It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back [35th Anniversary Edition] in Bloomington, MN

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
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