View source for Bring the Noise

{{Short description|1988 single by Public Enemy}}
{{for-multi|the television series|Bring the Noise (game show)|the 2013 M.I.A. song|Bring the Noize}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Bring the Noise
| cover      = Bring the Noise Public Enemy UK commercially released vinyl.jpg
| alt        =
| caption    = Artwork of the UK commercial vinyl single
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Public Enemy]]
| album      = [[It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back]] {{noitalic|and}} [[Less than Zero (soundtrack)|Less than Zero (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)]]
| A-side     = "Are You My Woman?" (by The Black Flames) {{small|(US single)}}
| B-side     = "Sophisticated" {{small|(UK single)}}
| released   = February 6, 1988<ref name="Sullivan">{{cite book|author=Steve Sullivan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQglDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA545|title=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 3|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|date=May 17, 2017|isbn = 9781442254497|access-date=December 5, 2019}}</ref>
| recorded   = 1987
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]]<ref name="AllMusic Erlewine">{{AllMusic |class=album|id=mw0000193666|title= Various Artists - ''Less Than Zero: Original Soundtrack'' (1987) Review|last= Erlewine|first= Stephen Thomas|access-date= December 25, 2024}}</ref>
| length     = 3:45
| label      = [[Def Jam Recordings|Def Jam]]
| writer     =
* [[Carl Ridenhour]]
* [[The Bomb Squad|Hank Shocklee]]
* [[The Bomb Squad|Eric "Vietnam" Sadler]]
* [[James Brown]]
* [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]]
| producer   = [[The Bomb Squad]]
| prev_title = [[Rebel Without a Pause]]
| prev_year  = 1987
| next_title = [[Don't Believe the Hype]]
| next_year  = 1988
}}

"'''Bring the Noise'''" is a song by the American [[hip hop music|hip hop]] group [[Public Enemy]]. It was included on the [[soundtrack album|soundtrack]] of the 1987 film ''[[Less than Zero (film)|Less than Zero]];'' the song was also released as a [[single (music)|single]] that year. It later became the first song on the group's 1988 album, ''[[It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back]]''. The single reached {{Numero|56}} on the [[Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs]] chart.

The song's [[lyrics]], most of which are delivered by [[Chuck D]] with interjections from [[Flavor Flav]], include boasts of Public Enemy's prowess, an endorsement of [[Nation of Islam]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]], retorts to unspecified [[critic]]s, and arguments for [[rap music|rap]] as a legitimate [[musical genre]] on par with [[rock music|rock]]. The lyrics also have a notable metrical complexity, making extensive use of meters like [[dactylic hexameter]]. The title phrase appears in the chorus. The song includes several [[shout-out]]s to fellow hip hop artists like [[Run-D.M.C.]], [[Eric B]], [[LL Cool J]] and, unusually for a rap group, [[Yoko Ono]], [[Sonny Bono]] and thrash metal band [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]], allegedly because Chuck D was flattered about [[Scott Ian]] wearing Public Enemy shirts while performing Anthrax gigs. Anthrax later collaborated with Chuck D to cover the song.

The song's [[record producer|production]] by [[the Bomb Squad]], which exemplifies their characteristic style, features a [[consonance and dissonance|dissonant]] mixture of [[funk]] [[sampling (music)|samples]], [[drum machine]] patterns, record [[scratching]] by [[disc jockey|DJ]] [[Terminator X]], [[siren (noisemaker)|siren]] [[sound effect]]s and other [[industrial music|industrial]] noise.

Critic [[Robert Christgau]] has described the song as "postminimal rap refracted through [[Blood Ulmer]] and ''[[On the Corner]]'', as gripping as it is abrasive, and the black militant dialogue-as-diatribe that goes with it is almost as scary as "[[Stones in My Passway]]" or "[[Holidays in the Sun (song)|Holidays in the Sun]]".<ref>Christgau, Robert (March 1, 1988). [http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj87.php "Significance and Its Discontents in the Year of the Blip"]. ''[[The Village Voice]]''. Retrieved on 2010-09-05.</ref> "Bring the Noise" was ranked {{Numero|160}} on ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|list of the 500 greatest songs of all time]].

