Public Enemy to reissue ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’ for anniversary

Public Enemy are set to release a new vinyl reissue of their second album, 1988’s ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back.’

The album is being reissued to celebrate its 35th anniversary as well as the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. You can pre-order the album here.

The release, which arrives on November 10, comes as either a two or four LP set. The four LP set contains bonus tracks from the deluxe CD including instrumental and a cappella mixes. It also comes with linear notes from founding members Chuck D and Flavor Flav.

In a statement, Chuck D said of the release: “Thanks to Run-DMC, LL Cool J and Whodini, we knew that hip-hop albums could explode on cassettes. At about the same time, [The Bomb Squad producer] Hank Shocklee was the manager of a record store, and he would point out how rock bands like Iron Maiden, The Rolling Stones, and even Bruce Springsteen were getting the most out of the album concept.

“So, we took that and went further with ‘It Takes a Nation’, approaching it like a rock band. It ended up becoming a part of rap’s evolution from a singles-driven genre into the dawn of rap’s album age.”

‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’ 35th Anniversary Edition Tracklist is:

Side A:
01. ‘Countdown to Armageddon’
02. ‘Bring the Noise’
03. ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’
04. ‘Cold Lampin With Flavor’

Side B:
01. ‘Terminator X to the Edge of Panic’
02. ‘Mind Terrorist’
03. ‘Louder Than a Bomb’
04. ‘Caught, Can We Get a Witness?’

Side C:
01. ‘Show ‘Em Whatcha Got’
02. ‘She Watch Channel Zero?!’
03. ‘Night of the Living Baseheads’
04. ‘Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos’

Side’ D:
01. ‘Security of the First World’
02. ‘Rebel Without a Pause’
03. ‘Prophets of Rage’
04. ‘Party for Your Right to Fight’

Side E:
01. ‘Bring the Noise (No Noise Version)’
02. ‘Bring the Noise (No Noise Instrumental)’
03. ‘Bring the Noise (No Noise A Cappella)’
04. ‘Rebel Without a Pause (Instrumental)’

Side F:
01. ‘Night of the Living Baseheads (Anti-High Blood Pressure Encounter Mix)’
02. ‘Night of the Living Baseheads (Terminator X Meets DST And Chuck Chill Out Instrumental Mix)’
03. ‘The Edge of Panic’

Side G:
01. ‘Terminator X to the Edge of Panic (No Need To Panic Radio Version)’
02. ‘The Rhythm, The Rebel (A Cappella)’
03. ‘Prophets of Rage (Power Version)’

Side H:
01. ‘Caught, Can We Get a Witness? (Pre Black Steel Ballistic Felony Dub)’
02. ‘B-Side Wins Again (Original Version)’
03. ‘Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos (Instrumental)’

Recently, Chuck D narrated a new audio docu-drama series about the rise of hip-hop.

The American rapper and Public Enemy frontman recounts the story of hip-hop’s birth in the Bronx, New York during the late 1960s and early ’70s on new series Can You Dig It? A Hip-Hop Origin Story.

Across five 30-minute episodes, the hip-hop pioneer retraces the genre’s rise through a blend of “immersive reenactments, oral history and expert discussion”, according to the show’s summary notes.

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