Soul Strut 100: # 34 - Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

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  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    batmon said:
    DocMcCoy said:
    batmon said:
    Do yall consider Rebel Without A Pause a Nation's song or a YO! Bum Rush The Show extension/b-side?

    That's a really good question.

    Funnily enough, I saw it as a stand-alone joint and still do, to an extent. Yo!... had already been out for a minute, and the reason everybody was copping the 12" of You're Gonna Get Yours was because this was on the b-side. It was obviously in a different league from the sound they had on the first album, so it never really felt like just something they had lying around from those sessions. They'd taken it up a bunch of levels. Nobody could believe they'd tossed it away as a b-side, and it made sense when it was eventually released as a single in its own right. Equally it made sense within the context of Nation Of Millions..., but because it was so familiar by then, I still consider it to be like the trailer for the album - this is where it's going next.

    I dont recall this dropping way after Yo! came out.
    That Black Flames/Bring The Noise single came out afterwards and then Dont Believe The Hype then Nations.

    It saw it as an extension of Yo! An improved sound yet still under that umbrella.

    I think they said they were in the studio right after YO! dropped and was making new shit.
    So yeah its not some lost master from YO! stuck on B-Side.

    And the roots of the Rebel sound was there in Yo!s production. I dont see it as rendering YO extinct.

    In fact Rebel sounded kinda "dated" by the time Nations hit and we got the album. On some simple shrill + break shit like YO.
    Rebel to me was like Nas' Halftime on Nations. Burnt out in the streets by the time the album drops.

    ______

    Like w/ The B-Side Wins Again on Black Steel yet is appears on Fear 2 years later. Is it a Fear song or an extension of Nations?
    Or Dwyck.....?

    Can they be both?

    Yeah, this is an interesting perspective to me, because obviously I'm speaking on how people reacted to it over here. I'd expect the view to be significantly different in the US. But I definitely remember it being their first new shit after Yo!...

    I like the comparison between Rebel and Halftime. I feel like Rebel stayed hot a little longer, though.

  • DocMcCoy said:
    batmon said:
    Do yall consider Rebel Without A Pause a Nation's song or a YO! Bum Rush The Show extension/b-side?

    That's a really good question.

    Funnily enough, I saw it as a stand-alone joint and still do, to an extent. Yo!... had already been out for a minute, and the reason everybody was copping the 12" of You're Gonna Get Yours was because this was on the b-side. It was obviously in a different league from the sound they had on the first album, so it never really felt like just something they had lying around from those sessions. They'd taken it up a bunch of levels. Nobody could believe they'd tossed it away as a b-side, and it made sense when it was eventually released as a single in its own right. Equally it made sense within the context of Nation Of Millions..., but because it was so familiar by then, I still consider it to be like the trailer for the album - this is where it's going next.

    I dont recall this dropping way after Yo! came out.
    That Black Flames/Bring The Noise single came out afterwards and then Dont Believe The Hype then Nations.

    It saw it as an extension of Yo! An improved sound yet still under that umbrella.

    I think they said they were in the studio right after YO! dropped and was making new shit.
    So yeah its not some lost master from YO! stuck on B-Side.

    And the roots of the Rebel sound was there in Yo!s production. I dont see it as rendering YO extinct.

    In fact Rebel sounded kinda "dated" by the time Nations hit and we got the album. On some simple shrill + break shit like YO.
    Rebel to me was like Nas' Halftime on Nations. Burnt out in the streets by the time the album drops.

    ______

    Like w/ The B-Side Wins Again on Black Steel yet is appears on Fear 2 years later. Is it a Fear song or an extension of Nations?
    Or Dwyck.....?

    Can they be both?[/quote

    I remember first hearing rebel in july 87 on the radio and they also performed it at the def jam tour I went to... if I remember correctly the Yo! Lp came out in like march/april? Maybe they felt like they had to put out a new b side since the lp was recorded in 1986.
    But yeah love the nations lp. Didn't like Yo! when it I first heard it but now I prob listen to it more than nations. Still think nations is a classic
    but old grumpy b boy in me says that Critical Beatdown is the best hip hop lp of all time.

