It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
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It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is the second studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on June 28, 1988 by Def Jam Recordings.[1] Public Enemy set out to make the hip hop equivalent to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, an album noted for its strong social commentary. Recording sessions took place during 1987 at Chung King Studios, Greene St. Recording, and Sabella Studios in New York City. Noting the enthusiastic response toward their live shows, Public Enemy intended with Nation of Millions to make the music of a faster tempo than the previous album for performance purposes.[3]
The album charted for 49 weeks on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 42. By August 1989, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of one million copies in the United States. The album was very well received by music critics, who hailed it for its production techniques and the socially and politically charged lyricism of lead MC Chuck D. It also appeared on many publications' year-end top album lists for 1988, and was the runaway choice as the best album of 1988 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll, a poll of the leading music critics in the US.[4]
Since its initial reception, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back has been regarded by music writers and publications as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time.[5][6][7] In 2003, the album was ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, the highest ranking of all the hip hop albums on the list, and the only one acknowledged in the top hundred.
Background
Public Enemy's 1987 debut album Yo! Bum Rush the Show, while acclaimed by hip hop critics and aficionados, had gone ignored for the most part by the rock and R&B mainstream,[8] selling only 300,000 copies, which was relatively low by the high-selling standards of other Def Jam recording artists such as LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys at the time.[9] However, the group continued to tour and record tirelessly. "On the day that Yo! Bum Rush the Show was released [in the spring of 1987], we was already in the trenches recording Nation of Millions," stated lead MC Chuck D.[10]
With It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the group set out to make what they considered to be the hip hop equivalent to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, an album noted for its strong social commentary.[11] As said by Chuck, "our mission was to kill the 'Cold Gettin' Dumb' stuff and really address some situations."[11] In order to ensure that their live shows would be as exciting as those they played in London and Philadelphia, the group decided that the music on Nation of Millions would have to be faster than that found on Yo! Bum Rush the Show.[12] "Years of saved-up ideas," noted Chuck, "were compiled into one focussed aural missile."[13]
Recording
It wasn't that we took records and rapped over them, we actually had an intricate way of developing sound, arranging the sound. We had musicians like Eric Sadler... Hank Shocklee, the Phil Spector of hip hop. You've got to give the credit as it's due, if Phil Spector has the Wall of Sound Hank Shocklee has the Wall of Noise.
— Chuck D, The Quietus, 2008[14]
Public Enemy began making the album at Chung King Studios in Manhattan, but ran into conflicts with engineers prejudiced against hip hop acts.[15] The group resumed recording at Greene St. Recording where they were more comfortable.[11] Initially, the engineers at Greene Street were also apprehensive about the group, but eventually grew to respect their work ethic and seriousness about the recording process.[11] Recorded under the working title Countdown to Armageddon, the group ultimately decided on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back instead, a line from their first album's song "Raise the Roof".[16] The material was recorded in 30 days for an estimated $25,000 in recording costs,[17] due to an extensive amount of preproduction by the group at their Long Island studio.[17] The album was completed in six weeks.[18] "It was aggressive, race-against-the-clock teamwork, taking chances in sound," recalled Chuck D.[13]
