- 01“Over”DrakeYou like hip-hop, in the sense that you spent part of your high school years in the thrall of Drake’s “Over,” but your frame of reference is limited.from the chapter
- 02It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us BackPublic EnemyThe album they pick is Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back .from the chapter
- 03“Never Gonna Give You Up”Rick AstleyRick Astley has just released “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Public Enemy’s debut album, Yo!from the chapter
- 04Yo! Bum Rush the ShowPublic EnemyRick Astley has just released “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Public Enemy’s debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show has been out since February, introducing the group, its aggro-minimalist sound, and Chuck D’s booming vocals.from the chapter
- 05“Rebel Without a Pause”Public EnemyRick Astley has just released “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Public Enemy’s debut album, Yo!from the chapter
- 06“Bring the Noise”Public EnemyThere’s a second single that comes out on the Less Than Zero soundtrack in November, “Bring the Noise,” and it’s even better, with everything that the first one had, plus a killer chorus (“Turn it up .from the chapter
- 07“Don’t Believe the Hype”Public EnemyA third single, “Don’t Believe the Hype,” arrives in June 1988, and then, before I can catch my breath, the entire record, sixteen tracks, a master class in the use of hip-hop as a socially relevant art form.from the chapter
- 08“Countdown to Armageddon”Public EnemyWhen the Public Enemy record came out, I bought it one morning before work, on cassette of course, and popped it in my Walkman.from the chapter
- 09“Caught, Can I Get a Witness?”Public EnemyI mostly got through the first side by the time I got to work, maybe made it to “Caught, Can I Get a Witness.” There wasn’t any Al, Big or otherwise, but my manager wouldn’t let us listen to music while we worked, so I had to put it back in my pocket while I cooked fries.from the chapter
- 10“She Watch Channel Zero”Public EnemyBut I kept making excuses to get away for a second—we need more fries?—and sneak to the freezer to hear the beginning of side two, “Show ’Em Whatcha Got,” “She Watch Channel Zero?!,” “Night of the Living Baseheads.” One, two, three, four, five, six, “Kick it!” “Years ago” I put this together.from the chapter
- 11“Night of the Living Baseheads”Public EnemyBut I kept making excuses to get away for a second—we need more fries?—and sneak to the freezer to hear the beginning of side two, “Show ’Em Whatcha Got,” “She Watch Channel Zero?!,” “Night of the Living Baseheads.” One, two, three, four, five, six, “Kick it!” “Years ago” I put this together.from the chapter
- 12Rebel Without a CausePublic EnemyDid I know that it was a parody of Rebel Without a Cause ?from the chapter
- 13“Same Song”Digital UndergroundA decade later, it would be something more, when a young rapper with the last name Shakur started appearing on the scene, first with a guest feature on Digital Underground’s “Same Song” (as 2Pac) and then as a solo artist.from the chapter
- 14“Words of Wisdom”Tupac ShakurBut it had all been sorted out already in “Words of Wisdom,” a track from Tupac’s debut, 2Pacalypse Now , that had been produced by Shock G.from the chapter
- 152Pacalypse NowTupac (or 2Pac)But it had all been sorted out already in “Words of Wisdom,” a track from Tupac’s debut, 2Pacalypse Now , that had been produced by Shock G.from the chapter
- 16“Prophets of Rage”Public EnemyBut I can’t quite get behind his ignorance of everything that Public Enemy’s about—everything they refer to, everything they draw together.from the chapter