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 critics, and arguments for rap as a legitimate musical genre on par with rock.

The song includes several shout-outs 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, allegedly because Chuck D was flattered about Scott Ian wearing Public Enemy shirts while performing Anthrax gigs.

The song's production by the Bomb Squad, which exemplifies their characteristic style, features a dissonant mixture of funk samples, drum machine patterns, record scratching by DJ Terminator X, siren sound effects and other 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".

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.

The game Sonic Rush samples the beginning of "Bring the Noise" in the music for the final boss battle.

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.

[4] Francis Magalona's 1993 songs "Ito ang Gusto Ko" and "Meron Akong Ano" both sample "Bring the Noise".

[7] According to Chuck D, the show intensities eventually began to even out,[7] and when the two bands joined on stage for "Bring the Noise", "it was shrapnel".

12 on VH1's 2006 list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs[9] and is featured in the video games Die Hard Trilogy, WWE SmackDown!

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.

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.