Amazon.co.uk Review
With
Yo! Bum Rush the Show, Public Enemy introduce a new kind of bravado that's not just directed at other players and sucker MCs but is an out-and-out middle-finger challenge to the whole world, as these serious brothers roll right over you in a slow-moving convoy of '98 Oldsmobiles ("You're Gonna Get Yours"). PE crowd these tracks with disparate sounds that move your butt while they buzz from every channel. Despite their serious posturing, you'll be grateful for the sloppy bass line in "Timebomb" and Terminator X's brilliant tone experiment, "Public Enemy No. 1".
Yo! isn't PE's masterpiece, but it's a truly standout album, a warning shot for the full-scale assault they would later initiate on
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. --
Todd Levin
CD Description
From "Strong Island" (Long Island, New York) came the unstoppable sound of Public Enemy, a rap band that saw itself as a vital, explicitly political voice in the black community.
YO! BUM RUSH THE SHOW, their debut album, filled a gap inhip-hop: raps that attempted to delineate black suffering in America, and instill pride in the place of hopelessness. The balance between Chuck D's explosive raps and Flavor Flav's humorous asides played perfectly off the scratching of DJ Terminator X. While some critics branded them "too hostile",their message spread to fans of all colours.