I don\’t know if this is a hot take, but I think \”It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back\” is hip-hop\’s punk rock record.
Right off the top is just NOISE. A crowd is hyped up, an announcer introduces Public Enemy, and immediately a siren cranks up and runs for what feels like FOREVER. The effect feels dangerous, chaotic, and that\’s just the beginning!
The music kicks off with \”Bring the Noise,\” which absolutely assaults the ears with frenetic bits and pieces of screeches, bleeps and bloops, and whacked-out, staccato horns — all of which is being carried by this sort of new jack swing beat.
In the midst of all this chaos, Chuck D, who sounds like an amped-up radio announcer for the political underground, shouts \”BASS! How low can you go? Death Row? What a brother know…\”
I was in 10th grade when I first heard this song, and it just erupted with life and anger and pride and resolve!Chuck D wasn\’t on the mic to talk about himself in relation to other rappers. He was talking to ME!
He was talking about real issues for people of color — systemic racism, exploitation, the threat of white nationalism, the music industry — and how they can find self-empowerment in the midst of it all.
The entire album just EXPLODED with energy. It was political, it was loud and aggressive and sometimes angry. I mean, isn\’t that punk rock?
Just a casual glance at the track list — \”Mind Terrorist,\” \”Louder Than A Bomb,\” \”Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos,\” \”Rebel Without A Pause\” — looks like the songs were plucked from a Black Flag record.
And while their songs are every bit as socially conscious and aggressive, they are also INFINITELY more FUNKY.