It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Studio album by Public Enemy
Released	April 14, 1988
Recorded	1987 Greene Street Recording, Chung King Studios (New York, New York) Sabella Recording (Roslyn, New York) Spectrum City Studios (Hempstead, New York)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	57:51
Label	Def Jam/Columbia CK 44303
Producer	Hank Shocklee and Carl Ryder (The Bomb Squad)
Professional reviews
Allmusic [1] BBC Online (favorable)[2] Robert Christgau (A+)[3] New York Times (favorable)[4] NME (10/10)[5] Rolling Stone (favorable) 1988[6] Rolling Stone 2004[7] Slant [8] Sputnikmusic [9] Washington Post (mixed)[10]
Public Enemy chronology
Yo! Bum Rush the Show (1987) It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) Fear of a Black Planet (1990)

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is the second studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released April 14, 1988 on Def Jam Recordings in the United States. It features a dense, sample-heavy production by The Bomb Squad and politically-charged lyrics by group member Chuck D. On the album's musical style, 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".^[11]

Upon its release, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back peaked at number 42 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 500,000 copies in its first month. Widely regarded as the group's best work, it has been frequently cited by writers as one of the most celebrated and influential albums in hip hop. In 2003, the album was ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

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.^[12] It peaked at number 42 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and at number 1 on the Top Black Albums chart.^[13] On August 22, 1989, the album was certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), following sales in excess of 1 million copies in the United States.^[14]

Despite a divided reaction towards its controversial lyrical content, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back received generally positive reviews from music critics, and it was included on several critics' end-of-the-year album lists.^[15] It was ranked number 1 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critic' poll of 1988,^[16] as well as number 3 on Voice critic Robert Christgau's list.^[17] In an article for the publication, Christgau described It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back as "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)".^[18]

In a 1988 article, Los Angeles Times writer Robert Hilburn wrote 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 MC's" (1984) with the "radical, socially conscious tradition of groups like the Last Poets".^[19] 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".^[20] A columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News gave it a B rating and compared its musical "rage" to that of rapper Schooly D's Smoke Some Kill (1988).^[21] 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.^[4]

—Jon Pareles

Widely regarded as the group's finest work, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back regularly ranks as one of the greatest and most influential recordings of all time in various publications.^[22][23][24] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it number 48 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It is the highest ranking hip-hop album on the list.^[25] Acclaimedmusic.net ranks the album as the 17th best album of all time and also the greatest hip-hop album.^[26] Time Magazine hailed it as one of the 100 greatest albums of all time in 2006.^[27] It was listed in The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. Kurt Cobain, the lead guitarist and singer of the grunge band Nirvana listed 'It Takes A Nation of Millions' as one of his top 50 favorite albums in his journals^[28].

Don't Look Back tour

Public Enemy performed the album in its entirety to audiences in the UK during May 2008 as part of the Don't Look Back series of concerts which saw classic rap albums such as Nation of Millions and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx performed for the first time in years. These performances were also included on the extended tour in Australia, including shows in Brisbane and Sydney.

Adaptations

The track "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" was covered by Tricky on the album Maxinquaye. It was also covered by thrash metal group Sepultura on their Revolusongs EP. During their 1996 European tour Rage Against the Machine would frequently play alternative versions of this song including one at the Pinkpop Festival where they brought Chuck D out onto the stage to perform with them. This was later included on the Live & Rare album and the People of the Sun 10" single. The West-Coast Hip-Hop group The Pharcyde also referenced the song "Black Steel in the Hour of Choas" in their song "Officer" on their album "Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde", were the paraphrase the lyrics, saying "I got a letter from the DMV the other day/I opened and read it, it said they were suckers." Chuck D recorded a new version of "Bring the Noise" in a 1991 collaboration with the thrash metal band Anthrax.

In 2008, the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series. First it was be debuted as a UK tour featuring special guest DJ Hank Shocklee (Bomb Squad), and then it appeared on July 18, 2008 at Pitchfork Music Festival. Chuck D has expressed reservations about the format of the Don't Look Back series. ^[29]

On April 1, 2008 BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe featured the album in a two-hour 'masterpiece' program. The album was played in its entirety, preceded by interviews with various prominent musicians. On June 6, 2009, at the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, Public Enemy performed the album in its entirety along with Antibalas and The Roots – the first time this album was recreated backed by a live band.

Cultural references

Certain track titles refer to other titles from popular culture:

• The title of the track "Louder Than a Bomb" was influenced by the title of The Smiths' album Louder Than Bombs.^[30]
• "Party for Your Right to Fight" is a rearrangement of the Beastie Boys' song, "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)" (frequently referred to as: "Fight For Your Right to Party").
• The track title "Rebel Without a Pause" is influenced by the iconic 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean.
• "Night of the Living Baseheads" references the film Night of the Living Dead. It connects people addicted to crack cocaine with zombies.

Track listing

All songs written by Carlton "Chuck D" Ridenhour, Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, and Hank Shocklee, except where noted.

1. "Countdown to Armageddon" – 1:40
2. "Bring the Noise" – 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" – 1:21
7. "Louder Than a Bomb" – 3:37
8. "Caught, Can We Get a Witness?" – 4:53
9. "Show 'Em Whatcha Got" – 1:56
10. "She Watch Channel Zero?!" (Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee, Richard "Professor Griff" Griffin, Drayton) – 3:49
11. "Night of the Living Baseheads" – 3:14
12. "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" (Ridenhour, Sadler, Shocklee, Drayton) – 6:23
13. "Security of the First World" – 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" – 3:24

Album singles

Chart history

Album

Singles

Personnel

• Producers – Rick Rubin (exec.), Eric "Vietnam" Sadler (assistant producer), Carl Ryder, Hank Shocklee
• Vocals – Professor Griff, Chuck D., Fab 5 Freddy, Flavor Flav, Erica Johnson, Oris Josphe, Harry Allen
• Engineers – John Harrison, Jeff Jones, Nick Sansano, Chuck Valle, Greg Gordon, Jim Sabella, Matt Tritto, Christopher Shaw
• Mixing – Steven Ett, Rod Hui, Keith Boxley, Chuck Chillout
• Scratching – Norman Rogers, Johnny Juice Rosado
• Turntables – Terminator X, Johnny Juice Rosado
• Photography – Glen E. Friedman
• Programming – Hank Shocklee, Eric "Vietnam" Sadler
• Production supervisor – Bill Stephney

Sample credits

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The following lists some of the songs and sounds sampled on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. In an interview years later, producer Hank Shocklee said that in the face of increased clearance costs for copyrighted material that replicating the number of samples used on the album would not be impossible, but would be far more expensive than it was at the time.^[33]

Sample use

List of songs sampling material from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back:

• "Show ‘Em Whatcha Got"
  • "Show Me What You Got" by Jay-Z from the album Kingdom Come
  • "Friday" by Ice Cube from the Friday soundtrack album.
  • "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-n-Effect from the album Hard or Smooth
• "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"
  • "Remedy" by The Game from the album Doctor's Advocate.
• "Security of the First World"
  • "Justify My Love" by Madonna from the album The Immaculate Collection
  • "Instrumental B" by My Bloody Valentine, white vinyl shipped simultaneously with copies of Isn't Anything
• "Prophets of Rage"
  • "What's Golden" by Jurassic 5 from the album Power In Numbers

Notes

References

External links

• It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back at Discogs
• It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back at Pitchfork Media
• It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back at Acclaimed Music
• Album Review at Yahoo! Music