Amazon.com essential recording: It Takes a Nation of Millions was the sign that hip-hop had exploded like a grenade. A rap record as abrasive, hardcore, and eloquent as a JFK speech, the 1988 disc is one classic track after another: tense, multilayered, harmonically wild music. Chuck D. declaims like a master preacher with foil Flavor Flav's voice darting around his. They've got the desperate energy of people fighting for their lives, and everything from their pumped-up rhetoric ("Prophets of Rage") to the group's quasi-paramilitary organization to the sirens and sax squeals in nearly every track declares how urgent their mission is. It's a hugely influential album, and it still sounds fresh and frightening after all these years. --Douglas Wolk
Don't Believe The Hype......No, Wait A Minute.....BELIEVE IT! would you even hear anything like this on mainstream radio?
NO!(you'll only hear this kind of stuff on XM)
if you want hip-hop with a message,i suggest you cop this one..NOW!
and by the way, at the beginning of "don't believe the hype" where you hear the man say "now here's what i want ya'll to do for me"
that's rufus thomas and the sample is from "do the funky chicken".
:)
The Greatest Hip Hop release of ALL TIME! It takes a nation of millions to hold back my review...I wish there were more than 5 stars. If you do not view this album as AT LEAST Top 5 all time then you are probably new to the game or not credible to write a hip hop review. Ground-breaking, genre smashing, educational and angry, but all the while staying innovative and funky. For those of you who were even alive in 1988, this album was not typical of the times. Even their first release "Bum Rush the Show" was before its time and still can't hold a candle to this. This album broke the mold. The Bombsquad with Hank and Keith Shocklee were perfecting the art of layering sounds and experimenting with strange, unique samples which give the album its serrated edge. Saying Chuck's lyrics are mind-blowing is the understatement of a lifetime. You can say what you want about Flav but the contrast between the two of them is the beauty of it all. I was a kid growing up in turbulent racial times in my neighborhood back then and Chuck was my professor kicking knowledge. I learned so much more about Black History from Chuck D than I ever did in school or anywhere else for that matter. I bought this album the day it came out in '88 and I still rock it weekly, now 20 years later. Play "Louder than a Bomb", "Rebel Without a Pause" or "Prophets of Rage" and tell me you don't get chills up your spine...I still do. There will NEVER be another release quite like this, mainly because the samples alone would probably cost too much these days. Aside from that, hip hop doesn't' get any better than this. Raw, aggressive, gritty, angry beats under vicious, intelligent, heart-felt lyrics that grab you by the throat. Chuck is the King and PE the greatest of all time with this being their pinnacle. Damn, I wish I had a time machine. To whomever gave this album a lackluster review: Just stop listening to music all together because you really don't get it. Go watch MTV or listen to some of the garbage that the radio calls hip hop these days and dissolve in to the puddle of puke that is today's mainstream hip hop and mainstream music for that matter. This album was before suburban O.G.s, white kids with corn rows and the baseless debate about who's the best: Biggie or Pac. PLEASE! Chuck D is not only the most informative, knowledge-driven MC of all time but the best overall without a doubt. Rakim is the only other one close. Rap was never the same before or after this album. In retrospect it was a swan song of sorts for the old school. The '90's, or Terrordome as Chuck called it, were right around the corner and the whole game changed. This was the first and last of its breed. "Where you never been I'm in!"
Just this once, you can believe the hype. Many years ago, when I was strictly about the heavy metal, I was introduced to this group via their collab with Anthrax. Later, this was the first rap album I ever bought and, boy, am I glad I did. Nowadays, I like all kinds of music, and this is still one of my favorite CDs. Not only that, it is one of the most important recordings of all time. If you call yourself a music fan, and you aren't familiar with this release, you should donate your sense of hearing to some deaf person, because you have abused the priviledge.
Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos!!!!!!!!!!! It Takes a nation of millions is one of my favorite albums of all time!!!!!!!!! The Rhyme animal, Flav, Griff and Terminator X go down in history as making one of the dopest, politically charged, Black pride, Hip Hop albums ever. This is another album that can't be rated any less than five stars. There isn't a weak track on this album or a weakness to be found anywhere on this album. Not only the album was dope but every video that was made especially the video for Black Steel in the hour of chaos were dope. Songs like Louder than a bomb are better than some current artists whole catalog. If you rated this one star, please get on your knees and choke your self!!!!!!
Million Man March Public Enemy's sophmore release, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, takes the angle of entertaining with political and social acknowledgement to uplift Black America. Including live concert footage "Countdown To Armageddon" starts off the album with the warning of what's to take place. Chuck D stepped up flow on "Bring The Noise" as a classic arranged song by its contents and production. "Don't Believe The Hype" accessorized by a horn attacks critics and the media. As more or less a court jester, member Flavor Flav flows solo on "Flavor Flav Cold Lampin'". At a time in the genre where DJ's played a significant part of a song, "Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic" is a tribute to the group's DJ which resembles the highlight of the album "Rebel Without A Pause". The interlude instrumentals "Mind Terrorist", "Show Em Whatcha Got" and "Security Of The First World" added to the albums effectiveness. "...our status / is the saddest / so I care where you at, black..." on "Louder Than A Bomb" shows how Public Enemy's music is a form of revolution without violence. Taking an angle of going on trial for sampling on "Caught, Can I Get A Witness". As it is more of the foundation of which the genre hip-hop/rap was found. Using a hard edged rock instrumentation arrangement on "She Watch Channel Zero?!" goes into how too much television could brainwash someone. Taking on when crack/cocaine became an epidemic of the Black community, the classic "Night Of The Living Baseheads" takes on all sides. Planning to escape prison on "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos" is highlighted with the piano looped chords. As the lyrical content and purchlines such as "...to the poor / I pour / in on in metaphors..." could be found on "Prophets Of Rage". "Party For Your Right To Fight" has both Chuck D. and Flavor Flav flowing together a top of each other for the political driven track. As Public Enemy easily balances entertainment along with a social awareness makes this a classic effort in its own rights. As each member plays their parts led by Chuck D. broke the mold for this genre with timeless material.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
