Yo Bum Rush the Show

Public Enemy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Def Jam
• ASIN: B0000024JZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,269 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #96 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Old School

Editorial Reviews

Mercury, Records, Ltd (London) 527357-2 Jewel Case 12 Track 1995

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MY UZI WEIGHS A TON, May 3, 2003

By 

Eric Ripoli (BRONX, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yo Bum Rush the Show (Audio CD)

This is one of the most underrated ground-breaking rap albums of all time. These guys came out with this album, with a sound so unheard of and unique at the time. I can still remember blasting these classics out of my car with my buddies as we smoothly cruised down the street. Any true rap fan must own this album. This is a true classic. Listen to it several times and you won't stop playing it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best CD by Public Enemy (next to "Nation of Millions"), October 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Yo Bum Rush the Show (Audio CD)

Yo! Bum Rush the show is one of the very best rap CDs that I have purchased during my lifetime. This album would easily rank within the 10 or 15 best rap albums ever made. I am a big fan of Public Enemy, and I think that the lyrics on this CD are brilliant and thought provoking. On Yo! Bum Rush the Show, the best song is clearly Public Enemy No. 1, but all of the other songs are almost as good. The sound of this album is very similar to that on Nation of Millions, and , thus, if you liked that CD, you will probably like this one too.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 for the highly slept on and underrated debut, April 19, 2005

By 

Mike J (Central Coast, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yo Bum Rush the Show (Audio CD)

While It Takes A Nation of Millions was catapulted into the upper eschelon of hip-hop, Yo! Bum Rush the Show remains widely unrecognized by the general public. Why it is largely ignored remains a mystery to this reviewer. In some aspects, Bum Rush is superior to Nation of Millions.

For example, Bum Rush is a straight up hip-hop record peppered with a message here and there. The rage which is so often the focus of Nation of Millions is present but with a little more diversity in subject matter that creates a more well rounded listen. What do I mean? Take the first track "You're Gonna Get Yours" which is Chuck D's ode to both his crew and his vehicle of choice. The significance of this record is that Chuck, believe it or not, had been rhyming since 77 and this style more exemplified his history. Unless you are really up on your hip-hop or were lucky enough to catch PE in it's earliest incarnations, this example may be hard to follow.

This track, however, is not an isolated incident. "Sophisticated B*tch" represents a misogynistic side to Chuck D where he attacks females that are of an uppity nature, (a side never visited by PE again due to it's negativity). "Public Enemy #1" also represents a time before Public Enemy were even called Public Enemy as the song was a favorite on Hank Shocklee's college radio show and this track is actually the birth of the name. Bum Rush represents a fusion of the old and the new PE.

The new PE would be the politically aware side. Tracks like "Myuziweighsaton" (my personal favorite), "MPE", and "Rightstarter" represent the side of PE that would become their focus on the following albums. My Uzi shows the "quite hostile" style that Chuck would embody perhaps more vehemently and threateningly than in later releases. The title track also shows Chuck's disgust with, this time, club promoters that have invoked his ire. This disgust would appear again toward radio programmers, record label execs, and major corporations like Nike.

We also see an unusual side to fan favorite Flavor Flav. "Too Much Posse" is not only Flav's solo cut, it shows a side to Flav not to be seen since except in public appearances. Flav is almost a thug by starndards of that time. No joke. Flav smacks up a girl who doesn't recognize his clout, threatens rival crews, and is all out rowdy and foulmouthed. None of the humor found in later cuts like "911 Is a Joke" is here. This moment is Flav at his most street. If he had stayed in this realm, PE would be looked at differently than it was the following year where Flav played joker to Chuck's straight man.

Finally, the evidence of the Bomb Squad's genius is here. While Rick Rubin's influence is more prevalent, (as it was with most releases in 87), "The Noize" that PE is so famous for is still intact. Excellent production ideas like loops from the JB's were pioneered here. And I, for one, enjoy the crisp 808 taps that represent so much of the bass on this album.

Overall, Bum Rush is highly enjoyable and points a clear finger at both PE's past and future. This album was a success in Europe, but somehow managed to slip through most peoples fingers in the States. Maybe it was a little too advanced for it's time? Maybe there was just too much strong competition in 87. The lines in the sand for positivity in hip-hop were yet to be drawn as deeply as they were in the years to follow. For whatever reason, Bum Rush remains a worthy addition to any quality hip-hop collection.