Public Enemy's First Album Yo! Bum Rush the Show is Released by Def Jam (1987)

American hip hop group Public Enemy releases the highly influential debut studio album Yo! Bum Rush the Show on February 10, 1987 through Def Jam Records. Legendary music producer Rick Rubin, Bill Stephney and The Bomb Squad handled production work on the album, which was recorded at Spectrum City Studios in Hempstead, New York. The groundbreaking album became one of the fastest-selling hip hop records ever released.

Yo! Bum Rush the Show was considered controversial for its time among radio stations and critics, partly due to lead rapper Chuck D’s black nationalist politics, as well as the album’s lyrics. However, the album has since been regarded as one of hip hop’s greatest and most influential records of all time.