It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Hi Son,

I’ve been struggling lately to get the nerve to write. This note that I’m writing I have been sitting on for almost 2 months. It’s not that I’m unenthusiastic about it. I’m legitimately afraid of not doing it enough justice. Public Enemy started out while I was in Kindergarten and was arguably in their heyday while I was in grade school. I knew of Public Enemy, but did not know much about them or listened to them. It’s interesting, because I really got into Hip Hop in sixth and seventh grade but by that time other artists and groups had become more popular. I’ve said this many times, but I am grateful for music streaming in a sense that it’s given me the opportunity to go back and listen to a lot of music that I did not have access to unless I invested in buying cassette tapes or CDs. Sadly, my first real knowledge of anything Public Enemy was when Flavor Flav (one of the founding members) had a reality show called “Flavor of Love.” The show aired three seasons almost 20 years after Public Enemy had hit the scene. It was a “Bachelor”-type show where Flav had several women vying for his affection hoping that at the end of the season they would be the last woman standing to win a relationship with him. I can’t say it was a format I was ever a big fan of, but it was a very popular show.

Flavor Flav was, and still is, a character. From what I’ve learned since, he’s been a bit of an outcast with his personality compared to the rest of Public Enemy. The real cultural significance of Public Enemy is immense. The group surfaced in the mid-to-late 80s, where a lot of the memory and effect of the Civil Rights movements in the 1960s had been a decent memory. Flavor’s cohorts were Chuck D (still is), Terminator X, the Bomb Squad and Professor Griff. Public Enemy pulled the wool from people’s eyes to point out how American society had drifted from the efforts of many for Civil Rights. Their message was blunt and unmistakable, the voice of Black America was suppressed. This shook the hell out of White America. So much that several radio stations would not play their music. Public Enemy struck a nerve that desperately needed to be struck.

Public Enemy’s second record, “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” really put the group at the forefront. One of the goals of this record was to create the hip hop equivalent to “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye, which I talked about a while back. Gaye’s message was to “take a look at what is happening in the world.” Public Enemy wanted Black America to notice how severe the oppression still is. The first track is audio from a concert they performed in London called “Countdown to Armageddon.” The group is being introduced for “BBC Television tonight” where Professor Griff says “This time around, the revolution will not be televised. Step! London, England consider yourselves warned!" I love this start to the album because it makes me feel like I am in a sense at the beginning of a Public Enemy show. The roof is about to be blown off.

Track two, “Bring the Noise,” begins with Malcolm X saying “too black, too strong, too black, too strong.” Then Flav gives his hype speech ending with his trademark “yeah boyeeeee!” Finally, one of my favorite opening lines to any song I’ve ever heard. Chuck D goes “Bass! How low can you go?” The first listen I gave to “It Takes a Nation” really made me appreciate how good Chuck D is. His voice is heavy, strong and poignant. It’s unmistakable. His cadence is not rushed. The lyrics he performs exactly sent the message Public Enemy intended on sending.

Inside music that the critics are blasting me
For they’ll never care for the brother and sisters
Now across the country has us up for the war.
We got to demonstrate, come on
They’re gonna have to wait ‘till we get it right
Radio stations I question their blackness
They call themselves black. but we’ll see if they’ll play this

Words like this began to inspire Generation X to wake up and speak out. The third track is “Don’t Believe the Hype” was a call out to the negative messaging made about Public Enemy in the media.

In the daytime the radio's scared of me
'Cause I'm mad, plus I'm the enemy
They can't c'mon and play with me in primetime
'Cause I know the time, plus I'm gettin' mine
I get on the mix late in the night
They know I'm livin' right, so here go the mike, sike

The music on this track is probably my favorite. It’s not very complicated but the beat, more than any other on the record, makes my head bob.

I’m going to jump down to Track 10, “She Watch Channel Zero.” Another thing that “It Takes a Nation” was lauded for was the sampling. Sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. The two sound recordings used were the guitar riff from Slayer’s “Angel of Death” and James Brown’s “Funky Drummer.” “Funky Drummer” is probably one of the most recognizable samples that I’ve heard over several different tracks by different artists. The combination of “Angel of Death” and “Funky Drummer” is really cool and pairs perfectly with Chuck D’s cadence. The lyrics specifically call out Soap Operas. Flavor is adding commentary throughout the song asking the woman of the household to change the television channel to something other than a Soap. Chuck’s lyrics allude to the concern over the woman as a parent getting lost in a “fantasy” rather than tuning into other television or more importantly, getting away from the television and setting an example for her kid(s) to be involved in pushing back against the White Washing in America.

Trouble vision for a sister 'cause I know she don't know, I quote
Her brain's been trained by a twenty-four inch remote
Revolution a solution for all of our children
But her children don't mean as much as the show, I mean
Watch her worship the screen and fiend
For a TV ad, and it just makes me mad

I’m going to move onto Track 14, what would be the first single released from “It Takes a Nation.” “Rebel Without a Pause” begins with the late Reverend Jesse Jackson yelling “Brothers and sisters, I don’t know what the world is coming to!” Then the music begins with a siren squeal that took a lot of first listeners by surprise. The sample was from a song by the JB’s called “The Grunt.” It was a sound that really wasn’t heard in a Hip-Hop song until then. The whole tone of the song was intended to feel aggressive. Chuck specifically calls out radio stations avoiding from playing Public Enemy.

Radio—suckers never play me
On the mix, they just okay me
Now, known and grown, when they're clocking my zone, it's known

It’s a great song and I’ve said this many times in the past, I love it when an artist or group place one, if not their most popular song toward the lower third of a tracklist. Placing it as Track 14 of 16 was a terrific way to balance the heavy hitting songs throughout the sequence.

The last track that I’m going to mention is Track 15, “Prophets of Rage.” The inspiration of the title came from an article in Life magazine where a quote from Malcolm X asked “What ever happened to the prophets of rage?” The reason I bring up this title is because it became the name of a supergroup comprised of Chuck D along with the following:

• Tim Commerford - bassist for Rage Against the Machine

• Tom Morello - lead guitarist for Rage Against the Machine

• Brad Wilk - drummer for Rage Against the Machine

• DJ Lord - DJ for Public Enemy (took over for Terminator X after 1999)

• B-Real - rapper from Cypress Hill

I went on about my favorite supergroup in a recent note, but I’ll be honest that I did not know of the “Prophets of Rage” until doing research on “It Takes a Nation.” The band formed in 2016 and began performing in May. This was an election year, where unfortunately he who shall not be named on this Substack won. The band recorded several tracks, but the one that is likely the most renowned came out on June 1, 2017 called “Unfuck the World.” A song that feels more necessary now than it did 9 years ago. Having the reputation and legacy of Chuck along with one of the most politically-charged bands (sans Zack) is almost too perfect in a time like this. The group disbanded in 2019. They did put out one full-length record that was self-titled. This album along with a lot of what Public Enemy put out continue to put a voice to what is going on in the world, but more importantly the United States. I feel like Prophets of Rage and the beginning of Public Enemy bookend what has been four decades of a lot of the same. We’re stuck with a government who is pushing to White Wash the country. In some ways, it doesn’t feel like we’ve come very far at all. It’s why the work of Public Enemy is so important to help remind us all that organizing against the lack of progress continues to be necessary. Don’t give up the fight.

Love,

Dad

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