There are very few albums that carry the same amount of weight as Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The only albums that come close to having the same monstrous impact include Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and more recently, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly. The overlap of this Venn diagram includes groundbreaking production that is used to catapult politically charged lyrics with Public Enemy’s section bursting with more aggression and frustration than its peers. It Takes A Nation is constantly included in the conversation of “most impactful” albums of all time, and in the 35 years since its release (6/28/88) these songs have been analyzed up, down, left, and right. Its production is synonymous with innovation and its lyrics are some of the purest examples of poetry in motion in more ways than one. Their sophomore album is not the first protest album to garner commercial success and it is far from the last but Public Enemy achieved what most musicians search for their entire creative lives; undeniability.
Public Enemy debuted a year prior with 87’s critically acclaimed Yo! Bum Rush The Stage. While this debut album put Chuck D and company on the map, the album was considered a flop commercially. Its sales just didn’t live up to their Def Jam labelmates like Beastie Boys and LL Cool J, the group wanted, or needed, to change something for their next effort if they wanted to see a third LP. The route the group chose was a bold one, politically charged albums have seen both wide success and horrible failure, and decided to blend their protest music with the sample-heavy aggression of the arrangements was not exactly the blueprint to success back then. Public Enemy tucked themselves away in the studio and gained selective hearing for any noise outside of their speakers, keeping an ear to what is going on politically while deciding to ignore the surreal amount of pressure on the group. This approach was needed to achieve the artistic merit of It Takes A Nation, Public Enemy wanted to present themselves as a creative force with a powerful message and surpassed even their own expectations.
The sample-drenched production that flows through It Takes A Nation is solidified as a turning point for the genre. Thanks to The Bomb Squad, a group of producers composed of members of Public Enemy including their leader Chuck D, the album’s production took on a personality of its own. Chuck D was obsessed with the electronics of funk and the use of tape manipulation. Tape manipulation is the act of cutting the ribbon of a cassette and taping it to a different section of the same ribbon, results may vary but in terms of The Bomb Squad, they perfected this technique. The wailing sirens of “Bring The Noise” welcome you to this onslaught of abrasive innovation, little did we know this was just the beginning of what was to come. “Mind Terrorist” featured some of the cleanest sample chopping of the time while “Caught, Can We Get a Witness” deploys the group’s love of funk tempos and groovy basslines. The marriage of The Bomb Squad’s innovation with their extensive knowledge and love of their influences created a refreshing wave of production styles for It Takes A Nation, creating a much-needed backbone for the album’s songwriting.
The album’s lyrics have been put under countless microscopes, although Public Enemy wasn’t trying to hide anything. Their talking points are detailed with a bluntness, they wanted everyone who listens to know exactly where they stand on everything from the state of the Black community to the trials and tribulations of navigating the record industry. Equally important to the lyrics is the way these lines are delivered, pure energy courses through this album. That energy is driven by purpose and care, Public Enemy had first-hand accounts of some of the most horrifying realities in this country and they needed their story heard. 35 years later, these lyrics still ring with truth and their worries are unfortunately validated. “She Watch Channel Zero” now feels like a warning about the advancement of technology and how it may remove us from reality while the iconic “Rebel Without A Pause” feels as urgent as the day it was released to the world.
35 years later, Public Enemy’s sophomore album is a monument to the creativity of hip-hop, the genre simply breeds innovation. The group was not only tired of the state of the world but tired of what they were hearing on the radio, they wanted to make music that accurately represented their state of mind. Without trying, Public Enemy accurately represented a generation of restless rebellion that needed a soundtrack for their revolution. It Takes A Nation did just that and over three decades later, their trailblazing gusto is just as refreshing and needed as it was back then.