Rather than touring with the rest of the group Eric "Vietnam" Sadler and Hank Shocklee would stay in the studio and work on material for the Nation of Millions album, so that Chuck D and Flavor Flav would have the music already done when they returned.[10] When the group began planning the second album, the songs "Bring the Noise", "Don't Believe the Hype", and "Rebel Without a Pause" had already been completed.[12] The latter track was recorded during the group's 1987 Def Jam tour, and the lyrics were written by Chuck D in one day spent secluded at his home.[19] Instead of looping the break from James Brown's "Funky Drummer", a commonly used breakbeat in hip hop, "Rebel Without a Pause" had Flavor Flav play the beat on the drum machine continuously for the track's duration of five minutes and two seconds.[19] Chuck D later said of his contribution to the track, "Flavor's timing helped create almost like a band rhythm".[19] Terminator X, the group's DJ/turntabilist, also incorporated a significant element to the track, the renowned transformer scratch, towards the its end. Named for its similarity to the sound made by the Autobots in The Transformers, the scratch was developed by DJ Spinbad and popularised by DJ Jazzy Jeff and Cash Money, and Terminator X had honed his take on the scratch on tour.[19] The group was satisfied with its sound after having removed the bass from his section of the track.[19]
According to Chuck D, Hank Shocklee made the last call when songs were completed. "Hank would come up with the final mix because he was the sound master... Hank is the Phil Spector of hip-hop. He was way ahead of his time, because he dared to challenge the odds in sound."[16] This was also one of the details which Chuck felt to be unique to the time and recording of the album. "Once hip-hop became corporate, they took the daredevil out of the artistry. But being a daredevil was what Hank brought to the table."[16] It was decided amongst the group that the album should be exactly one hour long, thirty minutes on each side. At the time, audio cassettes were more popular than CD's and the group didn't want listeners having to hear dead air for a long time after one half of the album was finished.[20] The two sides of the album were originally the other way around, the album beginning with "Show Em Whatcha Got" which leads into "She Watch Channel Zero?!" This instead became the start of side two, or the "Black Side." Hank Shocklee decided to flip the sides just before the mastering of the album and start the record with Dave Pearce introducing the group during their first tour of England.[16][20]
Music and lyrics
Under Hank Shocklee's direction, the Bomb Squad, the group's production team, began to develop a dense and chaotic production style that relied on found sounds and avant-garde noise as much as it did on old-school funk.[8] Along with a varied selection of sampled elements, the tracks feature a greater tempo than those of the group's contemporaries.[21] Music critic Robert Christgau noted these elements and wrote that the Bomb Squad "juice post-Coleman/Coltrane ear-wrench with the kind of furious momentum harmolodic funk has never dared: the shit never stops abrading and exploding".[22] As with the group's live performances, Flavor Flav supported Chuck D's politically charged lyrics with "hype man" vocals and surrealistic lyrics on the album.[23][24]
On the album's content, music journalist Peter Shapiro wrote "Droning feedback, occasional shards of rock guitar, and James Brown horn samples distorted into discordant shrieks back the political rhetoric of lead rapper Chuck D and the surreality of Flavor Flav".[23] Ethnomathematics author Ron Eglash interpreted the album's style and production to be "massively interconnected political and sonic content", writing that "[the Bomb Squad] navigated the ambiguity between the philosophies of sound and voice. Public Enemy's sound demonstrated an integration of lyrical content, vocal tone, sample density and layering, scratch deconstruction, and sheer velocity that rap music has never been able to recapture, and that hip-hop DJs and producers are still mining for gems".[21]
We took whatever was annoying, threw it into a pot, and that's how we came out with this group. We believed that music is nothing but organized noise. You can take anything—street sounds, us talking, whatever you want—and make it music by organizing it. That's still our philosophy, to show people that this thing you call music is a lot broader than you think it is.
— Hank Shocklee, Keyboard Magazine, 1990[25]
In an interview with the New York Daily News, Shocklee noted that the album's dynamic sound was inspired by Chuck D's rapping prowess, stating "Chuck's a powerful rapper. We wanted to make something that could sonically stand up to him".[18] Of his own contributions to its production, Shocklee cited himself as being the arranger and noted that he had "no interest in linear songs".[17] When using records for sampling, Shocklee stated that he'd sometimes put them on the ground and stomp on them if they sounded too "clean."[17]
