O.G. Original Gangster

Après m’être farci deux gros blocs de glace avec AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted et The Predator, me voilà devant le cube de T. Mais avant d’entrer dans le vif du sujet, une question existentielle me traverse l’esprit : bordel, comment un mec qui hurlait « Cop Killer » au début des années 90 a-t-il pu finir dans le costard repassé d’un inspecteur modèle de la police new-yorkaise sur le petit écran ? Ce grand écart artistique et professionnel de Mr. Tracy Marrow me laissera toujours pantois. On parle d’un type qui incarnait la menace numéro un de l’Amérique puritaine et qui passe désormais ses journées de tournage à traquer les pervers dans New York, Unité Spéciale. C’est toute l’ironie du showbiz américain résumée en une seule carrière, mais ne boudons pas notre plaisir : avant de devenir une figure rassurante du PAF mondial, Ice-T était un véritable patron du bitume. Revenons donc à nos moutons avec ce O.G. Original Gangster, qui a débarqué dans les bacs en 1991 sur le label Sire/Warner Bros. Disons-le franchement sans tourner autour du pot : c’est un disque monumental de gangsta rap, vif, arrogant, vicieux, qui part dans tous les sens et toujours dans le bon sens du terme. Alors que la côte Ouest était en train de redéfinir la hiérarchie du rap mondial sous l’impulsion des productions massives de Dr. Dre ou de la rage brute d’Ice Cube, Ice-T a posé sur la table une galette gargantuesque de plus de soixante-douze minutes avec vingt-quatre pistes au compteur, pas un gramme de superflue, et surtout une énergie de sale gosse doublée d’une lucidité implacable sur la société américaine. Ce qui frappe, c’est cette capacité qu’a Ice-T à ne jamais s’enfermer dans la simple caricature du gangster bas du front. Bien sûr, l’imagerie est là, clinquante et dangereuse : les flingues, la rue, le proxénétisme, les règlements de comptes et les bagnoles qui fument le pavé. Mais contrairement à une meute de suiveurs qui ont transformé le genre en bande dessinée complaisante, le bonhomme use d’une plume de conteur hors pair pour disséquer la misère urbaine et les pièges du ghetto. Il balance des histoires crues, parfois à la limite du film d’horreur psychologique, tout en injectant des avertissements cinglants. Sur des morceaux comme « Ed », il te torche une mise en garde tragique contre l’alcool au volant sans jamais sonner comme un curé en chaire, tandis que sur « Bitches 2 », il s’amuse avec un cynisme désarmant à redéfinir les codes de la manipulation humaine, élargissant l’insulte aux mecs malhonnêtes pour tenter de justifier la misogynie légendaire du milieu. Musicalement, l’album est une véritable usine à baffes orchestrée par The Rhyme Syndicate. La production refuse le formatage propret et mise sur des breakbeats minimaux, secs et agressifs, des caisses claires qui claquent comme des coups de feu et des lignes de basse suffocantes. C’est rugueux, direct et sans fioritures inutiles. Le sommet d’angoisse est sans doute atteint sur un titre magistral comme « Midnight », où un sample magistral emprunté au « Black Sabbath » des pionniers du metal britannique vient draper un récit nocturne et terrifiant dans les rues de South Central. Le flow d’Ice-T y est impitoyable, froid, articulé avec cette diction inimitable qui découpe les syllabes comme des lames de rasoir. Mais l’autre grand coup d’éclat d’Original Gangster, c’est évidemment d’avoir été le laboratoire de son groupe de funk-metal, Body Count. En glissant le morceau fondateur éponyme au milieu de la tracklist rap, Ice-T dynamitait déjà les frontières entre le hardcore hip-hop et la fureur du rock lourd, annonçant le tremblement de terre médiatique et politique qui allait suivre quelques mois plus tard autour du fameux brûlot anti-flics. Cette bâtardise stylistique parfaitement assumée prouve à quel point le bonhomme n’en avait absolument rien à foutre des étiquettes et des chapelles. Il prenait ce qui cognait le plus fort, d’où que ça vienne. Au final, O.G. Original Gangster reste l’acmé créative d’un pionnier qui a su capturer l’esprit d’une époque explosive, à l’aube des émeutes de Los Angeles de 1992. Un disque dense, nerveux, bavard mais toujours captivant, porté par une présence au micro absolument gigantesque. C’est arrogant, intelligent, violent et jubilatoire d’un bout à l’autre. Pour moi, c'est un très solide et superbe 4 sur 5 qui s’impose sans sourciller dans toute discothèque idéale.

