It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Monoton oinspirerande rap. Jag inser att det är bra men jag kan inte gilla det. Tvås

I can solidly remember when this album hit, it was like nothing we'd ever heard in college. It had anger and rage and in-your-face lyrics, it pretty much kicked off the gangster sound and the no-apologies persona of rap from that point forward. They were certainly shining a spotlight on the differences in black and white America, getting the message out and making a new audience aware of the imbalances. "Bring The Noise" (18M listens) was the big hit at the time, but beyond the message, the music and beats just never hit for me, that and Flava Flav ("yeahhh, boyeee") is super annoying to listen to. "Don't Believe The Hype" was another 'hit' that you'd hear at party's, but again, the music, production/drum machine and backbeats/scratching (by Terminator X) are so primitive. "Mind Terrorist", "Rebel Without A Pause", "Night Of The Living Baseheads" and "Show 'Em What You Got" are unlistenable. The only song I enjoyed was "Security Of The First World" because it was an instrumental, and had a catchy beat with no screaming sounds or scratching. The Deluxe version includes "Party For Your Right To Fight", it's kinda fun but sample heavy! I do recognize the impact this album had (at the time). Overall it's a tough album to enjoy, it's 100 mph and it feels like you're being yelled at for an hour straight. It's shallow musically and I can't get past that. I saw Prophets Of Rage a few years ago, very entertaining show, but Chuck D was so much older and a better performer, and the band (Rage Against The Machine) was TIGHT. 2 stars for influence, cuz that's all this one's got.

3.5/10

eh

Very early in my life—I must have been about 10 or 11—there was a phase when I voluntarily listened to hip hop. That was ages ago, but I can still remember Public Enemy fairly well. I don't like the music anymore, but I recognize that “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back” in particular had a significant influence on the development of both this genre and various crossover styles.

not good

I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would. I like most highly regarded hip-hop albums from the 80s & 90s. And I like Public Enemy’s most well known songs. But the record feels hit or miss to me overall. There’s a lot of tracks that are lyrically strong, especially Don’t Believe the Hype. However, I really don’t like the very high pitched squealing sounds looped over the beats on many tracks. Rebel Without a Pause would be a great track if it wasn’t for that. This is definitely a unique record and I appreciated some of it, but the deliver of it all really didn’t land with me.

Not my jam…

I found the background music to be extremely grating. Very loud, unpleasant sounds that droned on and on. Alright, back to my nursing home.

I'm old enough to admit that I just don't really like hip hop. I appreciate that according to the hip hop historians that this sits in a special place in the hip hop canon, but it's just not to my tastes. And that's fine.

Yeahh boiiiiii

I just wasn't that into it. I dunno

So that’s where “yeah boyyyyy” comes from. Some decent songs but a lot of the beats kinda sucked. Prob important for hip hop historically tho

OK, but I didn't really get into it.

It’s not my thing

It was so far so competent until Channel Zero. Ugh. Headache inducing. And what is that sound effect on some tracks that sounds like a mouse being strangled?

(6/16 liked songs = 38%) I'm not really into Rap. But this was okay.

I don’t know if I’m just getting old or what but the musical noises happening in this album were driving me insane. I can appreciate the lyrics but unfortunately the high pitched noises were too much. Maybe I’m turning into a dog…

Nene, das isch nid mis ...

Just not for me

Boze zwarte mannen roepen dingen, soms aardig. Meestal niet.

Ok album, couple of decent songs but nothing to write home about, not really my cup of tea so doesn't get me going like some other albums would.

Still not a fan of rap or hip-hop in any way. Some of the beats in this one where down right annoying. Not a fan.

Not in the mood for this today 🤦🏻‍♀️

I liked some of the social messages but I found the album to be generally not that interesting. I'm just not an 80s hip hop fan. The style of rapping is just not my thing.

infectious rhythm

Rebel Without a Pause, Bring the Noise and Dont Believe the Hype are the stand-out tracks that still hit hard 35 years later

A good hip-hop album with some strong songs, however it is a very early rap album and is very rough in some parts. The DJ is a bit too trigger happy on the sound effects for my taste and also the raps just don't have the depth some later albums do. You do however hear the potential in the group and it is no wonder this group become as big as it did. 2/5

Hard to pay attention to when Flav be shouting "Yeah Boiiii" every five seconds in every song 😂

самый невпечатливший пока что хип хоп альбом, надоедающий повторяющийся визг, текста мало, повторяется много фраз, надоедает

This has good bits and not so good bits, but maonly it's not my sort of thing.

I like flavour flave and that’s about it

C’est rough. Très dissonant, très anxiogène. C’est probablement le but mais ça fittait pas mon mood hier. On est loin du beau Jazz Rap de Tribe Called Quest! Par contre props à Bring the Noise pour me ramener de la nostalgie de Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

She watch channel zero is a banger but the rest of this album doesn’t hit for me at all. I don’t like hip hop much at all until the 90s tbh

cool melody, but i couldn't vibe with the beats and lyrics

si ok

real old school hip-hop

Sounded goofy. Like a parody album.

I am not a fan of "that" 80's rap flow, especially when it is so repetitive with feigned bombast... Plus, not nearly enough Flava Flav, surprisingly!