Hank referred to Chuck D as being the person who'd find all the vocal samples, Eric Sadler as "the one with the musical talent," and noted that his brother, Keith Shocklee, "knew a lot of the breakbeats and was the sound-effects master."[17] Shocklee's sentiments were reinforced by Chuck D while explaining the group's working methods during production. "Eric was the musician, Hank was the antimusician. Eric did a lot of the [drum] programming, [Hank's brother] Keith was the guy who would bring in the feel."[10] For his contributions to the production side, Chuck stated that he "would scour for vocal samples all over the Earth. I would name a song, tag it, and get the vocal samples."[10] Chuck D also noted the productiveness of Sadler and Shocklee's differing approaches to the creative process. "The friction between Hank and Eric worked very well. Hank would put a twist on Eric's musicianship and Eric's musicianship would put a twist on Hank."[16]
Some production mistakes were kept for the album. The breakdown in "Bring the Noise" in which the kick-drum sample from James Brown's "Funky Drummer" plays solo was a mistake.[17] Apparently, the wrong sequence came up in the SP1200 sampler and Shocklee decided not only to keep it but to have Chuck rewrite his rhyme to fit the pattern.[17] The album itself was mixed with no automation, instead being recorded on analog tape and later painstakingly mixed by hand.[17] This is a significant fact due to its nature as being one of the more intricate albums of digitally sampled music.[17] Asked years later if replicating the number of samples used on the album would be possible [due to increased clearance costs for copyrighted material], Hank Shocklee said while possible, it would be far more expensive than at the time to do so.[26]
Songs
Throughout the album, Chuck D delivers narratives that are characterized by black nationalist rhetoric and regard topics such as self-empowerment for African Americans, critiques of white supremacy, and challenges to exploitation in the music industry.[27] "Caught, Can We Get a Witness?" directly addresses the issue of sampling in hip hop and copyright violation from a perspective that supports the practice and claims entitlement due to "black ownership of the sounds in the first place".[27]
"Rebel Without a Pause" exemplifies the faster tempo that Public Enemy intended for the album,[19] while incorporating a heavy beat and samples of screeching horns,[28] the latter taken from The J.B.'s' "The Grunt" (1972).[27] According to Ron Eglash, such effects of sampling exemplify the "sense of urgency" given to the messages of the album's tracks, "to heighten the tension of the mix", while Chuck D's message is "one of total resistance that was readily accessible through [...] the confrontational sounds of bass, groove, and noise."[27] Lyrically, it eschews the traditional verse/chorus—verse/chorus song structure, with 12 bars of Chuck D's aggressive rapping, punctuated by Flavor Flav's stream of consciousness ad-libs.[19] Public Enemy-biographer Russell Myrie writes of the track's significance, "It matched 'I Know You Got Soul' in terms of its innovation and its breathtaking quality. It increased the tempo for Public Enemy, something they would do repeatedly during their forthcoming masterpiece [...] The faster tempo was important as it would heighten energy levels at their shows. Most important of all, it sounded fresh. It was some next level hip-hop. Chuck and Hank rightly felt it could stand alongside the best rap records of the time."[19]
Some of the song titles make reference to other works from popular culture. The title of the song "Party for Your Right to Fight" is a rearrangement of the Beastie Boys' 1987 hit single "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)."[29] The vocal sample of hip hop DJ Mr. Magic stating that his show would play "no more music by the suckers" was used on the song "Cold Lampin' with Flavor" after having been recorded from Magic's radio show by Flavor Flav.[30] Magic had dissed the group with the line when he mistakenly embroiled them in the WBAU-WBLS radio war.[30]
Release and reception
In its first month of release, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back sold 500,000 copies without significant promotional efforts by its distributing label Columbia Records.[31] It peaked at number 42 on the U.S. Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and at number one on the Top Black Albums chart.[32] It spent 49 weeks on the Billboard Top Pop Albums.[33] On August 22, 1989, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of at least one million copies in the United States.[34] Since 1991, when the tracking system Nielsen SoundScan began tracking domestic sales data, the album has sold 722,000 additional copies as of 2010[update].[35]
