With their debut, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, Public Enemy introduced a new kind of bravado that wasn't just directed at other players and sucker MCs, but was an out-and-out middle-finger challenge to the whole world. Originally released on Def Jam Recordings in April 1987, the album premiered the dense, sample-heavy sound of hip hop production legends The Bomb Squad, however, it's still very much a Rick Rubin-helmed affair. 

P.E. rolls right over listeners from the get go with "You're Gonna Get Yours," yet despite the serious posturing and power of Chuck D, you'll be grateful for Flavor Flav's unhinged charisma, the raw bass line in "Timebomb" and Terminator X's brilliant tone experiment with "Public Enemy No. 1." Yo! Bum Rush the Show may not be the group's masterpiece, but it's a true groundbreaker, a warning shot for the full-scale assault they would later initiate on It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. 

In celebration of Def Jam’s 30th Anniversary UMe will be reissuing this title from the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees (only the fourth hip-hop act to receive the honor) back on vinyl after being out of print for years.