I didn't mind this, which was unexpected. Still didn't like it, but it deserves more than the one star.

dont believe the hype

I really wanted to like this. We're talking #15 on Rolling Stones top 500? The fact that it was ever considered so high speaks of its historic value. If only I didn't feel so negatively about drum machines and choppy production. By the time it's switched up, I've grown tired of Chuck D's blocky vocals. Nothing to criticize, I place the entire positive aspect of the project on his bars, which are frequently way above standard, packing a punch that does fit well with the music. 2.3/5

Not for me but appreciate their influence

I'm going to say it again. I don't enjoy rap for the most part.

Bring The Noise // 2.5/5

HipHop, niet bijzonder. Leek allemaal een beetje op elkaar, ook niet echt slecht maar niet mijn smaak

Classic hip hip sound, not for me

Not really my type of music. I didn’t really like the album. I would not buy it.

Wasn't for me tbh

Wie immer, irgendwie gut und cool, aber einfach nicht mein ding

Not actually as bad as I was anticipating

Eh. Not a rap fan.

Feeling so far hip-hop isn't for me.

Pretty enjoyable, but then I wouldn't repeat to it, I cannot tell hip hop and rap albums apart, and it's very samey at some point.

Dragged on way too long, the general vibes were good though.

Not for me, man

here we are again. Oldschool-hiphop wo niemert me lose chan hüt zu tags, mit allne komische trötene und grüsch wos gfunde hend. Da wird me gscratched wie grapped. 2 scratches vom Scratchy McScratchsten

Jajajaj De early rap isch irgendwie so unverfrore aber halt au alt gebacken. Eifach es guets bispill für schlecht galteret. Ich chan mir das züügs leider nöd geh. Obwohls sehr wegwiesend und innovativ isch. Aber 2025 naaah, gad nüm. Leider mussi 2 disc scratches geh, i’m a so sorry

6/10 personally not my thing but i recognised loads, not bad, really liked passing by, loved the vocals, but all sounded a bit simalaer

I was never able to get totally bought into Public Enemy. They have some great songs in their discography and perform with politically-fueled fire, but many of their songs utilize repeating samples that get grating to me over time. That said, we all need a hype man like Flavor Flav in our life. I’m leaning toward a 2.5/5 here. Favorite tracks: - Don’t Believe the Hype - Louder than a Bomb - She Watch Channel Zero?!

I was torn what to rate this. The songs were alright - I really liked the beats though. But it was so repetitive and too long! Oh, and did I mention how repetitive it was? 2 ⭐️

Musicalement interessant mais alors pas du tout ma came

Furchtbar, hört sich einfach nur nach Lärm an

# 546 : It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back – But Just One Skeptic to Say “Eh.” #15 on Rolling Stone’s Greatest Albums of All Time? Bold. I still don’t get rap, hip hop, or whatever this sonic riot is. Chuck D sounds like he’s narrating the apocalypse—authoritative, iconic, and kind of terrifying. The beats? Wild. The energy? Unmatched. My enthusiasm? Missing. It’s political, angry, and refreshingly free of gangster rap’s usual swear-a-thon. But despite the fire, it’s just not my jam. More like a history lesson shouted through a megaphone. Verdict: Respect the impact. Avoid the replay. If you have to listen to this, look out for : Bring The Noise Listened : 14/08/2025

Por gusto musical le pondría un 1, pero se nota que es icónico para el Hip hop de "la época". Los beats suenan tan 90eros que me ganó la nostalgia. El guiño a Queen en Terminator X to the edge of panic, y el beat usado en She watch channel zero!? me hicieron sonreir. Aproximado a 2 pero es un 1.5/5

I wanted desperately to like this album more than I did. The mixing was horrible. The sound effects are louder than the lyrics. Also the sound effects sounded a lot like a squeegie on a window.

Probably important to the history of rap, but not important to me.

Didn't make that much of an impact, maybe because of the egregious victimization of blackness

Still amazed Flavor Flav was somewhat of a Black Panther-esque rebel in a past life

i found the beats to be quite repetitive and the high pitched noises in the background of some of the songs drove me crazy

Not today

yeahhhh boiiiiii! Parts of this I liked, but other noisy, heavily repeated parts drove me a bit nuts

This one took a while for me to get through...

Whilst this is a classic rap album and the vocal carries a real threat and aggression, the constant siren in the background really set my anxiety on fire and i couldnt listen to it with anything other than a wince on my face.

Great album with great lyrics! Loved listening to it but will not reach for the songs when wanted to listen to music.

Chuck D is sick but Flavor Flav sucks.

Many people have tried to persuade me this is essential, personally I’m not convinced. Rap / Hip - Hop doesn’t resonate with me. I can get there’s a creativity to it and get that things like this have a certain political stance but the end product just doesn’t move me

Eh Worst Song: Don't Believe The Hype Best Song: Bring The Noise Added to Liked Songs:

All sounds the same. Not for me

2/5 Not my kind of music but I understand that this is important in the history of rap. I was surprised by how many of the songs I recognized.

Just more rap.

Not bad, but not really my thing

This was ultimately a bit of a meh album in my opinion. Another rap album that wasn’t dreadful nor overly profane but it went on SO long. It honestly took me about 3 attempts to get through and has put me behind in this grand album exercise. I just feel like they have one speed/style and it’s not for me but I’m sure others would enjoy.

