It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

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Template:Album infobox It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back is a 1988 (see 1988 in music) album by the hip hop group Public Enemy. Enormously influential, the album's mix of The Bomb Squad's sample-heavy beats and revolutionary lyrics railing against corporate control, structural racism and police brutality turned the album into a sensation, peaking at #1 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart, and #42 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also garnered much critical acclaim, and was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. According to AcclaimedMusic.net (a site which combines several critics' polls and lists), it is the most acclaimed album of the 80's and the 18th most acclaimed album of all time.

In 2003 the TV channel VH1 named It Takes A Nation Of Millions the 20th greatest album of all time. It was ranked 93rd in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. It was also named the second greatest album in Spin Magazine's listing of the 100 greatest albums released since the magazine's founding in 1985 (Radiohead's OK Computer was number one). It was the top ranked hip-hop album in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time at number 48.

The track "Rebel Without a Pause" appeared in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The Track "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" was covered by Tricky on the album Maxinquaye.

Track listing

1. "Countdown to Armageddon" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
2. "Bring the Noise" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
3. "Don't Believe the Hype" (Drayton/Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
4. "Cold Lampin' With Flavor" (Sadler/Shocklee)
5. "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic" (Drayton/Ridenhour/Rodgers)
6. "Mind Terrorist" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
7. "Louder Than a Bomb" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
8. "Caught, Can We Get a Witness" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
9. "Show 'Em Whatcha Got" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
10. "She Watch Channel Zero?!" (Drayton/Griffin/Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
11. "Night of the Living Baseheads" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
12. "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" (Public Enemy)
13. "Security of the First World" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
14. "Rebel Without a Pause" (Ridenhour/Rodgers/Sadler/Shocklee)
15. "Prophets of Rage" (Drayton/Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)
16. "Party for Your Right to Fight" (Ridenhour/Sadler/Shocklee)

Personnel

• Professor Griff - Vocals
• Chuck D. - Vocals
• Steven Ett - Mixing
• Fab 5 Freddy - Vocals
• Flavor Flav - Vocals
• Glen E. Friedman - Photography
• John Harrison - Engineer
• Rod Hui - Mixing
• Jeff Jones - Engineer
• Rick Rubin - Executive Producer
• Carl Ryder - Producer
• Nick Sansano - Engineer
• Hank Shocklee - Programming, Producer
• Terminator X - Turntables
• Chuck Valle - Engineer
• Eric "Vietnam" Sadler - Programming, Assistant Producer
• Norman Rogers - Scratching
• Bill Stephney - Production Supervisor
• Erica Johnson - Vocals
• Oris Josphe - Vocals
• Johnny Juice Rosado - Scratching, Turntables
• Greg Gordon - Engineer
• Jim Sabella - Engineer
• Keith Boxley - Mixing
• Chuck Chillout - Mixing
• Matt Tritto - Engineer
• Harry Allen - Vocals
• Christopher Shaw - Engineer

Charting singles

1988  Bring the Noise                   Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks  No. 56
1988  Don't Believe the Hype            Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks  No. 18
1988  Night of the Living Baseheads     Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks  No. 62
1988  Don't Believe the Hype            Hot Dance Music/Club Play         No. 21
1988  Don't Believe the Hype            Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles      No. 17
1989  Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos  Hot Rap Singles                   No. 11
1989  Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos  Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks  No. 86Template:Hiphop-album-stub