It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (studio album) by Public Enemy

From Boltzmann 05/26/2025 11:41

I've been hesitant with giving this its due recognition, because to some extent the music is a bit dated, and it's annoying to hear white fake leftists use this as an example of how hip hop was always political, as if there is not about a decade of hip hop history that precedes this which was almost exclusively apolitical with the exception of "The Message" (playing "Christmas Rappin'" functions as a valid argument here).

But that doesn't make the political message of this album less strong. Partly populist filled with a healthy dose of vague paranoia for institutions in general, partly injected with genuine critical historical analysis and good advice (don't turn off your TV to turn on some politically incorrect podcast; go read about your history). A perfect recipe to successful agitation propaganda.

The beats are as genius as they are dated and stress-inducing. Really danceable they ain't; they seem to be going more for a thrash metal vibe: bang your head, that's it. But every little joke or mistake here has inspired a separate genre in the '90s in Britain. From trip hop to jungle to big beat (EDM in general), back to hip hop which it also transformed heavily.

A messy masterpiece.

An absolute hot mess, there were barely even parts of tracks that I enjoyed here. Perhaps it was trailblazing at the time but doesn't stand up to modern rap and hip-hop I'm sorry. Even Beastie Boys and Run-DMC were around before this doing this sort of thing way better (although still not very well) so I am struggling to make the "it was great at the time" argument. Found most of the album annoying to be honest. Heard "Yeah boyyyy" far too many times, it's "Nah boyyyyy" for me.

Powerfully Politically Incorrect Struggle

Great rhymes and smooth flow. 9.5/10!

"It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" by Public Enemy is quite an impactful listen. As someone who's just getting into hip-hop, I found its intense energy and politically charged lyrics quite striking. The production is dense and layered, creating a sound that's both challenging and engaging.

Important album in the history of hip hop, at its best it is raw but original beats and almost punk delivery, that with this lyrics creates atmosphere of a real riot. Unfortunately it's not the most consistent record and between the good stuff there are some interludes that ruin flow of the album a bit. Overall it's an enjoyable listen with vibe unique for its time.

This sounds very dated today and the music on here while it might be impressive for the time just doesn't hold up to this day. This leads to a lot of moments that make you tense up a bit as they are so outdated and old fashioned. I also am not a huge fan of the delivery of Flavor Flav and I think he might be a big influence on what makes it such a tough listen. Despite this, the lyrical content is phenomenal and the themes they tackle are important and deserve to be listened to. Chuck D is the leader of this and he really carries this record for me. Overall, this is a record that you have to listen to for its lyrics and significance in music but its lack of musical quality has become evident over time in my opinion.

It’s a testament to how much rap has grown that this groundbreaking album no longer holds up in some respects. One of the best early examples of how to use two very contrasting voices and styles against one another.

Chuck D’s stuff would probably still work today. Flavor Flav (except when vocalizing in contrast to D)…not so much.

Their breakthrough top 10 album in the UK. The best 3 tracks are their top 40 hits, "Rebel Without A Pause"(37), "Bring The Noise"(32) and the iconic "Don't Believe The Hype"(18) which never left my turntable for about a year after release. One of the all time greatest rap albums in history.

From Jboy56 02/21/2022 07:44

Yeah, as good as it gets.