My Hallelujah! news of the day:
The classic Public Enemy albums It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (from 1988) and Fear Of A Black Planet (from 1990) are being reissued by Def Jam this fall. Both remastered versions will contain an extra disc of alternate versions, remixes and other goodies. The Nation of Millions set will contain a third-disc containing the long out-of-print video Fight The Power…Live, making its DVD debut.
Liner notes for Nation are being written by Blerd Patron Saint Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, while the liners for Black Planet will be penned by Wax Poetic’s Andre Torres.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Public Enemy awakened the consciousness of just about every hip-hop fan of a certain age, including myself. Nation Of Millions and Black Planet are landmark albums, from a musical as well as a lyrical standpoint. P.E.’s production team, The Bomb Squad (consisting of brothers Hank & Keith Shocklee, Eric “Vietnam” Sadler, and P.E.’s head rhymer Chuck D) was one of the most influential beatmaking collectives of its time. If you say you like hip-hop, and you don’t own either of these two albums, then you do not like hip-hop. Period.
The Nation reissue is out 11/24. Black Planet follows two weeks later.
Here are the tracklistings for both, as reported by Pitchfork.
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back:
Disc 1:
01 Countdown to Armageddon
02 Bring the Noise
03 Don’t Believe the Hype
04 Cold Lampin’ With Flavor
05 Terminator X to the Edge of Panic
06 Mind Terrorist
07 Louder Than a Bomb
08 Caught, Can We Get a Witness?
09 Show ‘Em Whatcha Got
10 She Watch Channel Zero?!
11 Night of the Living Baseheads
12 Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
13 Security of the First World
14 Rebel Without a Pause
15 Prophets of Rage
16 Party For Your Right to Fight
Disc 2:
01 Bring the Noise (No Noise version)
02 Bring the Noise (No Noise instrumental)
03 Bring the Noise (No Noise a cappella)
04 Rebel Without a Pause (instrumental)
05 Night of the Living Baseheads (Anti-High Blood Pressure Encounter mix)
06 Night of the Living Baseheads (Terminator X Meets DST and Chuck Chill Out instrumental mix)
07 Terminator X to the Edge of Panic (No Need to Panic radio version)
08 The Edge of Panic
09 The Rhythm, the Rebel (a papella)
10 Prophets of Rage (Power version)
11 Caught, Can We Get a Witness? (Pre Black Steel Ballistic Felony dub)
12 B-Side Wins Again (original version)
13 Black Steel in the Hour Of Chaos (instrumental)
14 Fight The Power (soundtrack version)
Disc 3: Fight The Power Live DVD
01 Countdown to Armageddon
02 Public Enemy Number One
03 Miuzi Weighs a Ton
04 Night of the Living Baseheads (live)
05 Fight the Power (video)
06 Bring the Noise
07 Don’t Believe the Hype
08 Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
09 Rebel Without a Pause
10 Terminator X to the Edge Of Panic (video)
11 Night of the Living Baseheads (video)
12 Prophets of Rage
Fear of a Black Planet:
Disc 1:
01 Contract on the World Love Jam (instrumental)
02 Brothers Gonna Work It Out
03 911 is a Joke
04 Incident at 666 FM (instrumental)
05 Welcome to the Terrordome
06 Meet the G That Killed Me
07 Pollywanacraka
08 Anti-Nigger Machine
09 Burn Hollywood Burn [ft. Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane]
10 Power to the People
11 Who Stole the Soul?
12 Fear of a Black Planet
13 Revolutionary Generation
14 Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya, Man!
15 Reggie Jax
16 Leave This Off Your Fu*kin Charts (instrumental)
17 B Side Wins Again
18 War at 33 1/3
19 Final Count of the Collision Between Us and the Damned (instrumental)
20 Fight The Power
Disc 2:
01 Brothers Gonna Work It Out (remix)
02 Brothers Gonna Work It Out (dub)
03 Flavor Flav
04 Terrorbeat
05 Welcome to the Terrordome (Terrormental)
06 Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya Man (Full Rub mix)
07 Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya Man (UK 12″ Powermix)
08 Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya Man (Dub Mixx)
09 Burn Hollywood Burn (Extended Censored Fried to the Radio version)
10 Anti-Nigger Machine (Uncensored extended)
11 911 is a Joke (instrumental)
12 Power to the People (instrumental)
13 Revolutionary Generation (instrumental)
14 War at 33 1/3 (instrumental)
15 Fight the Power (soundtrack version)
16 Fight the Power (Powersax)
17 Fight the Power (Flavor Flav Meets Spike Lee)
18 The Enemy Assault Vehicle Mixx (Medley)