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75 of 79 found the following review helpful:
Proof that Rap Can be Thought-Provoking AND Funky!!! Feb 17, 2005
By P. B. Reynolds
All that I could say after hearing this album for the first time was "wow!" Even though the tracks here are almost two decades old, they sound much more daring, progressive, and experimental than any rap you can hear on the radio today. Is it possible that we are "de-evolving" now that perfection was already reached in 1988? I mean, I enjoy a lot of Snoop and NWA as well, but everything recorded since, say 1995 has been pretty abysmal in comparison to rap's "Golden Age." I suspect that since Chuck D. and the gang so thoroughly nailed it here, others knew that they couldn't rise to the occasion, so they didn't even try.
This album is a musical marvel, in every sense of the word. This is coming from a southern white male who was only four years old when this came out and, a mere few months ago, hated pretty much all rap. What can I say? I've been converted. Chuck D.'s militant message here is simply dead on, and while I can't quite get behind their endorsement of Farakhan, I can overlook that, because I agree completely with everything else they're laying down here. From the first track to the last, the album is a relentless indictment of government and media, from the unheard voices of urban America. And if that wasn't enough, the music is incredibly funky.
I'll take these Bomb Squad arrangements and Terminator X turntable magic over all of the over-produced pop garbage we have to put up with now any day of the week. Others have already extolled the merits of the brilliant production values and technical superiority, so all I'll say is this. The grooves here are as deep and pervasive as anything you will ever hear in popular music. I've loved all types of music, from Sinatra to Stravinsky, and if "Don't Believe the Hype" doesn't get some butts shaking at your next house party, consider moving to a funkier neighborhood!!!
Other stand-out tracks here are numerous. The repetitive striking of a minor piano chord in "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" makes for a menacing, delightful hip-hop experience. In this anti-authority "story song", you can almost hear an early prototype of later, very similar songs like Dr. Dre's "Deep Cover" but this is ten times better! Chuck is in great voice, and this track seems way ahead of its time.
You can't go wrong with this album, as it is perfection epitomized, on every level. If you, like me, are fairly new to rap, check this one out and get a taste of how rap SHOULD sound, and how it sounded for so many years before the hollow, voiceless perpetrators and posers took it over (in the interest of civility, I won't name names, but you all know who I'm talking about!) On a lighter note, I want to share with you my idea for the perfect drinking game. Turn this thing up to full-blast on your speakers, get a bottle of your beverage of choice, and take a shot every time Flavor Flav shouts "Yeeeaaah, boyeeee!!!!!!"
Uhhh...maybe you'd better make that HALF a shot. Afterall, I wouldn't want anybody out there to get alcohol poisoning!
44 of 49 found the following review helpful:
A landmark album that holds up forever Jul 14, 2001
By R. Riis
"rriis"
Perhaps the greatest rap/hip-hop album ever made, and one of the great albums of any genre. PE rock harder than any of today's gangstas with solid beats and magnificent sound collages that front eloquent raps not about violence, sexism, and nihilism, but empowerment, self-respect, and self-determination. Just as fresh today as it was in 1988. Five times five stars.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
PUBLIC ENEMY'S MASTERPIECE Aug 02, 2002
By Eric C. Martin
"Marty-Mar"
"Some people said rap is all noise. So, I gave them noise!"
-Hank Shocklee (Bomb Squad) A furious mixture of whistles, whines, and noise over dense samples, scratches, and beats which Shocklee later called "Music's worst nightmare." Aside from Chuck D.'s intelligent and thought provoking lyrics and Flavor Flav's hyper-active, idiotic, role playing of the court jester, it was Hank and Keith Shocklee, and Eric (Vietnam) Sadler of the bomb Squad who put PE on the map. As a whole, the group was way ahead of it's time. Boldly putting out their political views and attacking the media, PE was also unfairly attacked in the press portrayed as anti-semetic and anti-white. From the groundbreaking "Bring The Noise", to Slayer's guitar sample on "She Watch Channel Zero", to the pulsating piano chord on "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos", PE simply shines. Sad that this group never got the financial recognition it rightly deserved. Back in the day, I was the only one in the group of friends who worshiped PE. Everyone else couldn't handle the intelligent lyrics that [weren't] sprayed with 4 letter words. Feed your brain. Listen to the genius that was PE and READ the lyrics.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Untouchable May 03, 2006
By Lucas W. Reynolds
"doctor_mindbender"
There's a reason why this album is consistently listed near the top of any list of great albums, hip-hop or otherwise. The layered production and album's thematic cohesion represented a quantum leap over anything that had been released in hip-hop to that point. Yet, it doesn't sound the slightest bit dated (like, for example The Chronic) because no one was able to emulate the Bomb Squad's sound the way that G-Funk or RZA-style production were constantly bitten years later. The result is an album that was monumentally important at the time of its release, and still just as fresh and jaw-dropping nearly 20 years later.
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is the definitive group statement from one of hip-hop's greatest acts. Chuck D is a true force on the mic, but PE doesn't get by on his skills alone, though they certainly could. Despite rhymes that convey his considerable intelligence, he has a presence on the microphone that has rarely been matched. Even if he wasted his flows on cookie-cutter battle raps, he could do so convincingly. Fortunately for us, that isn't the case. Flava Flav, far from the caricature he is now, provides the perfect foil for Chuck. Abrasive and wild, he underscores all of Chuck D's statements like an exclamation point. Meanwhile, Terminator X and the Bomb Squad propel the backing tracks into the stratosphere with a constant barrage of samples, scratches and funky beats. Constantly self-referencing, the music here is dense and complex, adding to the epic feel of the album (though it runs just under an hour). Not to mention, they have the best song titles in all of music: "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos", "Terminator X on the Edge of Panic", etc.
I am usually a little wary of artists that are this overtly political, and I always thought that Ice Cube traveled too far down that road, for example. With PE, however, the politics only add to the urgency of the album. It doesn't hurt that Chuck D is typically right on with his lyrics. It also doesn't hurt that all of the themes touched on (drugs, war, police, the justice system, etc.) are always relevant.
To say that It Takes a Nation... is a good rap album with a couple of classic tracks would be a gross understatement of this album's value. This is a masterwork, and nearly every other track has become a standard ("Rebel w/out a Pause", "Bring the Noise", "Night of the Living Baseheads", "Don't Believe the Hype", "She Watch Channel Zero?!"...). No filler. The consistency is staggering. In fact, at first listen, the record can be a little intimidating, since there aren't any concessions made in the effort to vary their output or spawn a hit single. Chuck D even anticipates that they won't have commercial success in his line: "Radio stations/I question their blackness/They call themselves black/But we'll see if they'll play this." Multiple listens reveal more and more of what Public Enemy has embedded into this startling effort. Any fan of hip-hop who doesn't own this album needs to. As does any fan of music who has dismissed hip-hop as anything less than a vibrant art form.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
BELIEVE the hype! Jan 26, 2000
By mack
this IS the best rap/hip-hop album of all time and neither genre has been the same since. hard rhymes with a message over funky drum beats and dead-on samples. but not only did this album make a huge impact on rap and hip-hop, but it really helped shape modern electronic music as well. everyone from Fatboy Slim to the Chemical Brothers have tipped their hats to this record. i even saw Beck in concert and his DJ spun some of "It Takes A Nation.." just before the encore. the success of this album is not measured by total record sales, but by the respect it's gained from other musicians and the incalculable impact that it's had on the music world since it's release. do i even need to tell that you've got to buy this album? "power of the people, say!"
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