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back received positive reviews from contemporary critics. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described the album as a "Molotov cocktail of nuclear scratching, gnarly minimalist electronics and revolution rhyme" and complimented its "abrupt sequencing and violent sonic compression of rapid-fire samples, slamming-jail-door percussion, DJ Terminator X's tornado turntable work and Chuck D's outraged oratory".[36] Los Angeles Times writer Robert Hilburn said that the album incorporates some of the dynamics of early rap records such as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" (1982) and Run–D.M.C.'s "Sucker M.C.'s" (1983) with the "radical, socially conscious tradition of groups like the Last Poets".[9] Hilburn commended Chuck D for his rapping on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, writing that he "isn't afraid of being labeled an extremist, and it's that fearless bite—or game plan—that helps infuse his black-consciousness raps with the anger and assault of punk pioneers like the Sex Pistols and Clash".[37] Los Angeles Daily News gave the album a "B" and compared its musical "rage" favorably to that of rapper Schoolly D's Smoke Some Kill (1988).[38] Jon Pareles of The New York Times praised the album for its production and compared its symbolic value to hip hop music at the time, stating:
Where most rappers present themselves as funky individualists, beating the odds of the status quo, Public Enemy suggests that rap listeners can become an active community, not just an audience. Although it overreaches, It Takes a Nation jams urban tension and black anger into the foreground; it reveals the potential for demagoguery as well as the need for change. 'Whatcha gonna do/ rappers not afraid of you', Public Enemy demands, and in 1988 it sounds like something more than idle entertainment.[39]
Despite writing that it "sounds powerful, fresh and galvanizing", Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post found its lyrical content inconsistent, stating "Aurally, 'Nation of Millions' is intoxicating; Hank Shocklee and Carl Ryder's bold production will likely prove among the most distinctive of the year, not just in rap but in any pop genre. For their work to pack the political wallop they crave, however, the members of Public Enemy need to think for themselves, not just attach themselves to the thought of whichever black nationalist is currently drawing big crowds".[40] Q magazine David Sinclair called it "an unimaginably urgent album seething with vengeful rage and booby trapped with incendiary musical devices".[41]
In its year-end list of 1988's best albums, Q called It Takes a Nation "a blistering collage of beat box [sic], rock guitar, police-radio chatter and high-velocity rapping."[42] It was voted number one in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll,[43] as well as number three on poll creator Robert Christgau's list.[44] In an article for the newspaper, Christgau called it "the bravest and most righteous experimental pop of the decade—no matter how the music looks written down (ha ha), Hank Shocklee and Terminator X have translated Blood Ulmer's harmolodic visions into a street fact that's no less edutaining (if different) in the dwellings of monkey spawn and brothers alike (and different)".[45]
Legacy and influence
Retrospective reviews | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [46] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A+[47] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [48] |
NME | 10/10[49] |
Pitchfork Media | 10/10[50] |
Q | [51] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [52] |
Slant Magazine | [53] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10[54] |
Sputnikmusic | 5/5[55] |
Widely regarded as the group's best work, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back has been cited by critics and publications as one of the greatest and most influential recordings of all time.[5][6][7] Upon the album's remastered reissue in 1995, Q hailed It Takes a Nation as "the greatest rap album of all time, a landmark and classic".[56] Also upon its reissue, Melody Maker called the album "bloody essential" and commented that "I hadn't believed it could get harder [than Yo! Bum Rush the Show]. Or better".[56] NME dubbed it "the greatest hip-hop album ever" at the time, stating "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".[56] Readers of Hip Hop Connection voted it the best album of all-time, prompting the magazine to comment, "Even 'Rebel Without a Pause', a definite contender for best rap single ever released, failed to put the other 12 [sic] tracks to shame, such was the high standard throughout."[57]
