Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (LP)

By the summer of 1988, the group had released It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, an album that, on the surface, appeared just as militant as its title suggested. But within each of it’s sixteen breathless tracks lay an awe-inspiring maze of rhythms, words, samples and ideas, combining to weave a complex tapestry of contemporary Black America. As ‘Countdown To Armageddon’s rallying cry confirmed with doomsday urgency – this was music for the next generation of troublemakers.
The symbolic value of It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back remains as potent today as it did in 1988, a vital artery of contemporary counter-culture, both within rap and far beyond. Whilst ideas of what hip hop should or shouldn’t portray have only increased in complexity since the 1980s (and in the age of Donald Trump), the genre has assumed a vital and central role in popular culture – a radical means of youth representation.