Yo! Bum Rush the Show was an invigorating record, but it looks like child's play compared to its monumental sequel,
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, a record that rewrote the rules of what
hip-hop could do. That's not to say the album is without precedent, since what's particularly ingenious about the album is how it reconfigures things that came before into a startling, fresh, modern sound.
Public Enemy used the template
Run-D.M.C. created of a
rap crew as a
rock band, then brought in elements of
free jazz, hard
funk, even
musique concrete, via their producing team,
the Bomb Squad, creating a dense, ferocious sound unlike anything that came before. This coincided with a breakthrough in
Chuck D's writing, both in his themes and lyrics. It's not that
Chuck D was smarter or more ambitious than his contemporaries -- certainly,
KRS-One tackled many similar sociopolitical tracts, while
Rakim had a greater flow -- but he marshaled considerable revolutionary force, clear vision, and a boundless vocabulary to create galvanizing, logical arguments that were undeniable in their strength. They only gained strength from
Flavor Flav's frenzied jokes, which provided a needed contrast. What's amazing is how the words and music become intertwined, gaining strength from each other. Though this music is certainly a representation of its time, it hasn't dated at all. It set a standard that few could touch then, and even fewer have attempted to meet since. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
![4:44 [Bonus Tracks]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0854242007583_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "4:44 [Bonus Tracks]")
