This is another "classic" that I'm not enamoured with. After having it at a rating of around 3/5, I've tried to give the album a relisten to see if an older, wiser me appreciates it more, but it wasn't long before I was reaching for the skip button. The production is quite similar on a lot of the tracks with Chuck D yelling at you, and when Flavor Flav gets a bit of time on the mic, on songs like 'Cold Lampin' with Flavor', the results aren't good. I don't love much '80s hip hop though, so keep that in mind I guess. Songs like 'Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos' stand out from the rest with the Isaac Hayes' 'Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic' sample. There are too many songs in the middle of the album that don't hit me. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★ Best Tracks: Bring the Noise, Don't Believe the Hype, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Party for Your Right to Fight

The album which established Public Enemy as the preeminent social and political force in hip-hop...but for all the dizzying samples, noises, segues, shouts, and raps, there was still a nagging feeling that the group had much more ground to cover. Which they would...but here, it was enough to wow audiences at the time, and get the music world to take the genre seriously.