Yeah Boyz...Another example of something I cant help but think is excellent music. Just wrong target (me). Least it didnt make my ears bleed like some examples which are literally torture. I can listen to this without being on edge so I commend them for that against a tough audiance.

For any fans of hip-hop I can see the value in listening to the early albums of the genre. I always find with these early hip-hop albums that they now sound quite simplistic and very repetitive. That said, the energy and lyrics are great and it's interesting to hear how far rap music has come since this sound of the late 80's. Also, this album is just more fun and positive sounding music than a lot of it's derivatives. A fun listen but not an album I'd listen to for anything other than academic reasons.

Not my style of hiphop. Appreciate what it did for the culture and the movement of hiphop, but I am bored. The old school flow, and production, mixed with the anger and message of young men from the hood is surely a time piece, but not one ill revisit often.

Just not that great, sorry.

Don’t believe the hype! Lolz One star for the activism, but I do not enjoy listening to this. The mixing in the live concert intros was cool.

Sometimes I wonder, if you added it all up, what would the total real world impact of all the world’s great ‘political art’ be? Feels like anti-communist art produced in Russia or the eastern bloc countries probably gets the most bang for your buck. Gulag archipelago, darkness at noon. Or maybe the American anti-war movement - apocalypse now, Bob Dylan. Or actually, it was probably the abolition era w the most impactful art. Those guys really did some damage. Anyway, this sucked.

Thinking that if you mention Flavor Flav to a random millennial, their cold association will be with Flavor of Love, and not with Public Enemy. The vibe and hits on here are somewhere between tolerable and fun - Bring the Noise, Louder than a Bomb - but an hour of this is definitely way too much. Other than Beach Boys, feel like we're in a bit of a slump.

The opening intro track was very obnoxious and I bet it’s supposed to instill a feeling of fear in you but it just wasn’t for me and it really stressed me out ha ha. The song “don’t believe the hype” has a really annoying sound effect in the background that sounds like a squawking bird that’s really obnoxious in my opinion. “She watch Channel zero?!” Reminds me of a black version of this Suicidal Tendencies song I know from high school. There is some other weird noise in the background of “night of the living Baseheads” that I cannot get past. I can hear nothing else unfortunately.

Ass tbh, two good tracks

p604. 1988. 2 stars. Rap, so wrong audience. Seems well done of its type though.

Louder than a bomb and she watch channel zero - quite good. Chuck D - super blowhard.

It all sounds very similar and I found none of it particularly galvanizing, unfortunately…

just feels deflated and weak

Going in to this I knew that Public Enemy is not really my thing, I listened though and heard a Queen "Flash's Theme" sample which reminded me that I have a pretty great Queen Favorites playlist I made. I promptly put that on when the album was over - yes this is much better!

Lyrically it's great, but musically this just isn't good. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing

This lowkey gave me a headache to much repetition in the songs, I did not like one song to put on my playlist. Just not my album but I'm sure its someone's.

Tried to appreciate it as someone in the late 80's hearing this for the first time, but simply couldn't get into it. Not a fan of the vocal delivery, felt dated unfortunately

Black

Except for a cool backing track on one of the tracks this was a pathetic album.

Je vibais bien au début, me pensais un homme nouveau, un véritable papillon mélomane émergeant d'un cocon de rock archaïque et de funk usé. L'ennemi publique a eu raison de moi et de ma patience à la longue, m'écœurant à la longue à coup de «YEEEAAAAAAH BOI» et de beats des plus basic. Ils ont tués le papillon en moi, les monstres.

106/1089 - Take out the repeated sax/trumpet/nails-on-chalkboard/tea-kettle sample and all the interludes with absolutely nothing going on and it goes up a star or two. Annoying as fuck to listen to.

This album was hard to listen to, because both the beats and the rapping felt far too abrasive and in-your-face. While I understand that this is kind of the point of the album and that it’s not *supposed* to be easy to listen to, but it does raise the question: at what point have you gone too far in trading listenability in service of a political statement. Favorite Track: Party For Your Right To Fight

kann man machen, bisschen monoton

I thought it would be hard to take this seriously (because Flavor Flav is to me a goofy vh1 personality), but actually it wasn't. He hardly even says "Flavor Flav" (although he does say it)! The worst part for me is the frequent noise that sounds like a squeaky toy making an ambulance siren. What is that? A record scratch? A modulated kazoo? I don't know, but I hate it passionately. The actual lyrics are fine, but the beats are, imho, wack. Speaking of beats, "Beat is for Sonny Bono (Beat is for Yoko Ono)" is a line that holds multitudes. 'Don't Believe the Hype' was inspired by Noam Chomsky, but I don't think it was "Syntactic Structures" that did it. Slur count here is low (just one carefully deployed n-word, by my estimate). Fun wordplay in the song titles too. I didn't at all enjoy listening to this but I can respect it! But, this isn't a respect ranking, so it's a 2 from me.

I'm just not into Public Enemy.

Some groovy backgrounds but just cannot enjoy the 80s rap style; too goofy.

Whatever. Hip-hop's not my thing. Some of these tracks are pretentious and self-important, some sound okay.

Terminator X go go go go ! Black steel in the hour of chaos got me moving my head ! I enjoyed more the last part of the album, first songs weren't for me

Not my cup of tea. Got interesting towards the end.