Mojo stated upon the album's 2000 European reissue, "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".[56] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 48 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, making it the highest-ranked of the 27 hip hop albums included on the list.[58] Time magazine hailed it as one of the 100 greatest albums of all time in 2006.[59] Kurt Cobain, the lead guitarist and singer of rock band Nirvana, listed the album as one of his top 25 favorite albums in his Journals.[60] In 2006, Q placed the album at number seven in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".[61] As of July 2014, It Takes a Nation of Millions is ranked as the top album of 1988 and the nineteenth greatest album of all time at AcclaimedMusic.net.[62][63] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at #3 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s" behind Michael Jackson's Thriller and Prince and the Revolution's Purple Rain.[64] The album ranks Number 2 in the list of best records of the 20th century of German music magazine Spex.[65]
In his 2004 book Appropriating Technology: Vernacular Science and Social Power, Ron Eglash commented that a sonically and politically charged album such as Nation "can be considered a monument to the synthesis of sound and politics".[21] In 2005, New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music hosted a two-day retrospective called "The Making of It Takes a Nation of Millions."[17] It featured a producers' panel that reunited Hank Shocklee, captain of the Bomb Squad, with the Chairmen of the Boards from Greene St. Recording.[17] When asked in 2008 if the album would still be considered as radical if it were released two decades later, Chuck D said he felt it would "simply because it's faster than anything on the radio right now. And yeah, it's radical politically... because it's not really being said a lot. You want it to not be radical, but it is because it's totally different from Soulja Boy."[14] American rapper Ice Cube said in 2005 that the album "messes with your brain even to this day."[66]
Public Enemy performed the album in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.[14] "I didn't think it would work," Chuck D admitted of the full-length performance. "But it ended up being something that worked tremendously well. Now we have a problem to get away from it. It amazed me that a lot of people who have gravitated to the album weren't even born when it was recorded. But it's YouTube and iLike and MySpace and file sharing which highlighted the existence of it. So I can't shoot down file sharing, as it's benefited us tremendously."[67]
Music from the album has been sampled by various artists over the years, including (though not limited to) the Beastie Boys ("Egg Man"),[68] Game ("Remedy"),[69] Jay-Z ("Show Me What You Got"),[70] Jurassic 5 ("What's Golden"),[71] Madonna ("Justify My Love"),[72] and My Bloody Valentine ("Instrumental B").[73] The album is broken down track-by-track by Chuck D in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.[74]
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is taken from AcclaimedMusic.net.[75]
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
About.com | USA | 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums[76] | 2008 | 2 |
10 Essential Hip-Hop Albums[77] | 2008 | 2 | ||
Adresseavisen | Norway | The 100 (+23) Best Albums of All Time | 1995 | 41 |
Aftenposten | Top 50 Albums of All Time | 1999 | 4 | |
Alternative Press | USA | Top 99 Albums of '85 to '95 | 1995 | 6 |
Amazon.com | The 10 Best Albums by Decade | 1999 | 1 | |
The Anarchist | UK | The 33 Best Albums Ever | 1997 | 4 |
BigO | Singapore | The 100 Best Albums from 1975 to 1995 | 1995 | 29 |
Blender | USA | The 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time | 2002 | 11 |
500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die | 2003 | * | ||
Blow Up | Italy | 600 Essential Albums | 2005 | |
Channel 4 | UK | 125 Nominations for the 100 Greatest Albums | ||
Robert Christgau | USA | Personal 10 Best Albums from the '80s | 1990 | 8 |
The Courier-Mail | Australia | 50 Defining Rock Albums | 2005 | 42 |
Dagbladet | Norway | The Best Albums of the Century | 1999 | * |
Dance de Lux | Spain | The 25 Best Hip-Hop Records | 2001 | 1 |
Robert Dimery (General Editor) | — | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die | 2005 | * |
Discoplay | Spain | The 50 Best Albums of All Time | 1997 | |
Eggen & Kartvedt | Norway | The Guide to the 100 Important Rock Albums | 1999 | |
Ego Trip | USA | Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980–98 | 1 | |
Entertainment Weekly | The 100 Greatest CDs of All Time | 1993 | 33 | |
Expressen | Sweden | The 100 Best Records Ever | 1999 | 66 |
The Face | UK | Albums of the Year | 1988 | 9 |
Fast 'n' Bulbous | USA | The 500 Best Albums Since 1965 | — | 80 |
Gear | The 100 Greatest Albums of the Century | 1999 | 14 | |
The Guardian | UK | The 100 Best Albums Ever | 1997 | 20 |
Joe S. Harrington, Blastitude | USA | The All-Time Top 100 Albums | 2001 | 27 |
Helsingin Sanomat | Finland | 50th Anniversary of Rock | 2004 | * |
IE | USA | 50 Great Albums, a Rock Time Capsule | 1999 | |
