It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back Album Pick

Discography Browser

  • Yo! Bum Rush the Show
  • It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back
  • Fear of a Black Planet
  • Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black
  • Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age
  • He Got Game
  • There's a Poison Goin' On....
  • Revolverlution
  • New Whirl Odor
  • Rebirth of a Nation
  • MKLVFKWR: Manchester UK
  • How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???
  • Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp
  • The Evil Empire of Everything
  • Man Plans God Laughs
  • Live from Metropolis Studios
  • Nothing Is Quick in the Desert

Release Date

June 28, 1988

Duration

57:56

Genre

Rap

Styles

Recording Location

  • 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
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Album Moods

Album Themes

Public Enemy

It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back

  • AllMusic Rating
    10
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AllMusic Review by

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 concrète, 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.

Track Listing

Sample Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1
Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
01:40 Amazon
2
Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
03:46 Amazon
3
William Drayton / Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
05:19 Amazon
4
William Drayton / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
04:17 Amazon
5
William Drayton / Carlton Ridenhour / Norman Rogers
Public Enemy
04:31 Amazon
6
William Drayton / Carlton Ridenhour / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
01:21 Amazon
7
Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
03:38 Amazon
8
Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
04:53 Amazon
9
Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
01:56 Amazon
10
William Drayton / Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
03:49 Amazon
11
Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
03:15 Amazon
12
William Drayton / Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
06:24 Amazon
13
Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
01:20 Amazon
14
Carlton Ridenhour / Norman Rogers / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
05:03 Amazon
15
William Drayton / Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
03:19 Amazon
16
Carlton Ridenhour / Eric Sadler / Hank Shocklee
Public Enemy
03:25 Amazon
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