone forget the opening: “Here it is/ BAM/ and you say Goddamn/ this is a dope jam”? But the song is deep, not an egotistical journey. They were one of the first groups to kick the world in the ass about the real drug epidemic in the inner cities. As powerful as “Night Of The Living Baseheads” is, it’s “Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos” that finds Chuck D pouncing, more pissed off than ever. I can listen to this track over and over again. The plot is a prison escape, and although it’s fictional, Chuck still finds a way to take shots at everyone from the federal government to racism.

The album never relents as it gives you a finale of three dynamite militant tracks: “Rebel Without A Pause”, “Prophets Of Rage”, and “Party For Your Right To Fight”. “Party” is a piece of sampling genius. The rhyming is bone chilling as Chuck D kicks in your right eardrum and Flavor Flav bangs on the left.

Still think Rage Against The Machine is the top of the political mountain? You only need a few lines from “Party” to realize how wrong you are. Could Rage ever take on such an opponent as Public Enemy does on several occasions in the same song? “This party started in ’66/ with a pro-black radical mix/ then at the hour of twelve/ some force cut the power/ and emerged from hell/ it was your so called government/ that made this occur/ like the grafted devils they were,” and, “J. Edgar Hoover and he coulda’ proved to ‘ya/ He had King and X set up/ also the party with Newton, Cleaver and Seale.” The album title speaks the truth; It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back!

+ rae gun


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