Ну репчик не мое, хотя вроде все качественно, и атмосфера таких вечеринок из фильмов начала 90х. В качестве исследования пойдет

I like rap even but this wasn’t for me.

It's cool and better than the other Public Enemy record I've had from this, but it's dated.

Don’t think I was in the right mood for this.

Boring

Those repetitive horn and whistle sounds are excruciating

Ummm....I really wanted to like this and I did enjoy it more than most of the genre, but in the end, it's hip hop, so for me, no.

Decent. I know that this album was much more influential than I am giving it credit for, but I just wasn't feeling it necessarily.

this pmo just a little idk

classic hip hop, too long

2 out of 5. Solid album just not for me.

Maso

Glad this is over.

I like Chuck D and think he has an excellent, distinctive voice. I just feel he'd be better outside of the gangsta rap stuff. The Flavor Ice dude's voice annoys the shit out of me. Just not a fan of this stuff. There were a couple tunes with some good rock backgrounds music, Channel Zero comes to mind, but just couldn't get into this and the more I heard the flavor dude, the more I wanted to punch him in the face. Chuck D is very good. He's the only reason I can go as high as a 2. 2

Man.. The lyrics.. "You wanna hike get a back pack, get out the whack sack." What a burn, if someone said that to me I'd probably cry. I'm pretty predisposed to disliking this era of rap. Only a few artists were doing it at this time where I feel it doesn't strike me as corny. The production is exceptional, especially when you consider how they had to use samples back in the day, so I will give them that. I doubt there will be any pulls for this project. Man, I really wish I liked this more. I do think that seeing this live in their prime was probably wicked. It's just not translating for me.

I respect the lyrics very cool social and political commentary and such. Cool aggressive beats and cool mix of sound. The singer guy is not holding back bro means business which I respect very confrontational type singing yknow. However for me personally this all gets old before the halfway point of the album and it was a chore for me to finish the rest. LOWWWWW TAPERRRRR

While is not totally my thing, I appreciate this music and what PE did for music. Chuck D was and is a force. That being said, much of these songs sound very similar.

Not a fan of this era. It’s not held up well at all

This album cemented Public Enemy’s place in hip-hop history, but I’m realizing that their sound just doesn’t work for me. Chuck D’s delivery is solid and commanding, but Flava Flav’s nasal tone remains a constant irritant, making it difficult for me to connect with the music. The sampling, while groundbreaking for its time, feels repetitive to my ears, which further detracts from the experience. I can appreciate their influence and the significance of their message, but ultimately, Public Enemy’s style isn’t one I enjoy. Score: 2/5

Songs seem nothing special. Plain Rap

Outstayed its welcome by track 3. A time capsule made not for me … moments of brilliance almost utterly lost in the tones of the time.

More of a historical interest than a fun listen for me. Sampling and effects were pretty basic. Flavor Flav got tiresome. Rapping was good though. The Slayer sample took me by pleasant surprise. I don't see myself returning to this album.

No lo terminé de escuchar

These dudes were MC's. The style was fresh and the DJing was something to behold at the time. These guys were political, tough, but not the braggarts about women and drugs. MCs with a purpose. But out of the context of the times it's tired. The album sprawls and doesn't have the original bombast.

I don't think I'll ever consider RAP as legitimate music.

I’m sure this was groundbreaking at the time but doesn’t really hold up in my opinion.

Not my thing but I didn’t hate it.

Sounds really dated now.

15. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) I appreciate the commentary but I found this quite irritating to listen to. Maybe the background samples were groundbreaking (I'm guessing because it sounds futuristic) but they are tough on the ears and mind. Sounds coming all the time and some very annoying choices for those sounds. I find the rapping better than most old-school rap albums I've heard though. I liked the heavier guitar in "She Watch Channel Zero" but that chours was rough. I thought the "Flash, saviour of the universe!" sample was funny. 2.5 stars.

Ei meinaan ropissut juuri yhtään. Lajissaan varma klasari, mutta se laji ei ole minun laji.

I’m not into rap that much tbh. At least not this kind of rap

поставлю двоечку хоть и тречки неплохие и некоторые акапелла читки меня удивили, но я что-то ничего себе не добавила и опять же сложно с языком

Not really the type of music I normally chose to listen to, but I appreciate how this album was new and significant when it was released.

I think this album has the disadvantage of being the third rap album from the same time period I've listened to in the last 10 albums. Everyone's flow and production sounds the same! This isn't bad, but I find myself zoning out. Also, some of the slang is so out of date its hilarious.

YEAHHH BOIII

Rap. It’s ok but not go to for me. Not as bad as ithooight

This album feels very long, and a little samey with generic sounding beats while he raps. Many songs are also repetitive which I did not like at all.

I don't like Public Enemy I've learned. Maybe it was crazy at the time but it's like not good at all

A pioneering and classic rap album , sounds dated on maybe the other side of raps peak. still, chuck D grabs your attention and the production is interesting. Not a fan of Flav, his solo track is a hard skip A few listens got me used to the sound and made it enjoyable but i don’t see a lot of replay value here , not in 2024 … i bet if it was 88 though id have this on repeat

I'm sure in the development of rap, this album stands out as important and groundbreaking in context. But it doesn't have the musical production and artistry of modern hip hop so without context, the value must be in the lyrics. But I don't have time to analyze the lyrics although I will say that it is easier to hear what they are saying than usual. So i did listen to some lyrics and I appreciate its not the pure dickswinging and uber shock of other more recent hip hop I've heard.