definitivamente não é minha praia mas só consegui pensar como esse estilo de rap dos anos 90 (ziplock especialmente) influenciou o musical de hamilton

esse aqui eu reparei mais nas letras que em outra coisa... longo né

Nope

This album made me do a deeper dive on ICE-T and oh how far you have come. Talk about man living a life and coming out on the other side. People can change and do what they have to do to get by, but that doesn't mean you have to be a bad person to do it, enter ICE-T I love his voice and I love he raps about social issues. I am not a big fan of the violence and the way he speaks about women (B!tches 2 isn't the apology you think it is). But it is also the 90's, so it gets some grace for that purpose. Its long, which I didn't need but if you like ICE-T then its a great bonus for you. Body Count was an interesting song...I didn't realize he did heavy metal but its kind of neat to hear a different voice in this musical genre.

It's hard to take this super seriously when I see Ice-T in CarShield commercials now. Despite that, I do respect his influence and contributions to the genre, and he's certainly not a poser. I had a hard time getting into this album though, it was long and a lot of the songs dragged. But it was ok, I liked his raps on societal and cultural issues.

Old school banger

This was way too long. The good tracks were really solid though, and the less good tracks never fell into the "annoying to listen to" zone. I liked when he started playing with genres towards the end, and thought some of the samples and blending were fun. Still overall not really my thing though.

Cool but prefer Body Count

It takes me back

Skip to the next song every time you hear a profanity or the word "ni**er" and you'll cruise through this album in no time.

I really don't like this genre, but the sample of Black Sabbath was kinda cool

a big and lengthy rap album by ice t, one of the founding fathers of classic gangsta rap music. ice t had already released plenty of successful albums before this one here, so this album is essentially just him continuing to ride on his self-made train, utilizing members from his hip hop label rhyme syndicate records to help him with the sound. out of all the rappers i've heard in my day, ice t is ridiculously skilled with his flow variation. one track he's mellow and moderate in volume, the next minute he's shouting and rhyming with little effort. he's a bit of a virtuoso when it comes to how he records bars. i also really like how blunt and realistic he approaches his material. he isn't afraid to be honest, and he REALLY doesn't care if you get upset by that. if i was a rapper i'd have the same ideals... like, sorry! sorry you can't handle all this. i really like that. it's another solid hip hop entry, but (controversially, i don't know...) i'm giving it a 4 instead of a 5, if only because it was very good, but there's something that's just not there. i don't know what it is, there's that small little spark that's missing from this cd, missing compared to all the other '90s rap i've been listening to. i wish i could tell you what that missing part was.

I listened, I liked a few of the songs and recognised the tune for one track as it's sampled in a Peeling Flesh song, but overall not my jam.

The rhymes were incredible, but I don't particularly like this kind of music. The Halloween song won me over and the sign off.

Great album, holds up well. Great music, powerful lyrics.

Entertaining Interesting I like the narating thing they do through out record

Low 4

Hyviä sampleja ja biittejä mutta itse räpistä en niin välittänyt. ⭐️⭐️

I was pretty disappointed in this, I was expecting more. There just isn't a lot of substance to the rhymes and the production is pretty one dimensional. The most enjoyable song is clearly Body Count and T shines more in that band that as a solo rapper. I wish he had that anger and focus across more of the album. It's also too long, too many skits. A disappointed 3*

I liked this way more than I thought I would. I could hear the lyrics most of the time and he’s lowkey based. Highlights: Straight up ***** Escape from the killing fields (fav) The Tower

Yes!! I remember learning about this album in a history of pop class I took in hs. Very influential in its own way as I remember. But good yay! Good airport listen!

