It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is the second studio album by Public Enemy, originally released on June 28, 1988, by Def Jam Recordings. The title says it all. In 1988, when this album was released, Public Enemy's music cut with a wholly revolutionary edge. Rarely has fear, anger, paranoia and anxiety been so masterfully compressed onto a record's grooves. The bomb squad's artistry is the keynote to the hard, lean delivery, while Chuck D's supremely pointed lyrics leave no stone of the black experience unturned. It is not comfortable listening, but on tracks such as Don't believe the Hype, Night of the Living Baseheads and Rebel Without a Pause the listener is left in no doubt that they are facing a fantastically potent force.