I'm a big hip hop fan, but these guys just don't do it for me. Not interested in listening again.

Don’t really get it, loved their version of Bring the Noise with Anthrax though.

Ok. So this sounds like a parody of 80s rap. I mean I guess that shows that it's super representative of the genre at the time, but it is really dated. That's not a bad thing though - I still contend that hip hop is pretty much all terrible and has just gotten progressively worse since the inception of the genre. So while this is not great music (to my ears) it's not as bad as almost any hip hop record that came after. Absolutely the best thing about this is Flavor Flav in the background making nonsensical and random rhymes or else throwing in the 'yeeeah boyyyee' at every opportunity, it's sort of endearing. Plus one star just for that. But don't get me wrong, this music is still bad. I appreciate the politics behind this, the social commentary, the perspective that they bring, but I just can't get on with hip hop at all. 2/5

I can't say that I like this album, but it is less annoying than most of the rap albums so far. 2 stars or D is my rating.

La misma base repetida una y otra vez. Al no entender las letras se queda en nada.

Not my cup of tea...

Some of the tracks blended for me. There were aspects I really appreciate especially in context of its time but not very memorable for me and I wouldn’t return to listen.

Didn’t finish but who can forget cold lampin’?

Another never ending hour of hip hop without anything remarkable.

I like Chuck D but this album is almost exclusively incredibly obnoxious beats over even more insufferable ad-libs from the worst to ever do it.

Flavor Flavs voice is grating, his rapping sucks, and he’s an annoying hype man. Chuck D was great though.

The music doesn't really suit my taste.

I as a rule do not have a closed mind to rap, if it's done intelligently, and with a good backing track. I saw this come up and thought oh dear. Public enemy were certainly at the beginning of, if not the ones who who started it all off, as social commentary on the lives of young blacks in America. And I have to say they did a good job of it. The more modern exponents of what is now known as gangster rap could learn a listen or two here, but mainly, that it is more powerful, and people when you use words like fuck and nigger sparingly, rather than every other word. I find myself wanting to give this a 3, but as my acid test for scores is would I buy it, and as much as I can appreciate this a very competent piece of work. No, I wouldn't buy it. So it has to go down as a 2.

#281. Don't worry, I don't believe the hype. This shit is terrible. Flavor Flav is just as annoying as you'd expect, and almost all of the songs have some annoying high pitched squal as part of the beat. No fucking thanks all round. 2/5: noon, boi

Dated

1. armageddon - 0 2. noize - 1.5 3. hype - 1.5 4. flavor - 1 5. terminator - 1 6. terrorizt - 0 7. bomb - 1 8. uuitnezz - 1.5 9. got - 2 10. zero - 0 11. night - 0 12. chaoz - 1 13 firzt uuorld - 14. rebel - 1 15 prophetz - 1.5 16. party - 0

3/10 - I did not enjoy don't believe the hype, the background moaning like thing was just so bad (huheheah). The intro to terminator X and Mind terrorist were both kinda cool but the rest of the songs I did not enjoy. The screaming sample in caught can we get a witness was not very enjoyable. Night of the living baseheads had a part that I enjoyed. I can't tell if party for your right to fight inspired fight for your right to party by beastie boys but i feel like it did. Overall an album I did not enjoy listening to

Some good

Yeaaaaaaaaa boiiiiiiiiii That ab lib was used ad nauseum. Overall the beats are nothing special. The skits on this album don't add much but at least they aren't too drawn out. It's a mix of crowd work (odd for a non-live album) and brief setups for upcoming songs. Most of the songs are really similar. Standouts for me are Bring the Noise and She Watch Channel Zero for the sick guitar. This album comes in an era of hip-hop where the bar for originality is still set pretty low. Between NWA, Cypress Hill, and Public Enemy would the untrained ear really be able to tell the difference? It's high energy, in your face rhymes with an emphasis on violence and rebellion against white America. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did but I really don't think this album stood up to the test of time.

-YEAH BOIIIIIIII -80s rap feels prehistoric to me, I can’t say I’ve listened to much -Admittedly not really my thing but I really like the political commentary and experimental sampling -Favorite is Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos

Scratchin & Sniffin

Not my genre…

Flava flav just gets annoying as a hype man after a whole album 2.5 stars

I understand why this makes the list. Very influential on the hip-hop scene. Chuck D speaks of revolution and social turmoil while Flava Flav keeps the hype going. Problem is, It just sounds corny and Terminator-X beats aren't that engaging...a bit annoying in fact. Although poignant lyrically, Chucks rhymes a bit weak and Flav jumps around like a crack addict. I respect it's place (and Public Enemy) in music history but I just don't really like 80's hip-hop. So a Naaaaahh Boooyyyiiee from me...1.7.

Found the constant use of those shrill squeaky noises in the background and all the record scratches very annoying, and I found it hard to focus on anything else once I noticed them. Sampling songs like Flash just made me wish I was listening to something better, which is not to say that Flash is particularly good. The social commentary is commendable and the album is interesting as a piece of musical history; it’s just wasn’t enjoyable for me.

un pò troppe canzoni uguali

2.5 yeah boi

While I'm glad to have listened to this from a culture/music history standpoint, this wasn't overly my thing. I did like a couple songs but found myself to be glad when it was over.