I truly really enjoyed this album. It felt like more than an album—a message, a letter to the reader, a declaration of self, an encapsulation of who Ice T is as a person. A culmination of everything he believes in. It’s defiant and certain. Yes, it’s long and filled with plenty of skits, but each one felt meaningful in their own way. Some were even comedic in a way that not a lot of skits usually hit me. I didn’t have high expectations for this album, to be honest, but it was a really pleasant surprise. It’s not experimental, but it feels boundary pushing in its own candid way. It’s as vulnerable as a 90’s gangster can be. I’m glad to have heard this album and Ice T has just gained another white boy fan, which I’m sure he loves.

One of my all time favorite albums by a law and order svu cast member

Stick to SVU, T. Good album though

Ice T demonstrated that you don't have to make a sex skit into audible porn. Very cool, Mr. Ice T.

the samples are cool. at least i can say that in favor of this album

Listened to this at 1 am and it sent me into psychosis 2.5

Not sure how to explain this, but "Midnight" sounds like if Ice T tried to make a track that sounds like how 'The Terminator' looks.

Ancient philosophers pondered the conundrum of how a daily album club could have albums that took 3 days to play all the way through. This coulda been two 3-star albums but I’m gonna keep dying on the album too long hill.

2.5

2.5

Too long, too repetitive, but okay overall. 3 stars

Aside from having to get used to Law & Order's Detective Fin Tutuola as a hardened gangster, this was alright. I don't think Ice-T is that great of a rapper, but there were some pretty catchy beats here. "New Jack Hustler", "Mic Contract", "Pulse of the Rhyme", and the title track were pretty good. 3 stars.

Top drawer original gangster shizzle. This stuff slays. Furiously brilliant pretty much from top to bottom. Get rid of all the Kendrick, Lupe Fiasco and Fiddy Cent on this list and replace them with more Ice-T albums.

Great album, full of variety and depth.....

This is awesome

Kept going and going. Some cool songs in here, but it’s drowned out by boring skits and mediocre samples… Rating: 3/10 Favorite Song: O.G. Original Gangster

This is one of the better rap albums we have been introduced to. The rapping and production is pretty good. The beats are generally quite catchy. However, Ice T is trying a bit too hard sometimes and it gets a bit self indulgent. The final track is just a spoken word lament. The use of the n-word is pretty jarring too. He tries a bit too hard to be provocative that it occasionally comes across as a bit inauthentic. The last rap album I had was Ghostface Killah and that wasn’t great. This was better, so it deserves a higher rating.

I let out a brief sigh when I saw this album was next... But it actually wasn't bad. It was funny and had some pretty decent rhymes and flow for the era.

D.O.G.

Didn't really know what to expect from ICE-T, but this was pretty good. While the album can be vulgar and politically charged, he also really has a sense of humor. That's what I remembered the most. I liked many of the beats, but the album is a bit too long overall.

The music is like RUN DMC with saltier language. Weird since NWA blew the doors open with Straight out in 89, and this was in 91. They had Dre, T had Evil E? DJ Alladin. Maybe it's that. There's a lot of use of what sounds like those old soundboard websites where you push a button to repeat something "bodybag" "bodybag" "New Jack" "New Jack" Maybe it's cause I'm a diehard Cube fan over T. Ahh, a RUN DMC shoutout. The music is jazzy, sampling JB and Black Sabbath, Public Enemy. Just not my favourite vocal stylings. It's got the right words but the flow is off. 3 for genre, 2 for all else.

1024 - "Here's your juice box and orange slice. Thanks for coming."

Not my thing. It's too crass and dull.

Pretty good

I feel like there was something redeeming about this album saving it from one star, but I can’t remember what it was. Two stars regardless. But it was close. The random Body Count advertisement was very strange to say the least.

Ice-T was the emcee in Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo and that’s all that matters to me.

Decent album. Probably just what I grew up with, but I like a lot of other early 90s rap albums over this one.

Super fun. Great beats, and wild rock song in there? Just a little too long but the skits were funny. Did Biggie rip my guy Ice T off? idk

Surprised I’ve never listened to Ice T before. Really good, album, he’s got great annunciation and flow, political lyrics that still hit. Albums a little long but beats are great on it

It is definitely clear this came out in the early 90s - his rhyming is quite simple at times, the beats are more old school sounding, and this album has a lot of skits. Because of those things, along with the stretched run time, it was hard for me to like it as much as I could have. I would give this a 3.5 if possible, but I don't feel good giving it a 4.

