PUBLIC ENEMY - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back LP

Label: Def Jam

Public Enemy's monumental sequel, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, is 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 concrète, 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.

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.