Juice TV | Australia | The 50 Best Albums of All Time | 1997 | 19 |
KCPR DJs | USA | Top 100 Records from the 80s | 2002 | 43 |
Kitsap Sun | Top 200 Albums of the Last 40 Years | 2005 | 53 | |
David Kleijwegt | Netherlands | Top 100 Albums of All Time | 1999 | 47 |
Les Inrockuptibles | France | The 100 Best Albums 1986–1996 | 1996 | 44 |
50 Years of Rock'n'Roll | 2004 | * | ||
List by Asian Critics | — | 100 Essential Albums | — | |
Melody Maker | UK | Albums of the Year | 1988 | 28 |
All Time Top 100 Albums | 2000 | 17 | ||
Mojo | The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made | 1995 | 76 | |
Tom Moon | USA | 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die[78] | 2008 | * |
Paul Morley | UK | Words and Music, 5 x 100 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2003 | * |
Musik Express/Sounds | Germany | The 100 Masterpieces | 1993 | 92 |
The 50 Best Albums from the 80s | 2003 | 3 | ||
Muzik | UK | The 50 Most Influential Records of All Time | * | |
Top 50 Dance Albums of All Time | 2002 | 19 | ||
New Musical Express | 40 Records That Captured the Moment 1952–91 | 1992 | * | |
Albums of the Year | 1988 | 1 | ||
All Times Top 100 Albums + Top 50 by Decade | 1993 | 9 | ||
Top 100 Albums of All Time | 2003 | 29 | ||
New Nation | Top 100 Albums by Black Artists | — | 3 | |
Nieuwe Revu | Netherlands | Top 100 Albums of All Time | 1994 | 34 |
NPR | USA | The 300 Most Important American Records of the 20th Century | 1999 | * |
OOR | Netherlands | Albums of the Year | 1988 | 4 |
The Best Albums of 1971–1991 | 1991 | 1 | ||
The Best Albums of the 80s | 1989 | |||
Panorama | Norway | The 30 Best Albums of the Year 1970–98 | 1999 | 12 |
Pause & Play | USA | 10 Albums of the 80's | 2003 | * |
Albums Inducted into a Time Capsule, One Album per Week | — | |||
Pitchfork Media | Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1980s | 2002 | 9 | |
Platekompaniet | Norway | Top 100 Albums of All Time | 2001 | 54 |
Pop | Sweden | The World's 100 Best Albums + 300 Complements | 1994 | 15 |
Pure Pop | Mexico | The 10 (+50) Most Important Albums of All Time | 2004 | 1 |
The Best Albums of All Time | 1993 | 21 | ||
Q | UK | The 80 Best Records of the 80s | 2006 | 7 |
Albums of the Year | 1988 | * | ||
In Our Lifetime: Q's 100 Best Albums 1986–94 | 1995 | |||
Top 20 Albums from 1980 to 2004 | 2004 | 9 | ||
Top 20 Albums from the Lifetime of Q (1986–2006) | — | * | ||
The Ultimate Music Collection | 2005 | |||
Radio WXPN | USA | The 100 Most Progressive Albums | 1996 | 28 |
Record Collector | UK | 10 Classic Albums from 21 Genres for the 21st Century | 2000 | * |
Record Mirror | Albums of the Year | 1988 | 1 | |
The Review | USA | 100 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2001 | 13 |
Rock de Lux | Spain | The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s | 1990 | 4 |
The 200 Best Albums of All Time | 2002 | 5 | ||
Albums of the Year | 1988 | 1 | ||
Rolling Stone | Germany | The 500 Best Albums of All Time | 2004 | 345 |
Mexico | The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time | 11 | ||
USA | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2003 | 48 | |
Albums of the Year | 1988 | 3 | ||
The Essential 200 Rock Records | 1997 | * | ||
Slant Magazine | Top 25 Electronic Albums | 2005 | 26 | |
Soundi | Finland | The 50 Best Albums of All Time + Top 10 by Decade | 1995 | 8 |
Sounds | UK | Albums of the Year | 1988 | 20 |
The Source | USA | The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time | 1998 | * |
Spex | Germany | The 100 Albums of the Century | 1999 | 2 |
Albums of the Year | 1988 | 3 | ||
Spin | USA | 100 Alternative Albums | 1995 | 2 |
Top 100 (+5) Albums of the Last 20 Years | 2005 | |||
The Sun | Canada | The Best Albums from 1971 to 2000 | 2001 | * |
Switch | Mexico | The 100 Best Albums of the 20th Century | 1999 | |
Tempo | Germany | The 100 Best Albums from the 80's | 1989 | 4 |
Terrorizer | UK | The 100 Most Important Albums of the 80s | 2000 | * |
Time | USA | Top 100 Albums of All Time | 2006 | |
Treble | The Best Albums of the 80s, by Year | 3 | ||
Uncut | UK | 100 Rock and Movie Icons | 2005 | 55 |
Various writers | — | Albums: 50 Years of Great Recordings | * | |
VH1 | USA | The 100 Greatest Albums of R 'N' R | 2001 | 20 |
Vibe | 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century | 1999 | * | |
51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement | 2004 | |||
The Village Voice | Albums of the Year | 1988 | 1 | |
Rickey Vincent | Five Star Albums from "FUNK: The MUSIC, the PEOPLE, and the RHYTHM | — | * | |
VPRO | Netherlands | 299 Nominations of the Best Album of All Time | 2006 | |
Wiener | Austria | The 100 Best Albums of the 20th Century | 1999 | 19 |
Yedioth Ahronoth | Israel | Top 99 Albums of All Time | 91 |
Track listing
Album produced by The Bomb Squad.