It’s fun, more fun than I expected. I don’t want to shit on it, but it’s not really my thing

4/5

Es ist kein Totalausfall, aber es schrammt oft gefährlich nah daran vorbei. Ice‑T wollte 1991 das große Manifest des Gangsta‑Rap liefern – und man hört den Anspruch. Nur leider auch die Schwächen: Das Album ist überlang, zerfasert, und viele Tracks wirken eher wie rohe Skizzen als wie zwingende Statements. Zwischen einzelnen starken Momenten liegt viel Füllmaterial, das heute eher museal als kraftvoll wirkt.

Álbum de Hip-Hop com batidas bem marcantes. É divertido. CVJ Kira

Lifestyles Of The Rich And Infamous

This isn’t a good rap album

229. nice

Favorite track(s): Mic Contract, New Jack Hustler, O.G. Original Gangster, Midnight

I’ve never been a fan of Ice T but I can hear why people do on this LP and perhaps if it wasn’t so long I’d score it higher

This lengthy album was released before Ice-T became a successful actor. It’s a rap album except for one track which is hard rock. Maybe it’s a good rap album, but they are all the same in my opinion. Lots of talk and little music.

A 24 tracker, huh? Buckle up, me. On the plus side, I just realised that the common use (or at least, common use by me when talking about covers) of OG for "original" is probably an extension of the "original gangster" meaning, and wiki backs me up! Ice-T probably helped to popularize it, although I think it was common parlance in LA already. Pretty cool... pretty cool. He actually has 2 Grammys. Themes here are not totally terrible. Mostly about being a gangster, but some lamenting violence to balance the glorifying it. However, I have no nostalgia for this album, and so even though I can take it more seriously than your Public Enemy & Run DMCs, I still find it mostly offensive and mostly boring. Lyrics aren't funny unintentionally, but also not really funny intentionally. (OK, I did give a mild smile at 'Body Count' being a random rock song.) Performance isn't bad, but isn't especially impressive either. Plus, did we need an entire song of shoutouts ('M.V.P.')? What is this, Koffi Olomide? Kind of interesting as a historical snapshot, I guess, but 1985-1995 is so deeply inferior to 1996-2006 musicwise. Slur count = 126. (Lyrical) highlight: Ice-T doesn't care if you're gay! Pretty rare sentiment for 1991 rap. (Lyrical) lowlight (ironically, musical highlight): 'Bitches 2' 😮‍💨 (even if you aren't asserting something about ladies, you're still presupposing it, Ice-T!!!!)

not for me

Great classic album! Love his punk song halfway through lol but legit a good album

Guy had a fun way of expressing himself while keeping fresh production going (Loop Skywalker…). Clear inspiration for Apathy as well. This was a great album

I am broadly uninterested in this.

I don't think I ever listened to this before. Worked better for me than a lot of other things like it.

Quite dated, WAY too long, some good flow here and there.

Half way through, was was hating it, but there are some good lyrics and songs on here, especially the lines focusing on the socio-political plight of black people in the inner city

Hasn't aged well. His flow lacks now, content purile

Ice T is an angry man who has lived through street culture, and he's gonna tell you how screwed up the world is.  There's a lot of wisdom here, but it's hard to hear it past his anger.  The beats are good.  Thankfully, he avoids the standard gangsta rap trappings of talking about "bitches and hoes". My rating: 4/5

not totally my vibe but still enjoyed

There's 5 good songs on this and then there's 19 others. Also, Ice is so emo, 90% of the songs are just him moaning about stuff.

I love Ice T. I love how Anti Cop he was at this time, and maybe at all times, but plays one on TV. Can you still be ACAB and participate in Copaganda? In this case I'll let it slide cause Ice T is that good. Also forgot that he gave a preview of Body Count on here so good.

Got this shortly after it came out. Loved it. First time revisiting it in a while and I'm amazed at how it's held up. 4.5/5

good rap album, some bangers

Heard before?:❌️ Will listen again?:✔️ No fucks given, hilarious moments, anti establishment and surprisingly progressive lyrics. Would I be remiss to call this punk? You know what I'm sayin'?

