Yo! Bum Rush the Show is the debut album by Public Enemy, released by Def Jam/Columbia Records on January 26, 1987. This was the first album of Public Enemy's that had been released by a record label. Their debut album had debuted at #125 on the Billboard 200, and at #1 on the Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B Albums chart. More recently, the title has been used as a welcome for callers to the Iain Lee Sunday Night Show.

Album information

The album is considered a classic of its time but is generally considered to be slightly inferior to Public Enemy's follow up album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.

In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. It is number 497 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, where it is placed below It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have often used part of 'You're Gonna Get Yours' as an intro to Give It Away when they play it live.
Puff Daddy covered "Public Enemy No. 1" on his album Forever.

The song "Sophisticated Bitch" was used in Jackass: The Movie.

Reception

• Q magazine (9/95, p.132) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...a stunning opening...just the first, in retrospect almost shy, step on a remarkable journey...a hard, droning extension of the basic drum`n'scratch Def Jam template that had served LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys so well."

• Melody Maker (7/22/95, p.35) - Recommended - "It wasn't just a new sound, a discovery. It was like being struck by a meteor."

• NME (9/25/93, p.19) - Ranked #49 in NME's list of The 50 Greatest Albums Of The '80s.

• NME (7/15/95, p.47) - 9 (out of 10) - "Yo! Bum Rush The Show announced a hip-hop group who smouldered beneath dark, sparse beats like no other, introduced us to the coolest vocal double act ever...and featured as striking a statement of intent as you could wish for in `Public Enemy Number 1'....brilliant."

• Rolling Stone - Ranked #497 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time

Track listing

• "You're Gonna Get Yours" - 4:04

• "Sophisticated Bitch" featuring Vernon Reid of Living Colour - 4:30

• "Miuzi Weighs a Ton" - 5:44

• "Timebomb" - 2:54

• "Too Much Posse" - 2:25

• "Rightstarter (Message to a Black Man)" - 3:48

• "Public Enemy No. 1" - 4:41

• "M.P.E." - 3:44

• "Yo! Bum Rush the Show" - 4:25

• "Raise the Roof" - 5:18

• "Megablast" 2:51

• "Terminator X Speaks With His Hands" - 2:13

Personnel

• Chuck D. - Vocals

• Flavor Flav - Vocals

• Hank Shocklee - Drum Programming

• Eric Sadler - Drum Programming

• Terminator X - Lead Scratch

• Hank Shocklee - Minimal Synth Programming

• Eric Sadler - Minimal Synth Programming

• Stephen Linsley - Bass

• Bill Stephney - Bass

• Vernon Reid - Guitars

• Bill Stephney - Guitars

• Juice - Rhythm Scratch

• Rick Rubin - Executive Producer

• Bill Stephney - Producer

• Carl Ryder - Co-producer

• Hank Shocklee - Co-producer

• Glen E. Friedman - Photography

• Bill Stephney - Mixing

• Steve Ett - Mixing

• Hank Shocklee - Mixing

• Stephen Linsley - Recording & Mixing

• Rick Rubin - Mixing

Partial List of Samples

The following lists some of the songs and sounds sampled on Yo! Bum Rush the Show.
You're Gonna Get Yours

• "Super Sporm" by Captain Skyy

• "Getting it On" by Dennis Coffey

Sophisticated Bitch

• "Friends" by Whodini

• "Groove Line" by Heatwave

Miuzi Weighs a Ton

• "Rock Steady" by Aretha Franklin

• "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson

• "Christmas Rappin'" by Kurtis Blow

• "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss

Timebomb

• "Just Kissed My Baby" by The Meters

Rightstarter (Message to a Black Man)

• "Grip It" by Trouble Funk

• "Blow Your Head" by The J.B.'s

• "Here We Go" (Live) by Run-D.M.C.

Public Enemy No. 1

• "AJ Scratch" by Kurtis Blow

• "Feel the Heartbeat" by Treacherous Three

• "Blow Your Head" by Fred Wesley and The JBs

Yo! Bum Rush the Show

• "Shack Up" by Banbarra

Raise the Roof

• "Assembly Line" by The Commodores

Megablast

• "All We Need is Another Chance" by The Escorts

Terminator X Speaks With His Hands

• "Just Kissed My Baby" by The Meters