Which rap group released It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back in 1988?

Public Enemy released It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back in 1988.

The album, issued by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records on June 28, 1988, was the group’s second studio release. Its central creative force included rapper Chuck D, hype man Flavor Flav, DJ Terminator X, and the production team known as the Bomb Squad.

Public Enemy designed the record as a faster, more aggressive follow-up to their 1987 debut, Yo! Bum Rush the Show. Dense layers of samples, funk, noise, and turntable work support Chuck D’s politically charged lyrics. Songs such as “Bring the Noise,” “Don’t Believe the Hype,” and “Rebel Without a Pause” helped define the sound of politically conscious late-1980s rap.

The album reached number one on the US Top Black Albums chart and was certified platinum in 1989. It is often confused with the group’s later album Fear of a Black Planet, released in 1990, but Nation of Millions is the earlier landmark record.