+1 for the tipper gore shout out

3.75

Respect for what he has accomplished and his message. Just not my favorite style of music.

I love me some '90s gangsta rap, so I went into this expecting to enjoy it more than I did. Unfortunately, it just doesn't really do it for me. There are flashes of what made Ice-T so influential, but they're too spread out. The album is weighed down by too many skits, and a lot of the songs end up landing flat.

Too long but actually not terrible

pretty good!

This album wasn’t made for me. It was meant for some other motherflipper.

Yo, what's up. On this album nothing's up, everything's down. Yo, you need to escape from this as quickly as possible.

Its fun but its really cringe. Like pastiche level cringe.

2/5 og gangsta rap kindabloated

Totally 90s gangsta Hip-Hop. Not bad

grat gangsta rap album

Impressed with the variety here. Changes up the flows and beats regularly. Good lyrical content with some depth and texture and I even chuckled at a few of the skits.

Can you imagine if he did half the stuff he brags about?

Great lyrics and solid jams

It's more gangsta rap. It's GOOD gangsta rap, mind you -smart lyrics, sharp delivery, a genuine sense of humor, and more swagger than you could ask for. The multiple guest rappers mostly serve to show how much BETTER Ice is than them. But it's not my jam.

Was hoping for more Body Count stylings (which I thrashed to death in the day), wish it had more horsepower but not bad, just a bit average

I wasn’t allowed to listen to Ice T when this album came out but my mom sure loves him now as an actor. O.G. is ok - it’s not his best work but it doesn’t suck.

Hey Ice T, do you think you could brag about being straight and having a big dick one more time?

2/5

Is it weird to say that Ice T's flow is kinda off throughout this album? The lyrics aren't particularly clever or neat and he constantly misses the beat. There's some pretty great production flying in the back of the beat, but it's a bloated album and the interstitial bits aren't very interesting at all (which admittedly isn't out of step with the rest of the generation). Overall Ice T is definitely the lesser of the two Ices. I did like Midnight, a dark horror-themed story. Also the line 'Yo yo mama got two feet growing out her titties/Bitch fell down and kept runnin'" from Fried Chicken is so absurd it's genuinely hilarious. The Tower's good. Or at least, I heard it's better than Civ 5 with the Brave New World Expansion pack. Fav tracks: Midnight, The Tower

Really good hip hop album. Some bangers on this. Didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did tbh.

A pretty good album, I liked New Jack Hustler the most.

This album is hilarious -- the woman doing the critical analysis is great. I also like the music; I feel like my tastes in rap were formed in this era, so this stuff just sounds right to me. Body Count rules! 3.5⭐️

Not the best thing that was released in 91 !

Solid enough album. A few decent tracks. Doubt I'll ever stick the whole album on again. 2.5

At some point, it really is too much of it.

He's a pretty good rapper. I thought the beats were just okay. I really liked the guitar on Body Count and the bass on Pulse of the Rhyme though. There's too much talking and the album is just long.

If you like this album "I got news for you; that's means you're gay" IYKYK

It's definitely got CD bloat, but it's still some good 90's hip-hop, regardless. 3.5 bumped up to 4.