This was unbearable but Public Enemy's influence was huge.

Not the worst hop hop I've had, but this just bored me.

Als 57 minütiges Album ist es mir zu viel. In kleineren Portionen ist dieser Hip Hop sicherlich geniessbar.

I love old school hip hop, but this album was so bland. It feels like it uses the same 3 or 4 beats for different songs and there's a lot of phrase repetition. Sad to say because I like some other Public Enemy content, but this was a stinker. 2/5

Not bad, I remember my buddy in junior high listening to this all the time. I didn't get it then, but can understand and respect it a little now.

>Yo, man, what do you mean by suckers, man? :( Laughed out loud Good old old-school hip-hop. Probably as good as it gets Nvm too long

Got old fast

58 minutes of headache inducing beats and Flava Flav ocassionally shouting YEAH BOIII

i hate flav a flav’s voice

We’re gonna get that Beastie Boys album, right?

It was a mistake listening to this in the car because I couldn’t tell if it was the music or my windshield wipers

Classic but didn't touch my soul

Public Enemy certainly had a lot to say on this album. I didn't delve too deeply into the lyrics but it sounds like they had some interesting points especially on political and social commentary. I am giving this album a rating of 2 stars based on my personal enjoyment, not because I believe it is a bad album. To me the style of rapping and the production just sounded very dated and I didn't find enjoyable to listen to. I would probably like this album better if I heard it in 1988, but from a 2024 perspective I found that it aged poorly.

first listen in entirety. i know its a very good and influential album in general but at the end of the day i don't think I'll come back to it.

a solid rap album, but i think i just like experimental hip hop more?

I postponed listening to this for two days (it showed up on a Friday) because it's an hour of basically the same type of music. I am not old but this is not really my type of music. I know that this was very popular for its time but I was listening to the rap music that came out 15 years after this. It sounds alright but it's definitely not something distinctive.

Ok

Revolutionary and original. Normally I like 'original' but rap has always repelled me.... even rap as brilliant as this.

Eh…very old school hip hop. Iconic for the time but very boring to my ears.

it's fine, just not my taste

I have nothing good to say about this.

just no

dost naporno mi je ovo bilo iako volim hip hop

Not for me.

Hip hop has never been my preferred genre, but I gave it a try again with this album. For me, it's too repetitive. After I listened to half of it, I had the strong feeling that I already knew all of it. That didn't change in the second half …

Tracks I already knew = None Tracks I liked = None Best I can say about this album is that it didn't suck as bad as most of the Hip Hop crap that was produced... which incidentally is another point about this album, the production is really poor, and that repetitive chalkboard screech that they play throughout every track gets to be extremely annoying.

Not my jam, fear of a black planet was more enjoyable imo

Definitely not my cup of tea. Very repetitive and frankly annoying songs

Alright, but didn't really like the Flava.

Jyeiiiirrr boooii.. She watch channel zero car et højdepunkt. Her mangler jeg teksterne, og tiden til at følge dem for at kunne nyde det, for selve musikken, beats, tempo, og flow siger mig ikke meget. Tydeligt at det er i hip hoppens spæde start.

que le hago si no me mola este estilo

Flava Flav pisses me off

I like chuck d’s flow & delivery. While I respect the groundbreaking status of the album and what the political lyrics might mean to some, I can’t say I actually enjoyed listening to it. Probably would be a 2 ⭐️ if it weren’t for that talentless hack flava flav interjecting his annoying “yeah boiii”s enough that it made me want to turn it off. EDIT 8/19/26: upgrading to a 2 as this was only my 9th album generated and i hadn't calibrated my system yet. graded too harshly compared to other legit 1s.

This album grew on me. It reminds me of the rap I used to listen to as a little kid or the songs my dad would tell me about. I was bopping my head at points 2/5

Energy

Me aburrí.

it was pretty good!

Sicherlich ein hörenswertes Album. Aber nur bedingt mein Geschmack.

Standout Tracks- "Cold Lampin with Flavor," "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic," "Mind Terrorist," "Louder Than a Bomb," "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos," "Party for Your Right to Fight" Lyrics/Vocals- 5/5 Instrumentals- 2/5 Vibes- 1/5 Overall- 2/5 As another review mentioned, this album is really a product of its time and does a lot better with context. I highly recommend reading that review as I will not be going into it, but reiterating one of their main points: This album is heavy on the lyrics. When just listening to the album I felt very disinterested and did not care for it. But watching the lyrics and taking in the message that they are trying to convey is truly the best way to listen to this album. In terms of its sound, I was not overly impressed. The mixing and tracks were good, production as well, but it didn't feel outstanding. As I said earlier though, this is a product of its time. This album, and Public Enemy in general, were extremely influential to many hip hop groups and musicians over the years, and that influence cannot be understated and you can really see that in this album. Overall it was a good listen and I understand why it is on this list, but it wasn't really for me.

Yeah boi

Aftur. Rapp. Ekki eitthvað sem ég fíla en mér finnst þetta samt áhlustanlegra en margt annað rapp sem ég hef hlustað á. Nær pínulítið betur til mín en ég ætla seint að segjast vera aðdáandi né hlusta á plötuna aftur.