==Samples==
*"It's My Thing" by [[Marva Whitney]]
*"[[Funky Drummer]]", "[[Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved]]" and "[[Give It Up or Turnit a Loose]]" (remix) by [[James Brown]]
*"[[Get Off Your Ass and Jam]]" by [[Funkadelic]]
*"Fantastic Freaks at the Dixie" by [[DJ Grand Wizard Theodore]]
*"I Don't Know What This World Is Coming To" by the [[Soul Children]]
*"Assembly Line" by [[Commodores]]

The recording begins with a sample of [[Malcolm X]]'s voice saying "Too black, too strong" repeatedly from his public speech at the Northern Negro Grass Roots Leadership Conference on November 10, 1963, in King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan entitled [[Message to the Grass Roots]].

===As a sample in other songs===
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2024}}
"Bring the Noise" has been sampled in many other songs; among them "Much More" by [[De La Soul]], "Here We Go Again!" by [[Portrait (group)|Portrait]], "I Know" by [[Seo Taiji & Boys]], and "World Wide Noise" by [[ClascyJitto]]. "Everything I Am" by [[Kanye West]] and "Here We Go Again" by [[Everclear (band)|Everclear]] all sample the Chuck D line "Here we go again". His exclamation "Now they got me in a cell" from the first verse of the song is also sampled in the [[Beastie Boys]] song "[[Egg Man]]". The track "Undisputed", from the 1999 album ''[[Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic]]'' by [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] samples Chuck D's voice saying "Once again, back, it's the incredible" in its chorus and also features an appearance from Chuck D himself. This same sample is used on [[Fat Joe]]'s album ''[[All or Nothing (Fat Joe album)|All or Nothing]]'' on the track "Safe 2 Say (The Incredible)". [[Rakim]]'s 1997 single "Guess Who's Back" also uses the same sample. The game ''[[Sonic Rush]]'' samples the beginning of "Bring the Noise" in the music for the final boss battle. In addition, [[Ludacris]]' hit "[[How Low]]" samples Chuck D's "How low can you go?" line. In 2010, it was sampled by [[Adil Omar]] and [[DJ Solo]] of [[Soul Assassins]] on their single "Incredible". [[LL Cool J]] used a sample of Chuck D's line "I want bass" during the final verse on the song "[[The Boomin' System]]" from the ''[[Mama Said Knock You Out]]'' album. Also, the lines "[To save] face, how low can you go" and "[So keep] pace how slow can you go" in [[Linkin Park]]'s song "Wretches and Kings" on their album ''[[A Thousand Suns]]'' (which is also produced by [[Rick Rubin]]) refer to Chuck D's line "Bass! How low can you go?".<ref>See also: ''[[A Thousand Suns]]''; last accessed January 31, 2013.</ref> [[Francis Magalona]]'s 1993 songs "Ito ang Gusto Ko" and "Meron Akong Ano" both sample "Bring the Noise".

Additionally, Public Enemy sampled the song themselves in several other songs on ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'', including the lines "Now they got me in a cell" and "Death Row/What a brother knows" in "[[Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos]]" and the lines "Bass!" and "How low can you go?" in "[[Night of the Living Baseheads]]".