# | Title | Writer | Samples[79] | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Countdown to Armageddon" | Carlton "Chuck D" Ridenhour, Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, and Hank Shocklee |
|
1:40 |
2 | "Bring the Noise" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee |
|
3:46 |
3 | "Don't Believe the Hype" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee, William "Flavor Flav" Drayton |
|
5:19 |
4 | "Cold Lampin' with Flavor" | Sadler, Shocklee, Drayton |
|
4:17 |
5 | "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic" | Ridenhour, Norman "Terminator X" Rogers, Drayton |
|
4:31 |
6 | "Mind Terrorist" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee |
|
1:21 |
7 | "Louder Than a Bomb" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee |
|
3:37 |
8 | "Caught, Can We Get a Witness?" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee |
|
4:53 |
9 | "Show 'Em Whatcha Got" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee |
|
1:56 |
10 | "She Watch Channel Zero?!" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee, Richard "Professor Griff" Griffin, Drayton |
|
3:49 |
11 | "Night of the Living Baseheads" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee |
|
3:14 |
12 | "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee, Drayton |
|
6:23 |
13 | "Security of the First World" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee | -- | 1:20 |
14 | "Rebel Without a Pause" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee, Rogers |
|
5:02 |
15 | "Prophets of Rage" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee, Drayton |
|
3:18 |
16 | "Party for Your Right to Fight" | Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee |
|
3:24 |
2014 deluxe release bonus tracks
- Bring The Noise (No Noise Version) - 3:46
- Bring The Noise (No Noise Instrumental) - 4:23
- Bring The Noise (No Noise A Cappella) - 1:31
- Rebel Without A Pause (Instrumental) - 4:23
- Night Of The Living Baseheads (Anti-High Blood Pressure Encounter Mix) - 5:01
- Night Of The Living Baseheads (Terminator X Meets DST And Chuck Chill Out Instrumental Mix) - 2:55
- The Edge Of Panic - 3:00
- The Rhythm, The Rebel (A Capella) - 1:11
- Prophets Of Rage (Power Version) - 3:20
- Caught, Can We Get A Witness? (Pre Black Steel Ballistic Felony Dub) - 5:05
- B-Side Wins Again (Original Version) - 3:49
- Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos (Instrumental) - 1:17
- Fight The Power (Soundtrack Version) - 5:23
Personnel
Credits adapted from Allmusic.[80]
- Assistant production – Eric "Vietnam" Sadler
- Engineering – Greg Gordon, John Harrison, Jeff Jones, Jim Sabella, Nick Sansano, Christopher Shaw, Matt Tritto, Chuck Valle
- Executive production – Rick Rubin
- Mixing – Keith Boxley, DJ Chuck Chillout, Steven Ett, Rod Hui
- Photography – Glen E. Friedman
- Production – Carl Ryder, Hank Shocklee
- Production supervisor – Bill Stephney
- Programming – Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, Hank Shocklee
- Turntables – Johnny Juice Rosado, Terminator X
- Vocals – Harry Allen, Chuck D, Fab 5 Freddy, Flavor Flav, Erica Johnson, Oris Josphe, Professor Griff
Charts
Chart (1988)[32] | Peak position |
---|---|
Netherlands (MegaCharts)[81] | 40 |
UK Albums Chart[82] | 8 |
US Billboard Top LPs | 42 |
US Billboard Top Black Albums | 1 |
Certifications
Region | Certification |
---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[83] | Silver |
United States (RIAA)[84] | Platinum |
See also
References
- ^ a b http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hip-hops-greatest-year-fifteen-albums-that-made-rap-explode-20080212
- ^ Strong (2004), p. 1226.
- ^ http://www.defjam.com/public-enemy-it-takes-a-nation-of-a-millions-to-hold-us-back/
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (February 4, 1990). "Rap—The Power and the Controversy : Success has validated pop's most volatile form, but its future impact could be shaped by the continuing Public Enemy uproar". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times: Tribune Company. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ a b Otto, Jeff. "Rolling Stone Essential Albums of the 90s at Rocklist.net". Retrieved 2007-06-02.
- ^ a b "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back at AcclaimedMusic.net". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ a b "The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums at Rocklist.net". Retrieved 2007-06-02.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic ((( Public Enemy > Biography )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
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(help) - ^ a b Hilburn, Robert. "Public Enemy's Chuck D: Puttin' on the Rap". Los Angeles Times: 63. February 7, 1988.
- ^ a b c d Coleman (2007), p. 352.
- ^ a b c d Myrie (2008), p. 102.
- ^ a b Myrie (2008), p. 106.
- ^ a b Mojo, #21, August 1995
- ^ a b c Stacey, Ringo P. "The Quietus : Features : Public Enemy – Chuck D Interview". The Quietus. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
{{cite news}}
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(help) Cite error: The named reference "QuietusIntrvw" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ Myrie (2008), p. 101.
- ^ a b c d e Coleman (2007), p. 353.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Charnas, Dan. "Respect : Making Noise". Scratch (July/August 2005): pg. 120.
- ^ a b Hinckley, David (February 25, 2005). "The Birth of a 'Nation'". Daily News. New York.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Myrie (2008), pp. 83–84.
- ^ a b Myrie (2008), p. 104.
- ^ a b c Eglash (2004), p. 130.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". The Village Voice: September 27, 1988. Archived from the original on 2009-12-06. Note: Christgau revised original rating of (A) to (A+).
- ^ a b Shapiro, pp. 304–306
- ^ Hess, Mickey, 2007, Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 176.
- ^ Mark Dery et al. Forman & Neal (2004), p. 484.
- ^ McLeod, Kembrew. "Interview with Chuck D & Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy". Stay Free!. Retrieved 11-07-2006.
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(help) - ^ a b c d Eglash (2004), p. 131.
