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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
This album practically detonates inside your speakers - sonically, this stands up to the hardest of thrash metal.
Fun Fact: In Black Panther, N'Jobu and Killmonger's apartment has this album on a poster hanging up on every scene. What I love most about that small easter egg is how the message and goal of Public Enemy directly matches with both N'Jobu and Killmonger's ideas. Public Enemy was exactly what his name implied, just as the two "enemies" of Wakanda were perceived with this album cover easter egg to cement that and kinda foreshadow.
Whether or not you think the "enemies" of ... read more
literally the best hip hop album ever and one of the best albums of all time. The incredibly dense and somewhat abrasive production is constantly throwing so much cool shit at you. The lyricism and vocal delivery is some of the best ever. And most importantly this album is packed with REVOLUTION!
it's a dense album which might take a bit to digest but when it clicks, it'll change your life
The only fun fact I know about this album that doesn't involve anti-Semitism: on Kurt Cobain's personal list of 50 greatest albums ever, this was the only rap record on there. Fuck yeah, Kurt!
This wasn't the first hip hop music that carried social or political commentary with is, but it was absolutely the first to weaponize that commentary in a way that felt less like a suggestion and more like a push to your chest. Chuck D was a machine on this thing - rugged rhetoric, street sermon flows, ... read more
Public Enemy brings a lot of energy to the table which is followed by magnificent flows and timeless beats.
Unlike many Hip-Hop albums from this era, It Takes a Nation manages to feel timeless. Its hard and explosive, each track feels like the soundtrack to a riot.
This album i've seen in many places but never fully heard, so with that being said, does it live up to the hype?
Hell yes it does
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![Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back [Deluxe Edition]](https://cdn2.albumoftheyear.org/200x/album/2014/23669-it-takes-a-nation-of-millions-to-hold-us-back-deluxe-edition.jpg)
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Track List
| 1 | Countdown to Armageddon 1:40 | 84 |
| 2 | Bring the Noise 3:46 | 95 |
| 3 | Don't Believe the Hype 5:19 | 92 |
| 4 | Cold Lampin' with Flavor 4:17 | 87 |
| 5 | Terminator X to the Edge of Panic 4:31 | 93 |
| 6 | Mind Terrorist 1:21 | 80 |
| 7 | Louder Than a Bomb 3:37 | 92 |
| 8 | Caught, Can We Get a Witness? 4:53 | 90 |
| 9 | Show 'Em Whatcha Got 1:56 | 88 |
| 10 | She Watch Channel Zero?! 3:49 | 91 |
| 11 | Night of the Living Baseheads 3:14 | 92 |
| 12 | Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos 6:23 | 95 |
| 13 | Security of the First World 1:20 | 81 |
| 14 | Rebel Without a Pause 5:02 | 95 |
| 15 | Prophets of Rage 3:18 | 91 |
| 16 | Party for Your Right to Fight 3:25 | 91 |
Total Length: 57 minutes
Year End Lists
| #2 | / | Paste |
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Added on: April 5, 2013