Public Enemy - "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" (Def Jam, 1988) [Key tracks: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Night of the Living Baseheads]

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"I got a letter from the government the other day. I opened and read it, it said they were suckers. They wanted me for their army or whatever; Picture me givin' a damn - I said never! Here is a land that never gave a damn about a brother like me and myself because they never did... I wasn't wit' it, but just that very minute...it occurred to me the suckers had authority"

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The floodgates are open and here come the classic LP's I have been ranting about. I haven't much to say non-LP related, so on with the show. This one will make Matt smile, I am sure (Matt and I, the 2 whitest kids in the world, know all the words to this LP. Pretty cool huh?).

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Carl's Favorite Songs - #31 - Tusk by Fleetwood Mac

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Where to even start with this one? Public Enemy's "It Takes..." is a landmark LP in many ways. I would even say that this album is of historical importance. With this LP, hard core hip hop was swept off the streets and into a bin called "consciousness." Public Enemy was street level, but was also militant, intelligent, and talented. They were able to on the same song criticize the system for marginalizing blacks, yet call the black community to task on its own demons. Unlike Bill Cosby, who seems to be seen as a bit of an Uncle Tom with his criticisms, PE leaned further into the Afrocentric realm; which was not a surprise considering the band's fascination with the Black Panther movement and the Nation of Islam.

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At the time of recording, "It Takes..." had all of the PE elements locked into place. They had worked out some of their kinks on their debut album, and taken on their stage persona's fully. Chuck D: the educated former-DJ, defender of the marginalized and fearless of the machine. Flavor Flav: the hype man, seemingly a cross between Daffy Duck, a crack addict, and Kool Moe Dee. Professor Griff: back up MC and leader of the S1W's (which was a paramilitary dance troop... the lines of fiction and reality really got blurred). Terminator X: hands down the most vicious and abled DJ of the times. Better than Grandmaster Flash.

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Things started to get interesting as PE gained attention outside of the urban circles they came from. White America was very threatened by the militant nature of the lyrics; even at times depicting unapologetic violence against the establishment. Where NWA was easy to write off as hoods, PE posed a new threat; the Educated Black. While most of PE's material is an exercise in martyr fantasies, stories revealing a deep persecution complex, and conspiracy theories gone wild, they hit a nerve. Afrocentrism was not going to go away, and the system was indeed exposed for being an Old Boys Club for whites. PE was one of the few acts that could point out the disparities of America and also express adequate anger to mobilize troops. The album had very little distraction; critics had to deal with the message. There was no gang-bang glorification, there was no misogyny. "It Takes..." was a voice unheard in many corners of the nation, and because it was so perfectly executed musically, the message spread.

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Even though it is cartoonish at times, PE's "It Takes..." represents the first real intelligent rebel music since Bob Marley. It made those of us in the white Midwest ask some questions. Does this stuff really happen? Are drugs that out of control in big cities? Is our government actually using prisons as a file cabinet for blacks? Is TV really ruining the minds on lower and middle class America? Is there more to life than partying? Who is Malcom X? What is the Nation of Islam? Do people really run around with berets and bazookas in NYC? Did the government kill black leaders?

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Many of the answers we came to may have been different than depicted on "It Takes..." but the fact remains that we became informed, enlightened, and aware. Any true concern for racial justice that I have within my heart is rooted in my exposure to Public Enemy. Malcom X was born in Omaha, and I hadn't even heard his name until I heard PE. Chuck D 1, System 0. I began to read about Douglas, X, King, Ghandi, and Farrakhan. While I still think that Afrocentrism is just injustice of another color, I think I have become a lot more culturally sensitive and aware since.

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As a side note, PE's controversy went far beyond the lyrics on their LP. Professor Griff was very outspoken on his beliefs related to the nation of Islam. As we all know, any blanket criticism of the Jewish community had better be well founded. His was not, and a poorly written expose on his views (think a non-drunk Mel Gibson) got him into a bit of hot water, and he was soon out of PE. Not to be upstaged, on the follow up LP "Fear of a Black Planet" Chuck launches a salvo at the Jews; "Crucifixion ain't no fiction... so-called Chosen frozen, apologies made to whoever pleases...still they got me like Jesus." By the time they were done calling out Hollywood, the government, media, Jews, and the United States health system it was hard to take all of it seriously. Thus the eyebrow raising lyrics became (in the eyes of detractors) shtick. Oh, and then Flav got in trouble with drugs and illegitimate children. Go figure.

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As a less interesting side note, this album was also one of the first to take an unapologetic stab at the then new sport of music copyright litigation. I know, I know, Ray Davies sued the Doors. It had happened before. But now they were suing the hip hop industry over use of samples... trying to break hip hop at its core; rap had always been deeply rooted in the MC scene... reggae MC's rapping over the songs a DJ chose. It evolved into hip hop when just the break beats were used to create a wave of body rockin' rhythm, where an MC could brag and boast and call out his rivals. Without the source material, hip hop would have to rely on producing its own beats, its own breaks. The only other option was to pay royalties, which seemed ludicrous and impossible, as hip hop in its infancy was the voice of the poor and outcast (much as punk was in its early days). As Chuck would say "this is a samplin' sport." The rise of litigation against hip hop acts (sadly, even my beloved Flo and Eddie sued De La Soul) forced a shift in approach to hip hop. It evolved, but in a very limited manner. To this day you hear the same recycled synth and drum machine riffs and beats. If there ever was a conspiracy to shut down the voice of Black America, this was a masterstroke in operations. However, thanks to the litigation we have less good hip hop, and more Diddy. A classic LP, a historical turning point, and a great listen.

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And it makes me miss track meets. Horns up.