I’m at a 5. Maybe a little higher, even. I was skeptical as hell going into this, especially with the 2.97 on the site. I know Ice-T’s career has been boiled down to “the Law & Order guy” these days, and I’m as guilty of falling into that as anyone. I knew he was a rapper, but I assumed the reason he transitioned into acting was just because he wasn’t quite at the same level as his peers. My assumption going into this was that it would be a totally fine 72 minutes that only had a handful of good tracks & the rest would all prove me right. I am so glad to have been so fucking ignorant – Ice-T can fucking rap. This is as good as any early ‘90s rap project we’ve gotten so far, and as a bit of a swan song to the late ‘80s style of the genre blended with just a touch of the West Coast style to come, I think it knocks everything out of the park. It does start a little slowly with the trio of skits (with “Home of the Bodybag” as an especially strange starting point for the album), but once everything truly kicks off with “Mic Contract”, this thing shoots into overdrive. Given that there’s 24 tracks here, leaving notes on each one would feel bloated, but make no mistake – practically all of the main tracks have merit to them. I think my very favorites are “New Jack Hustler”, the title track, “Midnight”, & everything from “Lifestyles of the Rich & Infamous” onward, but they’ve all got something cool behind them, whether it’s in Ice-T’s fast flow, a great atmosphere from some of the best early ‘90s beats I’ve heard, a surprise shift to a metal rap vibe on “Body Count”, or some really strong storytelling that sits just behind Public Enemy’s style as some of the best rap of the era. Really, I’m stunned. I think for my tastes, Ice-T’s album has easily beaten out Ice Cube’s “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”, which is a genuine surprise that I wouldn’t have predicted. There’s way less misogyny (yes, even on “Bitches 2”), there’s way more concise messaging with a stronger intent behind it (especially near the end of the album), there’s an outright rejection of homophobia on a few tracks (genuinely progressive for gangster rap of the era), and I think the beats, flows & storytelling are all better. This is one of the best early ‘90s rap albums we’ve gotten so far, and to say that 907 albums deep is a real surprise to me. With time, this could genuinely get up to a 10. It’s that damn good. Even the skits & shorter tracks fly by in a way that makes them feel less like filler & more like appropriate interludes to pace out the album well. I’ve never been happier to be wrong about someone’s talent & acclaim – Ice-T really might be the original gangster. I think this is a 5, if not a bit higher. Great pick for the list.

As a performer, he's solid! But the lyrics don't really stand out, and the production is unspectacular. Basically, it's an hour and fifteen minutes long without anything that sounds like a hit. Sorry, but that's not going to cut it!

I am against themes of violence and discrimination, but this is really well done. If Ice T uses the N word, I hope he is ok with liberal white women using it, too.

This seemed overly rehearsed and like he was trying too hard

Listened to this quite a bit back in the day. Still cool.

Que horrible que es el hip-hop gánster y este no es la excepción

That's as high of a grade I can give to a gansta rap album

Hey look, it's the guy from Law and Order! It's kinda funny that a guy who got his start rapping about how much he hated cops ended up becoming well-known for playing a cop on a TV show. Was his music any good? Yeah, I'd say so. This isn't the peak of gangsta rap, but Ice-T was one of the first gangsta rap artists, so he does get bonus points for being an innovator. This album has some good elements, some flaws, and some things that are kinda in between. I think Ice-T's rapping is alright. Not the best, but not bad by any means. The album is definitely an early 90s affair in both rapping and production. Although, the production did have some pretty good moments, especially with some of the samples in the latter half of the album. Like, damn, the put the drums from "When the Levee Breaks" and the main riff from "Black Sabbath" into "Midnight"? That's sick as hell. I can tell that Ice-T is a bit of a rock fan himself. This is made rather obvious by the song "Body Count," which is just a straight-up rock song. It's quite good, honestly. The actual songs that exist on the album are all solid. Although, the album is padded a bit by what I could only call skits, leading to the album being a bit too long for my liking. None of these skits are bad per se, but they don't really add to the experience either. Still, I do wish that the album was shorter. Other than that, the album's a decent time. It's a little dated, but there are also some parts that have aged surprisingly well. Some of the messages still ring true to this day, and I have to give Ice-T props for having two separate songs on the album with lines that condemn homophobia. Good job Ice-T! So, yeah. Decent album. Solid 3/5.

ovo će neočekivano dobiti trojku od mene, premda sam mislio da će biti puno niže... kao prvo, semplovi su jako jako dobri. zbog toga je i sve nekako raznovrsnije. premda je dužinom zamorno, dinamičnost pomaže da se lakše sve skupa odsluša. a onda pretkraj dođe sasvim nerep stvar, »body count«, koja me potpuno zapanji. i što sve nakon toga reći? dojam je nakraju pozitivan, premda mi se nije svidjelo. evo ti trojka, ledeni čaju, potrudio si se i dalo je neke dobre rezultate

It's weird I know more about Ice-T as an actor or his work in Body Count than his actual rap music. I don't think I could name a single one of his songs before this. Anyways this album is all around good, but not great. Good rapping, good production, good beats, but not much I would consider great. This album is also too long. I appreciate you calling out your friends, but did it need to be 4 1/2 minutes in an already bloated album. This is right on the edge of a 3 and 4 for me, so I guess I'll round up. Low 4.