  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,473 Posts
    I always considered "Rebel" to be more a preview of Nation of Millions than an extension of Yo!. But if I really think about why, the obvious answer is the JBs horn shriek, which was one of the defining characteristics of Nation of Millions.

  • per0per0 153 Posts
    Can't believe this is not higher. Top 5 LPs of all time for me. Lyrics, Beats and message.

    Production is sublime.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    When this groundbreaking, mind-melting blockbuster of an album dropped, it instantly:

    1. Made the Suzuki Samarai a viable option for weekend cruising.
    2. Metaphorically beat up all the dolt-headed bullies at my school with a dog-eared copy of the Autobiography of Malcolm X.
    3. Made me feel comfortable about listening to both rap and metal...at the same time.
    4. Raised the collective IQ of all those who either listened to or didn't even bother to listen to the album.
    5. Made my own miniature idiot, crack-smoking sidekick seem all the more acceptable.
    6. Successfully converted Micheal Rappaport to Islam.
    7. Forced the cafeteria ladies to stop serving pork chops ground up, dyed, and fashioned as spinach.
    8. Inspired unarmed security guards across the country to become even more strictly symbolic than they had ever been before.
    9. Required step show performers to salute the heavens at least once in between any 2 concurrent dog barks.
    10. Made it okay for black dudes to just honk from the driveway when picking up their white dates.

    Add on...

  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,789 Posts
    BOOM:



    Solid Steel (2nd August) It's another special show as our own DJ Moneyshot presents another classic album deconstructed for the Solid Steel 25th Anniversary. Public Enemy's 'It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' is also 25 years old and to honour both occasions DJ Moneyshot shows us once again why he's the mixtape king with the career-best offering, Solid Steel and the Hour of Chaos. Over 60 blistering minutes he takes in all the beats, breaks, samples and spoken word nuggets that made this seminal Bomb Squad production such an explosive release. Amongst the vast stack of tracks in the mix, expect words of wisdom from Louis Farrakhan, exclusive interviews with Hank Shocklee, and all the soul, rock 'n' roll and early rap tracks that went into making up P.E's (if not hip-hop's) finest album. If you enjoy the mix, why not read Moneyshot's exhaustive feature on the album in the pages of this month's Future Music magazine? ( https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/future-music-technology-tutorials/id451416904?mt=8 )