- ^ Yauch, Adam (2004). 100 Greatest Artists: Public Enemy | Rolling Stone Music | Lists. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2011-03-07.
- ^ Coleman (2007), p. 360.
- ^ a b Myrie (2008), p. 109.
- ^ Columnist. "Trio's Reunion Could Open Many Doors". Orlando Sentinel: August 21, 1988.
- ^ a b "allmusic ((( It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Public Enemy Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- ^ Gold & Platinum: Searchable Database. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Retrieved on 2009-12-06.
- ^ Concepcion, Mariel (March 13, 2010). 20 Years of Public Enemy's 'Fear Of A Black Planet'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ Fricke, David (December 15, 1988). "Public Enemy: It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
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(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Hilburn, Robert. $25 Guide: The Hottest Sizzlers of Summer. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-12-06.
- ^ Columnist. "Review: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". Los Angeles Daily News: September 2, 1988.
- ^ Pareles, Jon. Review: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-12-06.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark. "Review: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". The Washington Post: d.07. July 6, 1988. (Transcription of original review at talk page)
- ^ Q, August 1988
- ^ Q, January 1989
- ^ Pazz & Jop 1988: Critics Poll. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-12-06.
- ^ Pazz & Jop 1988: Dean's List. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2009-12-06.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Dancing on a Logjam: Singles Rool in a World Up for Grabs". The Village Voice: February 28, 1989.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back – Public Enemy". AllMusic. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "Public Enemy". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 067973015X.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
- ^ "Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". NME: 47. July 15, 1995.
- ^ Jenkins, Craig (November 25, 2014). "Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back/Fear of a Black Planet". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ "Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". Q (108): 132. September 1995.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 661–662. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
- ^ Schrodt, Paul (April 1, 2008). "Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Public Enemy". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Butler, Nick (January 16, 2005). "Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Product Notes – Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back CD Album. Muze. Retrieved on 2011-03-12.
- ^ Hip Hop Connection, #65, July 1994
- ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 2003-11-18. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ TIME.com – The All-TIME 100 Albums
- ^ amazon.ca – "Kurt Cobain's favorites"
- ^ Q August 2006, Issue 241
- ^ "Acclaimed Music – The Top Albums from 1988". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
- ^ "Acclaimed Music – The All Time Top 3000 Albums". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
- ^ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-1980s/308/page_10
- ^ http://www.poplist.de/poplist.php?l=470
- ^ Blender, January/February 2005
- ^ Metro, May 2009, precise date unknown
- ^ "Eggman – Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique Samples and References List". PaulsBoutique.info. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ "The Game – Doctor's Advocate (The Samples) – Hip Hop Is Read". HipHopIsRead.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ "Show Me What You Got by Jay-Z Songfacts". SongFacts.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ "Jurassic 5's What's Golden sample of Public Enemy's Prophet of Rage – WhoSampled". WhoSampled.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ "Justify My Love by Madonna Songfacts". SongFacts.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ "My Bloody Valentine's Instrumental B sample of Public Enemy's Security of the First World – WhoSampled". WhoSampled.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ Coleman, Brian. Check The Technique: Liner Notes For Hip-Hop Junkies. New York: Villard/Random House, 2007.
- ^ "Acclaimed Music – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". AcclaimedMusic.net. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
- ^ Adaso, Henry. 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums. About.com. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ Adaso, Henry. 10 Essential Hip-Hop Albums. About.com. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
- ^ Moon, Tom. 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Tom Moon. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ "Public Enemy's Sample-Based Music". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ^ "allmusic ((( It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back > Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Dutchcharts.nl – Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back(In Dutch). MegaCharts Album Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ^ "everyHit.com – UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts – Format Search: Albums – Artist Search: Public Enemy". everyHit.com. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
- ^ "British album certifications – Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "American album certifications – Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back". Recording Industry Association of America.
- Bibliography
- Ron Eglash (2004). Appropriating Technology: Vernacular Science and Social Power. U of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-3427-9.
- Brian Coleman (2007). Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies. Villard Books. ISBN 978-0-8129-7775-2.
- Russell Myrie (2008). Don't Rhyme For the Sake of Riddlin': The Authorized Story of Public Enemy. Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84767-182-0.
- Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Peter Shapiro (2005). Rough Guide to Hip Hop. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-84353-263-7.
- Murray, Forman; Neal, Mark Anthony, eds. (2004). That's the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-96919-0.
- Strong, Martin Charles (October 21, 2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate U.S. ISBN 1841956155.
External links
- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back at Discogs (list of releases)
- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back at Pitchfork Media