No

Cooler Rap, leider ziemlich nervöser Hintergrund Sound

Las bases utilizan un poco mas de recursos que The Notorious B.I.G. por ejemplo, bases que varían de géneros musicales entre canciones. El RAP me parece malo y SIN FLOW.

Sounds like OG old school rap. Not my thing but the lyrics were a voice for under-represented Blacks in the U.S.

Not my preferred music.

4.5/10 Yeah boyy?

I'm obviously not this albums intended demographic being a middle aged white woman. I can't connect with this being 30 years removed from it's time period. I really only liked Louder Than a Bomb. I can appreciate how this influenced other artists in the genre. At the end of the day, it's just not something I enjoy. Flava Flav really adds nothing to this. Yeah boi.

Another great example of the creative and experimental 80's. Something that influenced us decades into the future through influence, sampling and even modern day memes 'YEAH BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'- Flavor Flav. An interesting use of metrical complexity for sure!

- not super my thing but the message is real

- I appreciated the heavy guitars on some of the beats - definitely some good lyrics but otherwise the album didn’t really stand out

The only thing that sticks out to me is some kettle sound, but thanks for getting me back into Marvin

Terminator X go go go go ! Black steel in the hour of chaos got me moving my head ! I enjoyed more the last part of the album, first songs weren't for me

I like when Chuck D goes off spittin' truths, but not big on the Flavor Flav contributions. Got a lot of respect for Public Enemy, but this isn't one I'm likely to return to.

Must have been a game-changer back in the day, but now it just blends in and feels pretty meh.

Samples sound old and clunky now. It resembled a game of bop-it at times. Might have been influential but we've come a long way.

Alright but of its time and sounds a bit dated now.

Meh, same sound through whole album.

I normally like older rap but this was just kinda meh. They are not making it out of the hood with this one

AJ: talented and angry. Dangerous.

Nmg, casi todo ruido.

I recognize the value of this piece, however it's not my cup of tea. It was fun listening the samples and recognizing a few from Sonic the Hedgehog or Pizza Tower

The name of this album and the intro made me think this was a going to be a very serious, hard hitting album. Then Cold Lampin' with Flavor played... I think Griz has played the saxophone sample from "Show 'Em Whatcha Got" at concerts before. The transitions between songs aren't very great. I had to double check I wasn't on shuffle a couple of times. This album is too long and none of the songs are particularly good. I was ready for it to end about 15 minutes in. This is teetering into the 1 star category.

2.5

2/16, 13%

Was expecting a bit more from such a ‘seminal’ album. Beats were a bit bland and got repetitive. I appreciate the lyrics and the aggressive style, just not my cuppa.

Not my music genre. The tracks sound too repetitive.

Definitely a rating based on my level of enjoyment of the music. This album has important themes related to oppression and violence against black people not calculated in my rating.

Not a fan of some of the instrumentals (whistley-sirens are not my thing, quite prominent in tracks 4 and 5). Pacing is also a touch slow, but this is back from 1988...

kind of hip-hoppy? gen x rap

Meh

A bit too much happening in each song for my taste.

In die tijd waarschijnlijk een vooruitstrevend en toonaangevend hiphop/rap album. Kan prima op de achtergrond aanstaan, maar de beats en raps springen er niet uit. Vaak één urban beat, waar dan een beetje op wordt gerapt en/of geëxperimenteerd met scratchen, MC’en, drops, spoken word etc. Geen nummer waar ik voor zou terugkomen.

2.5/5 - I wasn't the target audience 35 years ago upon release and I'm probably further from the target audience 35 years later. The bar writing on the whole is good but i find a lot of the other musical choices abrasive (which may be the point). I preferred the 2nd half of the album but apart from the odd song (SWCZ & BSitHoC) I cannot see myself relistening.

Lyrically inconsistent but pretty good at it's high points like the track Louder Than a Bomb. The music for me meanders over the line from enjoyable music to just organized sound frequently and many of the audio samples, particular the high pitched horn sounds, were overused to the point of being irritating. I think this album is too much product of it's time, that it is so much in lockstep with the time and place it was conceived that it loses much of what attracted contemporary audiences listening to it today.

Helt ok

Voor de meeste genres vind ik de 80ies altijd de minst luisterbare periode, en hiphop spant hierin wel de kroon. Ik kan begrijpen dat dit album in zijn tijd misschien wel indrukwekkend was, maar het klinkt nu ongeloofelijk gedateerd. Not a fan.

Mér finnst eins og ég ætti að fíla þetta betur, en ég hef bara ekki athygli og þolinmæði til að hlusta sérstaklega eftir textunum. Og þá standa eftir raddir D og Flavs, sem eru fínar, og tónlistin, sem er sundurklippt og nær ekki nægilegu flæði. Grúvin sem ég vil heyra eru ekki til staðar.

Lyssnade inte klart

What can I say, I’m not into hiphop, but happy to listen to something different. Didn’t enjoy much though.

Heittämällä ulos mukavuusalueelta. Muutamia tuttuja sampleja, molempiin suuntiin (joo, mulla oli muksuna ABC:n eka levy). Tämä meni taustameluna kun kuvitteli pelaavansa Tony Hawkin skeittipelejä. ps. El Scorcho on hieno biisi.

