Mike the Executioner
What went on up there? Poppers and weird sex!
I can't say what it was like, but what I've read about over the years was almost identical to the stories being told here.
When Public Enemy came out with their first album, it was already dated because it was released in 1987 instead of 1986. At the time, hip hop was moving at an accelerated pace because new styles and sounds were being discovered all the time. The genre had just started becoming popular, so artists were being as creative and forward-thinking as possible. It was way too easy to get left behind. In 1986, Run-D.M.C. were mega stars and they went triple platinum. Their next album got delayed because of issues with their label and by the time it dropped, hip hop was already starting to move on from them and they sold half of what Raising Hell sold.
Public Enemy knew they had to switch it up and one night, Chuck D and Hank Shocklee were at a club somewhere when they heard "I Know You Got Soul." They were like
because the game was evolving by the day. By the time their debut came out, they were already working on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.
It was also hard for Public Enemy to get momentum at the time because they weren't as marketable as other rappers. LL Cool J and The Fat Boys could be on the cover of Tiger Beat. You couldn't have Chuck D, Professor Griff, and the S1Ws on that cover.
But they crossed over without compromising anything. In fact, the more aggressive and conscious their music got, the more popular they became. Just like N.W.A. or 2 Live Crew.
"Rebel Without a Pause" was the first taste of the album and it was a big hit. The places Public Enemy got the most support at the time were London and Philadelphia, and they felt the energy at the live shows so they wanted to incorporate that into their music. You know what's funny? Chuck D was a huge Run-D.M.C. fan, and Raising Hell was his favorite album. He even said that's why he signed to Def Jam. Yo! Bum Rush the Show was influenced by Run-D.M.C. But months later, with all the time that had passed, Run-D.M.C. was being influenced by Public Enemy. They sampled Chuck D on their next album and made a song inspired by them ("I'm Not Going Out Like That"). There were more samples and breakbeats on it, and DMC was probably Chuck D's biggest fan. He knew all of his lines on the album and it didn't even take that long for him to have it memorized.
There's also the story of Rick Rubin leaving Def Jam and getting an advance copy of Nation of Millions. He actually cried on the airplane listening to it, because hip hop had advanced so much in such a short time that the stuff he made already sounded old-school. Public Enemy also had an appeal to rock fans. They built a whole song around a Slayer sample ("She Watch Channel Zero?") and shouted out Anthrax because Scott Ian (the lead singer) was a fan of them.
Public Enemy actually had people shook back then. They went on Soul Train, performed "Rebel Without a Pause," and at the end, Don Cornelius said, "That was frightening.
" He didn't know what the fukk he had just heard.
In just one year, Public Enemy became the new kings of rap. "Rebel Without a Pause" was the beginning of their takeover.
When Public Enemy came out with their first album, it was already dated because it was released in 1987 instead of 1986. At the time, hip hop was moving at an accelerated pace because new styles and sounds were being discovered all the time. The genre had just started becoming popular, so artists were being as creative and forward-thinking as possible. It was way too easy to get left behind. In 1986, Run-D.M.C. were mega stars and they went triple platinum. Their next album got delayed because of issues with their label and by the time it dropped, hip hop was already starting to move on from them and they sold half of what Raising Hell sold.
Public Enemy knew they had to switch it up and one night, Chuck D and Hank Shocklee were at a club somewhere when they heard "I Know You Got Soul." They were like
because the game was evolving by the day. By the time their debut came out, they were already working on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.It was also hard for Public Enemy to get momentum at the time because they weren't as marketable as other rappers. LL Cool J and The Fat Boys could be on the cover of Tiger Beat. You couldn't have Chuck D, Professor Griff, and the S1Ws on that cover.
But they crossed over without compromising anything. In fact, the more aggressive and conscious their music got, the more popular they became. Just like N.W.A. or 2 Live Crew."Rebel Without a Pause" was the first taste of the album and it was a big hit. The places Public Enemy got the most support at the time were London and Philadelphia, and they felt the energy at the live shows so they wanted to incorporate that into their music. You know what's funny? Chuck D was a huge Run-D.M.C. fan, and Raising Hell was his favorite album. He even said that's why he signed to Def Jam. Yo! Bum Rush the Show was influenced by Run-D.M.C. But months later, with all the time that had passed, Run-D.M.C. was being influenced by Public Enemy. They sampled Chuck D on their next album and made a song inspired by them ("I'm Not Going Out Like That"). There were more samples and breakbeats on it, and DMC was probably Chuck D's biggest fan. He knew all of his lines on the album and it didn't even take that long for him to have it memorized.
There's also the story of Rick Rubin leaving Def Jam and getting an advance copy of Nation of Millions. He actually cried on the airplane listening to it, because hip hop had advanced so much in such a short time that the stuff he made already sounded old-school. Public Enemy also had an appeal to rock fans. They built a whole song around a Slayer sample ("She Watch Channel Zero?") and shouted out Anthrax because Scott Ian (the lead singer) was a fan of them.
Public Enemy actually had people shook back then. They went on Soul Train, performed "Rebel Without a Pause," and at the end, Don Cornelius said, "That was frightening.
" He didn't know what the fukk he had just heard.In just one year, Public Enemy became the new kings of rap. "Rebel Without a Pause" was the beginning of their takeover.