==Anthrax version==
{{Infobox song
| name       = Bring the Noise
| cover      = bringthenoise.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]] and [[Public Enemy]]
| album      = [[Attack of the Killer B's]] {{noitalic|(Anthrax album) and}} [[Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black]] {{noitalic|(Public Enemy album)}}
| B-side     =
* "Keep It in the Family" (live)
* "[[I'm the Man (EP)|I'm the Man '91]]"
| released   = July 9, 1991
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      =
* [[Rap metal]]
| length     = 3:34
| label      = [[Island Records|Island]]
| writer     =
* [[Joey Belladonna]]
* [[Dan Spitz]]
* [[Scott Ian]]
* [[Frank Bello]]
* [[Charlie Benante]]
* [[Carl Ridenhour]]
* [[The Bomb Squad|Hank Shocklee]]
* [[The Bomb Squad|Eric "Vietnam" Sadler]]
| producer   =
* [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]]
* [[Mark Dodson (record producer)|Mark Dodson]]
| chronology = [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]]
| prev_title = In My World
| prev_year  = 1990
| next_title = [[Only (Anthrax song)|Only]]
| next_year  = 1993
| misc       = {{External music video|type=single|{{YouTube|kl1hgXfX5-U|“Bring the Noise”}}}}
}}
[[Thrash metal]] band [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]] recorded a version of "Bring the Noise", which sampled the vocals from the original Public Enemy recording.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Alexander |first=Phil |date=January 2015 |title=Anthrax and Public Enemy Bring the Noise, 1991 |magazine=MOJO |location=Peterborough, UK |publisher=Bauer Consumer Media |issn=1351-0193 |quote=When did we record with Chuck? I have to tell you that Chuck and Flavor Flav never came into the studio. We got their vocals from [the master to] Bring The Noise and sat there without sampling technology and cut them into the track word by word until we made it work. I've never told anybody that because nobody's actually asked when we cut it together. It took forever. Our version was in a different key but in the end we were even more stoked with the results because it was so great. |quote-page=31}}</ref> Chuck D has stated that upon the initial request of Anthrax, he "didn't take them wholehearted seriously", but after the collaboration was done, "it made too much sense",<ref name="btm">VH1 - [[Behind The Music]] - Anthrax</ref> and it was eventually included on both the Anthrax compilation ''[[Attack of the Killer B's]]'' and as the final track on Public Enemy's own ''[[Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black]]'' album.

The song's release was followed by a joint-tour featuring the two groups, with shows ending with both groups on stage performing the song together. Chuck D went on to say that shows on the tour were "some of the hardest" they ever experienced,<ref name="btm"/> and that at the start of the tour, Anthrax "commenced to destroy, slaughter and wipe the fuckin' stage" with Public Enemy as the opener,<ref name="rnrhof">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zoknwah6h8|title=Chuck D and Public Enemy/Anthrax "Bring the Noise"|date=February 13, 2015 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref> forcing the group to not only up the intensity of their set, but to innovate by having a dedicated [[light board operator]] - a first in hiphop.<ref name="rnrhof"/> According to Chuck D, the show intensities eventually began to even out,<ref name="rnrhof"/> and when the two bands joined on stage for "Bring the Noise", "it was shrapnel".<ref name="btm"/> Anthrax first played "Bring the Noise" live in 1989, two years before the Public Enemy collaboration was released, and it has been a live staple ever since.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bring the Noise by Anthrax Concert Statistics|website=setlist.fm|url=https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/public-enemy-63d686a3.html?artist=7bd68e98&song=Bring+the+Noise|access-date=August 24, 2018}}</ref>

The recording was ranked No. 12 on [[VH1]]'s 2006 list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs<ref>''"VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs"'', May 1–4, 2006, ''VH1'' Channel, reported by [https://web.archive.org/web/20060913132117/http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/103446/episode_this_list.jhtml VH1.com]; last accessed September 10, 2006.</ref> and is featured in the [[video game]]s ''[[Die Hard Trilogy]]'', ''[[WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW]]'', ''[[WWE WrestleMania 21 (video game)|WWE WrestleMania 21]]'', ''[[WWE Day of Reckoning]]'', ''[[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2]]'', ''[[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD]]'', ''[[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2]]'' and ''[[Rock Band 4]]'' as DLC.

The title of the Anthrax version is sometimes spelled "'''Bring tha Noise'''" or "'''Bring tha Noize'''".

