Album: It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Artist: Public Enemy
Artist: Public Enemy
Born: Long Island, New York
Released: June 1988
Genre: Hip Hop
Influenced: Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Jeru The Damaja, Rage Against The Machine, Tricky
Public Enemy were hip hop's first special forces unit, complete with on-stage military drills performed by the Bomb Squad and battle-ready names: Chuck D ("Messenger of Prophecy"), Flavor Flav ("Cold Lamper"), Terminator X ("Assault Technician") and Professor Griff ("Minister of Information"). Nothing as confrontational had achieved success on this scale since the Sex Pistols. Choosing to open the album with the voice of a BBC presenter introducing the band's live performance at Hammersmith Odeon always seemed a strange decision to me, but that London connection may (or may not) have been significant to a band acutely aware of history and how London was the home of punk rock. Bring The Noise introduces the "rhyme animal" Chuck D, who quotes boxing champion and civil rights hero Jack Johnson with the line, "too black, too strong", while also name checking some of his musical inspirations (Run-DMC, Eric B. and LL Cool J). Don't Believe The Hype has a funky bassline and a strange squeaky sample, as well as a serious lyrical intent: false stereotypes about black people in the media ("about the gun... I wasn't licensed to have one / the minute they see me, fear me / I'm the epitome, a public enemy"). Flavor Flav's first chance to shine is Cold Lampin' (which I'm pretty sure is slang for relaxing), and his less focused, improvised and jokey approach acts as a good foil to the more serious Chuck D. Next up is Terminator X's moment in the spotlight, bringing the "loud sound pound to make the brothers proud" with some of the most original use of sampling on the record, especially the Flash Gordon theme tune that elevates the DJ to the status of superhero hip hop saviour.
Night Of The Living Baseheads and Louder Than A Bomb are two of the record's highlights, the first with its strong anti-drugs message and the second Chuck D rapping about the FBI tapping his phone. She Watches Channel Zero?! is an attack on mindless TV, and with its sampling of a Slayer riff would have been a huge influence on the rap-rock genre, pioneered by the likes of Rage Against The Machine. One of the most compelling tracks is Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos, as Chuck D describes a fantastical prison break against the backdrop of an Isaac Hayes sample. There's a great cover of the song by Tricky called Black Steel. Rebel Without A Pause maintains the edginess and is one of my favourites on the record, setting the template for rappers having a pop at their critics, in this case mainstream radio. The final two songs are even more overtly political, with Prophets Of Rage taking a swipe at Thatcher for calling the ANC a terrorist organisation ("Mandela, cell dweller, Thatcher / you can tell her clear the way for the prophets of rage") and Party For Your Right To Fight, a clever inversion of the hedonistic Beastie Boys song and an uncompromising statement of black political consciousness. The song accuses J. Edgar Hoover of setting up the assassination of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, while accusing the freemasons of concealing the fact that "Black Asiatic man ... was here first". Though Chuck D may have a tenuous grasp on the theory of evolution, you can't fault him as a powerful controversialist and lyrical radical.
Public Enemy were hip hop's first special forces unit, complete with on-stage military drills performed by the Bomb Squad and battle-ready names: Chuck D ("Messenger of Prophecy"), Flavor Flav ("Cold Lamper"), Terminator X ("Assault Technician") and Professor Griff ("Minister of Information"). Nothing as confrontational had achieved success on this scale since the Sex Pistols. Choosing to open the album with the voice of a BBC presenter introducing the band's live performance at Hammersmith Odeon always seemed a strange decision to me, but that London connection may (or may not) have been significant to a band acutely aware of history and how London was the home of punk rock. Bring The Noise introduces the "rhyme animal" Chuck D, who quotes boxing champion and civil rights hero Jack Johnson with the line, "too black, too strong", while also name checking some of his musical inspirations (Run-DMC, Eric B. and LL Cool J). Don't Believe The Hype has a funky bassline and a strange squeaky sample, as well as a serious lyrical intent: false stereotypes about black people in the media ("about the gun... I wasn't licensed to have one / the minute they see me, fear me / I'm the epitome, a public enemy"). Flavor Flav's first chance to shine is Cold Lampin' (which I'm pretty sure is slang for relaxing), and his less focused, improvised and jokey approach acts as a good foil to the more serious Chuck D. Next up is Terminator X's moment in the spotlight, bringing the "loud sound pound to make the brothers proud" with some of the most original use of sampling on the record, especially the Flash Gordon theme tune that elevates the DJ to the status of superhero hip hop saviour.
Night Of The Living Baseheads and Louder Than A Bomb are two of the record's highlights, the first with its strong anti-drugs message and the second Chuck D rapping about the FBI tapping his phone. She Watches Channel Zero?! is an attack on mindless TV, and with its sampling of a Slayer riff would have been a huge influence on the rap-rock genre, pioneered by the likes of Rage Against The Machine. One of the most compelling tracks is Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos, as Chuck D describes a fantastical prison break against the backdrop of an Isaac Hayes sample. There's a great cover of the song by Tricky called Black Steel. Rebel Without A Pause maintains the edginess and is one of my favourites on the record, setting the template for rappers having a pop at their critics, in this case mainstream radio. The final two songs are even more overtly political, with Prophets Of Rage taking a swipe at Thatcher for calling the ANC a terrorist organisation ("Mandela, cell dweller, Thatcher / you can tell her clear the way for the prophets of rage") and Party For Your Right To Fight, a clever inversion of the hedonistic Beastie Boys song and an uncompromising statement of black political consciousness. The song accuses J. Edgar Hoover of setting up the assassination of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, while accusing the freemasons of concealing the fact that "Black Asiatic man ... was here first". Though Chuck D may have a tenuous grasp on the theory of evolution, you can't fault him as a powerful controversialist and lyrical radical.
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