Biiseillä on hienoja nimiä ja tykkään boiiiiista. Hyvin edelläkävijä aikanaan. Nykykorvilla vain itseään toistavaa ja raskas kuunnella tunnin verran.

Just sound the same on every track 2.5

Piti nopeesti kuunnella - 1 h 40 min myöhemmin tajuan kuuntelevani jotain deluxe-editionii, missä puolet kappaleista ei oo orggis albumis. 2/5.

not for me

Yeahhhh boy

I enjoyed it but need to revisit it before bumping my rating up. Nothing really caught in my head but that might be just because I had a rough day at work.

Eh

Not my type in general.

I love Chuck D's voice and flow. For about two songs. I love Flava Flav's energy. But he's annoying. I love the way Public Enemy pull diverse musical influences in to push rap music forward, wrapped in a bow of rage and discontent. But I can't do a whole album of it.

it's mostly bad but i enjoyed it the same as peter gabriel and more than reggae and common. Louder than a bomb has mildly relatable lyrics, She watch channel zero has nice instrumentals.

idk nothing special tbh

I don't think I was in the right mood for this one as it just didn't hit right.

This will be the second Public Enemy album I’ve listened to. I enjoyed Fear Of A Black Planet, so I’m hoping for more of the same today! Let’s listen and find out. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Prophets Of Rage I can’t but my fingers on why, but this just didn’t really click for me. There were a few songs that I enjoyed, but for the most part I would find my attention drifting elsewhere because most of the songs just didn’t hook me in. The lyrics and the rapping was good, and the beats were mostly fine, although I did find Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic to sound quite annoying. Overall, this album was fine, but it’s not one I’ll be returning to.

Didn't listen to much of this one, just skimmed through a few songs. This genre of music (I think especially in this era) is overwhelmingly lyrically driven and I don't have the bandwidth right now to comb through lyrics. I heard some good beats and sampling from some tight 70's era brass, and I liked that. If I had grown up with this, it would probably have been a jam but I don't have any emotional connection to it.

I like some of this but that squealing technique they do in a lot of songs gets old fast.

This PE album isn't as good as the one we had a few weeks ago. There's just too much going on in every song and it loses coherence because of it. Lots of droning repetitive accents over the beats that range from distracting to annoying and draw too much focus away from the lyrics, which are generally strong from PE, though a couple of tracks are just nonsense.

Yeaaaaahhh boiiiiiii. Just didn’t hook me. Ground breaking none the less

Unfortunately this was not for me 😭

Alright, I could do some rap today. Feeling in that mood! Lets get this. Once again, an album I've never heard. Heard of them obviously. And maybe I'll recognize a song here and there. We'll see. Meh

Not my preferred kind of genre but it is certainly head-bobbing inducing.

2/5

Creo que el contexto de este álbum es muy importante a la hora de escucharlo, especialmente las letras, pero a veces el sonido tan hip hop 80/90 es demasiado para mi

Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Not at all. Very repetitive and I almost stopped listening because of the constant use of ‘yeahhh boiii’ which almost became infuriating. I’m of course open to all their music and won’t judge harshly but yeah, very repetitive Favourite song: didn’t have one

Ces petits trous du cul de Public Enemy nous ont offert 1h de rap des plus originales: en effet, le beatmaker du groupe, en panne d'inspiration, a décidé d'utiliser exclusivement sa théière pour produire cet album. On peut donc entendre tout du long de l'"oeuvre" une théière en ebulltion accompagner les flows absolument ringards de Public Enemy.

There was a song about different milk shake flavors and I'm like what the fuck is this shit and I looked closely at the album cover and noticed the big clock chain. Is that flavor Flav! From flavor of love?! Terminator x and the production were decent, but flavor Flav made it dumb

This album gave me anxiety in a lot of spots

I didn't listen to this in the 80s despite knowing the singles. Listening to it again 34 years later I'm reminded why.

Not my thing

No logro acostumbrarme al Rap todavia

Not my favorite type of music. If I do have to listen to rap or hip hop, I do prefer this old school stuff, but I just don't enjoy it overall. 2 stars.

doesn't really hold up against. the beats are neat but the flows are one-note. and flav's voice is pretty grating. 2.

Tika INTE på mig för denna… de va int så bra

Ohhh man I remember liking this album forever ago but struggle to get through it now... Mainly cuz Flav and the high-pitched, grating, repetitive samples of sirens, whistles, fireworks, and helium being released from a balloon. Maybe I’m just getting old but overall this was kinda headache fuel

How bout “No Boyeee”.

This style of old school hip hop is definitely not my favorite genre. But I did enjoy certain elements. 2.4/5

Public Enemy is erg bekend, zelfs bij iemand die geen liefhebber van rap is. Veel lyrics komen terug in andere muziekstromingen. Dit album zelf? Toch weer niet mijn ding, al kan ik "Bring The Noise" wel luisteren. **

I get the cultural significance of this album and how important it was at the time but the production is so shit. There isn't a single beat on this album that I enjoyed. I am a fan of Public Enemy's rapping but the production completely ruins this album for me. 4/10

Enjoyed the mixing, too much flavor flav

Profound lyrics delivered with anger and emotion, hidden behind some funky tracks - that's the coolest thing about this record. This might be one of the better hip-hop albums I've gotten on this list. Still not entirely my thing to be frank, but I can definitely appreciate.