Rebel Without A Pause

Album: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1987)
Charted: 37
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The title is a play on Rebel Without A Cause, a film starring James Dean released in 1955.
  • Like Jimi Hendrix and many other creative types, Public Enemy didn't mind some imperfections in their work. Chuck D explained to Keyboard magazine in 1990: "In 'Rebel Without a Pause,' we programmed that weird screechy sound. It was sampled to have a clean sound, and it just didn't feel right, so we cut the amount of time in that siren sample, redid it with, like, a two-bit sampling rate, which made it really gritty-sounding, almost unpresentable, and then we looped that at a point where it was kind of imperfect. That's what made the record have more soul, have more funk."
  • Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys said in Rolling Stone, April 15, 2004: "I remember the first time I heard Rebel Without a Pause: We were on tour with Run-D.M.C., and one day Chuck D put on a tape they had just finished. It was the first time they used those screeching horns along with this incredibly heavy beat -- it was just unlike anything I had ever heard before. It blew my wig back.
    To me, Chuck D is the most important MC in hip-hop. On a strictly MC'ing-skill basis, I rank him up there with the best: His power and cadences on lines like "Yes/The rhythm, the rebel/Without a pause/I'm lowering my level" is unmatched. Then if you take into account what he's actually saying, it puts him on a different plane from any other MC. The combination of him and Flavor Flav is incredibly effective: Chuck is so straight and direct, and Flav brings this wild randomness to it. They complement each other perfectly." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 2
  • This was used in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Steven Tyler of AerosmithSongwriter Interviews

Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Narada Michael Walden - "Freeway of Love"

Narada Michael Walden - "Freeway of Love"They're Playing My Song

As a songwriter and producer, Narada had hits with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Starship. But what song does he feel had the greatest impact on his career?

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Jules Shear - "All Through The Night"

Jules Shear - "All Through The Night"They're Playing My Song

Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.