Album per day: Day 18

Artist: Public Enemy
Album: Yo! Bum Rush The Show
Released: 1987

The rap/rock crossover has caused quite a stir since acts such as Public Enemy began to broadcast their confrontational political messages. For those of you that know me well, you'll know that Rage Against The Machine are one of my all time favourite bands, and it is one of my top wishes to see them live before I, or they, kick the bucket. After hearing them heaping so much praise on Public Enemy as an influence on their hybrid genre and lyrical content, I needed to learn about the roots of their sound, so I turned to their debut record Yo! Bum Rush The Show.
You're Gonna Get Yours and Sophisticated Bitch lay the groundwork for an impressively stylistic album, with the former applying gang vocals to raw drum sounds, and the latter showcasing impressive lead guitar work that calls to mind the work of Tom Morello mixed with Kerry King's contribution to Beastie Boys' anthem No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Miuzi Weighs A Ton's use of samples is in the chorus is catchy and memorable, again coupled with the trademark rapping style that Chuck D has come to be known for. Too Much Posse is true hip hop, calling out all the rivals that Public Enemy were to generate over the years.
The turntable game is strong on Rightstarter (Message To A Black Man), and the infectious beats just keep on coming, with the inner city aggression progressively flowing through each track. Public Enemy No.1 is surprisingly monotone during the verses, with Chuck D backed by what sounds like a bumblebee, but he does save it a little with his repetition of "one" in the chorus, whilst forming a formidable partnership with Terminator X on lead scratch. The album's title track applies a similar drum beat to what we have heard before, but during the chorus what sounds like a crashing piano chord and a whistle accompanies the gang vocals.
Raise The Roof allows Terminator X to shine that little bit more with some scratching solos, but it does drag its heels a bit and should probably have been cut down. Chuck D and Flavor Flav collaborate again on Megablast, but its minimal approach slightly misfires. We close with Terminator X Speaks With His Hands, and whilst it isn't the best album closer in the world, it is short and spunky. Funk guitar and inventive sampling make for an entertaining two and a bit minutes.
Chuck D and Flavor Flav are one of the best duos out there, and their lyrics actually have meaning, which isn't often the case in modern mainstream hip hop. Another impressive debut that I urge all fans of crossover genres to check out. At the time it hit the Earth like a comet of new ideas, and from this current time, it opened up my ears to notice the influence of Public Enemy on a load of different modern artists, in conjunction with The Beastie Boys. Back in 1987, this was one of the most controversial records out there, but nowadays, you will probably find a lot more that's worse. It's time to educate yo'self and kick back and relax; make yourself Public Enemy's best friend.

Rating: 8/10
Recommended songs: Sophisticated Bitch, Rightstarter (Message To A Black Man)