===Single track listing===
# "Bring the Noise" – 3:34
# "Keep It in the Family" (live) – 7:19
# "I'm the Man '91" – 5:56

==Charts==

===Public Enemy version===

{| class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Chart (1988)
!align="center"|Peak<br>position
|-
|align="left"|US [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')
|align="center"|56
|-
|}

===Anthrax version===

{| class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Chart (1991)
!align="center"|Peak<br>position
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|10|artist=Anthrax (with Public Enemy)|song=Bring the Noise}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|14|artist=Anthrax (with Public Enemy)|song=Bring the Noise|date=19910707}}
|-
|}

==Remixes==
In 2007, "Bring the Noise" was [[remix]]ed by Italian [[house music|house]] [[disc jockey|DJ]] [[Benny Benassi]] as well as [[Ferry Corsten]]. Benassi's remix slowed the track down, and cut off many of the lyrics. Benassi mixed two versions of the song. The Pump-kin version exemplifies a heavy melody, while the S-faction edit added more emphasis to the bassline. The S-faction version won a Grammy Award for best remixed recording at the [[2008 Grammy Awards]]. The Pump-kin remix appeared on his album ''[[Rock 'n' Rave]]'' (2008). The song was also used for the [[EA Sports]] game, ''[[NBA Live 09]]''. Ferry Corsten only mixed one version which was released around the same time as Benny Benassi's remixes, it was released on February 26, 2008 on [[iTunes]].

In 2007, [[Gigi D'Agostino]] also released a track called "Quoting", a remix of the song. He made it in the style of [[Lento Violento]], a style of [[Hardstyle]] 
focusing on slow and hard sound.

===Benny Benassi===
# "Bring the Noise" (Pump-kin edit) – 3:37
# "Bring the Noise" (S-faction edit) – 3:32
# "Bring the Noise" (Pump-kin remix) – 6:38
# "Bring the Noise" (S-faction remix) – 6:57
# "Bring the Noise" (Pump-kin instrumental) – 6:38
# "Bring the Noise" (S-faction instrumental) – 6:57

===Ferry Corsten===
# "Bring the Noise" (radio edit)
# "Bring the Noise" (extended mix)

===Gigi D'Agostino (Lento Violento Man)===
# "Lento Violento Man" – Quoting

==Other versions==
<!--(Commenting the following sentence out as its meaning is unclear. Brent Runyon is an author not a musician, and ''The Burn Journals'' is a book he wrote; what does that have to do with a folk cover version of "Bring the Noise"? Is it real or merely a literary reference?) A folk version of "Bring the Noise" was covered by [[Brent Runyon]] found in his 2004 novel ''The Burn Journals''.-->
The [[alternative metal]] band [[Staind]] covered "Bring the Noise" with [[Limp Bizkit]] vocalist [[Fred Durst]] on the ''[[Take a Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute to Rap]]'' 2000 [[compilation album]]. This version also appeared on the advance version of their 1999 album ''[[Dysfunction (album)|Dysfunction]]''.

A remix of "Bring the Noise" titled "Bring the Noise 20XX", featuring [[Zakk Wylde]], is a playable track in the video games ''[[Guitar Hero 5]]'' and ''[[DJ Hero]]''.

A traditional country version by Unholy Trio is included on the [[Bloodshot Records]] sampler "Down to the Promised Land".

An unofficial remix entitled "Bring DA Noise", (based on Led Zeppelin's – "Immigrant Song") was released for free download in 2005 by Irish radio presenter DJ Laz-e.

The 2012 video game ''[[Yakuza 5]]'' features a track titled “Skankfunk - Vendor Pop”, which samples the ending of the [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]] version of “Bring The Noise”, which plays during one of Tatsuo Shinada’s substories titled “Shinada’s Interview.”

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=baaFL4PyjS0C&pg=PA34 Single Review] — ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''

{{Public Enemy}}
{{Anthrax}}
{{Benny Benassi}}
{{Ferry Corsten}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1987 songs]]
[[Category:1988 singles]]
[[Category:1991 singles]]
[[Category:Public Enemy (band) songs]]
[[Category:Anthrax (American band) songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin]]
[[Category:Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical]]
[[Category:Def Jam Recordings singles]]
[[Category:Island Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by James Brown]]
[[Category:Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician)]]
[[Category:Songs written by Chuck D]]
[[Category:Songs written by Hank Shocklee]]
[[Category:Songs written by Eric "Vietnam" Sadler]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by the Bomb Squad]]