bedsitter23 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bedsitter23) wrote2015-05-29 08:04 pm
bedsitter23) wrote2015-05-29 08:04 pm
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The 90s Weren't All That Bad #32- Ice Cube
This is one of those blog posts that I would have written back when people read LiveJournal. Still, there's a few things that prompted this.
First, I have posted a lot of 90s music here, and really enjoy writing and sharing about it. It is probably because those were important years for me, but I do think there were some great albums released then. In any case, time to bring the series back.
But this is mostly prompted by the Onion's AV Club question from earlier in the month "What pop culture do you love but disagree with?'
For me, what quickly comes to mind is Ice Cube's 1991 album Death Certificate.
While the album preceding (AmeriKKKas Most Wanted-1990) and the album following (The Predator-1992) are in the ballpark, Death Certificate is a masterpiece of early 90s angry Cube.
For comparison, in 1992, I was into punk and spending hour after hour listening to the then-recently released Buzzcocks Greatest Hits album Operators Manual.
Death Certificate was punk. This was the era in which Reagan turned into Bush, and it was pretty clear that this particular Bush didn't care about black people. Much credit goes to the Bomb Squad. While they made their name with Public Enemy, here they found the right mix of music to take Cube to the next level. There's George Clinton and Parliament all over as well as plenty of James Brown, but there's also a list of artists you might not expect- Zapp, Mountain, the Meters, Bobby Byrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Marvin Gaye, Booker T & the MGs, the Gap Band, the Staples Singers, Fishbone , Gladys Knight & the Pips and many others
Cube didn't get his back due back then, likely to the Gangsta roots he came from, and he hasn't got his due since (In 20 years, he hasn't been able to reach these heights again on vinyl) as his music is overshadowed by his acting career.
It's one of my favorite albums ever.
It's also somewhat embarassing,. It's profane and obscene, of course, but it's over the edge in these terms. It's homophobic, racist, and misogynist. "Black Korea" of course should be a rallying call for blacks to own businesses, but is a cringeworthy tune based on Asian stereotypes. "No Vaseline" is a typical rap diss song as is typical of the genre, but as implied, is datedly homophobic (even when it was released) and blatantly racist against Jewish NWA manager Jerry Heller. "Horny lil Devil", "Doing Dumb Sh--"(powered powerfully by some "Funkentelchy") and "Look Who's Burnin" should be warnings against promiscuity and a public service announcement against STDs, but are no more enlightened than the Bell Biv Devoe albums of the day.
All of which is a shame, because Ice Cube is on point. Because of his image, he never will be though of in the same terms of Chuck D or Gil Scott-Heron. He even wasn't able to get the kind of respect Ice T got from the rock community, despite the fact T's lyrics were fairly infantile in Body Count.
So, Death Certificate is partly gangsta fantasy, but it's also part class struggle, and with the Bomb Squad treatment, it's incredible.
For me, the apex of the album is a two minute detour called "Bird in the Hand". A masterblast as angry as pointed as anything that ever came out of the mouth of Lydon or Strummer.
Which is the other reason for this post. What drives the track in terms of anti-Bush venom is a sample from BB King's "Chain and Things".
If your view of King is the soft bluesman in the public eye for the last two decades, then "Chains and Things" is a good place to start.
The break at the 3:36 is the riff that drives Cube's best moment on his best album.
Respect for all involved.
First, I have posted a lot of 90s music here, and really enjoy writing and sharing about it. It is probably because those were important years for me, but I do think there were some great albums released then. In any case, time to bring the series back.
But this is mostly prompted by the Onion's AV Club question from earlier in the month "What pop culture do you love but disagree with?'
For me, what quickly comes to mind is Ice Cube's 1991 album Death Certificate.
While the album preceding (AmeriKKKas Most Wanted-1990) and the album following (The Predator-1992) are in the ballpark, Death Certificate is a masterpiece of early 90s angry Cube.
For comparison, in 1992, I was into punk and spending hour after hour listening to the then-recently released Buzzcocks Greatest Hits album Operators Manual.
Death Certificate was punk. This was the era in which Reagan turned into Bush, and it was pretty clear that this particular Bush didn't care about black people. Much credit goes to the Bomb Squad. While they made their name with Public Enemy, here they found the right mix of music to take Cube to the next level. There's George Clinton and Parliament all over as well as plenty of James Brown, but there's also a list of artists you might not expect- Zapp, Mountain, the Meters, Bobby Byrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Marvin Gaye, Booker T & the MGs, the Gap Band, the Staples Singers, Fishbone , Gladys Knight & the Pips and many others
Cube didn't get his back due back then, likely to the Gangsta roots he came from, and he hasn't got his due since (In 20 years, he hasn't been able to reach these heights again on vinyl) as his music is overshadowed by his acting career.
It's one of my favorite albums ever.
It's also somewhat embarassing,. It's profane and obscene, of course, but it's over the edge in these terms. It's homophobic, racist, and misogynist. "Black Korea" of course should be a rallying call for blacks to own businesses, but is a cringeworthy tune based on Asian stereotypes. "No Vaseline" is a typical rap diss song as is typical of the genre, but as implied, is datedly homophobic (even when it was released) and blatantly racist against Jewish NWA manager Jerry Heller. "Horny lil Devil", "Doing Dumb Sh--"(powered powerfully by some "Funkentelchy") and "Look Who's Burnin" should be warnings against promiscuity and a public service announcement against STDs, but are no more enlightened than the Bell Biv Devoe albums of the day.
All of which is a shame, because Ice Cube is on point. Because of his image, he never will be though of in the same terms of Chuck D or Gil Scott-Heron. He even wasn't able to get the kind of respect Ice T got from the rock community, despite the fact T's lyrics were fairly infantile in Body Count.
So, Death Certificate is partly gangsta fantasy, but it's also part class struggle, and with the Bomb Squad treatment, it's incredible.
For me, the apex of the album is a two minute detour called "Bird in the Hand". A masterblast as angry as pointed as anything that ever came out of the mouth of Lydon or Strummer.
Which is the other reason for this post. What drives the track in terms of anti-Bush venom is a sample from BB King's "Chain and Things".
If your view of King is the soft bluesman in the public eye for the last two decades, then "Chains and Things" is a good place to start.
The break at the 3:36 is the riff that drives Cube's best moment on his best album.
Respect for all involved.