    PART 1 + 2 - DJ Moneyshot https://twitter.com/DJ_Moneyshot

    V/A _ 87 Long Island Radio Dial Intro _ mp3
    Mr. Magic & Marley Marl _ Public Enemy Diss - WBLS, MARCH '87 _ mp3
    The Bar-Kays _ Son of Shaft _ Stax
    Malcolm X _ Message to the Grassroots _ Afro Records
    The Disco Four _ Do It, Do It _ Enjoy Records
    Bobby Byrd _ I Know You Got Soul _ Polydor
    The JBs _ The Grunt _ Polydor
    Public Enemy _ Night of the Living Baseheads (Video Version) _ Def Jam
    Public Enemy _ Bring the Noise (acc) _ Def Jam
    Louis Boston _ Fonk A Job _ mp3
    Hank Shocklee _ Excluisve Interviews _ Moneyshot's Own
    Public Enemy _ Night of the Living Baseheads (Terminator X Meets DST and Chuck Chill Out Instrumental Mix) _ Def Jam
    Lafayette Afro Rock Band _ Darkest Light _ America Records
    Minister Louis Farrakhan _ Minister Farrakhan Speaks at "Jack The Rapper Family Affair" Conference _ Final Call Records
    Sly & The Family Stone _ Sing a Simple Song _ Epic
    The JBs _ Gimme Some More _ Polydor
    James Brown _ Escape-ism _ King Records
    Rufus Thomas _ Live at Wattstax _ Stax
    The Bar-Kays _ Live at Wattstax _ Stax
    Aretha Franklin _ Rocksteady _ Atlantic
    Run DMC _ Sucker MCs _ Profile Records
    Chubb Rock _ Rock 'n' Roll Dude _ Select Records
    Public Enemy _ Night of the Living Baseheads (Anti-High Blood Pressure Encounter Mixx) _ Def Jam
    James Brown _ Funky Drummer _ King Records
    Slayer _ Angel of Death _ Def Jam
    Public Enemy _ She Watch Channel Zero _ Def Jam
    David Bowie _ Fame _ EMI
    Big Audio Dynamite _ BAD _ Columbia
    Masterdon Committee _ Funkbox Party _ Enjoy Records
    GrandWizzard Theodore _ Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie _ Chrysalis
    Public Enemy _ Caught, Can We Get A Witness (Pre Black Steel Ballistic Felony Dub) _ Def Jam
    Public Enemy _ Live at London DMC 1988 _ DMC
    The Sweet _ Funk It Up (David's Song) _ RCA Victor
    Bobby Byrd _ Hot Pants (Bonus Beats) _ Urban
    Bobby Byrd _ Hot Pants _ Urban
    Double Dee + Steinski _ Lesson 1 _ Tommy Boy
    Queen _ Double Dee + Steinski _ EMI
    Public Enemy _ - Rebel Without a Pause (acc) _ Def Jam
    Public Enemy _ - Prophets of Rage (Video Mix) _ Def Jam
    Run DMC _ Here We Go (Live at The Funhouse) _ Profile Records
    Spoonie Gee & The Treacherous Three _ Love Rap _ Enjoy Records
    James Brown _ Cold Sweat _ Polydor
    Original Concept _ Pump That Bass _ Def Jam
    Public Enemy _ Don't Believe the Hype _ Def Jam
    Prophets of Rage Documentary _ "Sampling" _ BBC
    Earth, Wind & Fire _ Shining Star _ CBS
    Kool & The Gang _ Who's Gonna Take the Weight _ De-Lite Records
    Funkadelic _ Get Off Your Ass and Jam _ Westbound
    Kurtis Blow _ Christmas Rappin' _ Mercury
    Commodores _ The Assembly Line _ Motown
    Funkadelic _ Butt-To-Butt Resuscitation _ Westbound
    Juice _ Catch A Groove _ Greedy Records Ltd
    Boogie Boys _ Rappin' Ain't No Thing _ Mike & Dave Records
    Marva Whitney _ It's My Thing _ Polydor
    Kurtis Blow _ AJ Scratch _ Mercury
    James Brown _ Give It Up Or Turnit Loose (In The Jungle Groove remix) _
    The Temptations _ I Can't Get Next to You _ Tamla Motown
    The Escorts _ Little Green Apples _ Alithia
    James Brown _ I Got Ants In My Pants _ Polydor
    Trix Cereal _ 60s Commercial _ mp3
    Melvin Bliss _ Synthetic Substitution _ Sunburst Records
    Isaac Hayes _ Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic _ Enterprise
    Public Enemy _ Terminator X Speaks With His Hands _ Def Jam
    Beastie Boys _ Fight for Your Right to Party _ Def Jam
    Stevie Wonder _ Living of the City _ Tamla Motown
    Mountain _ Long Red (Live) _ Island Records
    Public Enemy _ Live on Soul Train _ mp3
    T-La Rock _ It's Yours _ Partytime Records
    Public Enemy _ Cold Lampin' With Flavor _ Def Jam
    Whodini _ Fugitive _ Jive
    The Chakachas _ Jungle Fever _ Polydor
    Sly & The Family Stone _ You Can Make it if You Try _ Epic
    Salt 'n' Pepa _ My Mic Sounds Nice _ Next Plateau Records Inc.
    Davy DMX _ One For the Treble (Fresh) _ Tuff City
    Jefferson Starship _ Rock Music _ Grunt Records
    James Brown _ Soul Power _ King Records
    Public Enemy _ Rebel Without a Pause (DJ Moneyshot's 'More Nation's Samples' Remix) _ N/A
    Joeski Love _ Pee Wee's Dance _ Vintertainment
    The Soul Children _ I Don't Know What This World Is Coming To _ Stax
    V/A _ Outro _ N/A
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