Not the rapper I think about most often. A real icon though, even though he sold out to Iced Tea Lipton commercials. This one had quite a few bops on it. Especially towards the end it had a lot of nice Rock infused and politically charged songs on it. Probably don't need to listen to the entire thing again, but there's a bunch of worthwile stuff here.

deep album

This wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I found myself enjoying it in parts, particularly Mic Contact with it's horns. It does go on for far too long though and has the usual skits that spoil so many hip hop albums. There's also a bizarre foray into crap rock music, that apparently Ice T has done quite a lot of over the years.

I kinda liked this one. I don’t know why I’ve never seen this album cover before.

Very funny to think I was first introduced to this guy on NBC procedurals.

3 almost 4 for me. Probably my favorite rap album on the list so far.

Review - never really listened to Ice T and had this idea he was corny but this is a pretty good album. Score - 7/10 Need to listen? YES

Its definitely 1991, the skits yikes. The real tracks are good, better rhymes and rhythms, and gets better as it goes. Even the short tracks become bearable. 3.5 rounded up Heard before? No Owned: No. 82/320 (25%) Will I get: No

2.5 no es malo pero no es lo mío

Midnight Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous Body Count Escape From The Killing Field The Tower

I love Law & Order SVU, but this was too much.

Glad that Ice T finally found his true calling acting on Law and Order. It’s not the worst rap I’ve ever heard. But in the pantheon of 90s rap records, it’s not even close to the top. And why is the album so long? Every song is the same flow, tempo, and content. Could have been 40 minutes and I probably would have enjoyed a little more.

Classic gangsta rap from a classic gangsta rapper. "Body Count" has some serious lyrics about the real hardships that he and many from his background face on a daily basis. It's so punk.

Well, it's entertaining for sure. Sometimes, with albums like these, I wonder whether there are people who actually take this stuff seriously or is it all just overexaggerated nonsense for everyone else too?

Listened to half the album. It was alright

Good

While I'm very clearly not the target demographic for this album in any way whatsoever, I do recognize that it's one of the foundational gangsta rap records. Beats and flow wise, it's another rap album that's transitioning from 1980s to 1990s production, and like pretty much every rap album I've ever heard, it'd be better without the skits (thankfully there aren't too many). I did like the "Body Count" track quite a bit, but that might well be because I owned the Body Count album back in the day. Of the more traditionally rap-style tracks, I enjoyed "Mind over Matter," "Straight Up N****," and the title track a lot.

I'm excited for when I finish this challenge and never have to listen to gangster rap again

Nothing really stands out and goes on a bit too long but still decent

It was alright. A bit long

Its odd hearing a rap album and thinking they should have gone with a hard rock album by the same artist but his best work is Body Count. That is not to say this isn't a important or good album but its kind of just average.

pretty fun

He just doesn’t have a voice that i like too much. Kinda sounds like if my uncle sat down to rhyme over some random (not super strong) beats. I expected it to be a little better. Also it’s super long

Great 90s rap, solid messages, highly enjoyed

Another never-ending 70 minutes of hip-hop. Because of some decent ones to the end I give it the weak two stars. favourite: "Body Count", "Escape from the Killing Fields", "Pulse of the Rhyme" 1,5

Takie na 3. Nie urywa w sumie, ale nie jest też złe.

АйсТи весь альбом читает такой типичный классический гэнста-рэп 90-х: пушки, девки, тачки, политикал щит, йоу йоу. А потом в середине вставка из интервью, где он говорит "кстати, мы тут с парнями еще метал делаем и ваще я люблю рок" и дальше играет мощный такой кроссовер-трэш трек, а потом опять гэнста-рэп. Хороший альбом.

"First Impression" kinda writes the review for me. This must've frightened the hell out of some people in the early 90's. He's so blunt in his depiction of things, like the little police scanner section on "Mic Contract". "Midnight" is SO heavy, so sludgy and mean. Classic Levee Breaks drum sample and a totally graphic, hectic story. Chilling and surprisingly timeless production. I am wowed. "M.V.P.s" is a nice personal touch, I love a shoutout record when it's done with love and admiration. Very thoughtful, very well-rounded approach to these songs. ICE-T dips into the life of a gangbanger on one song, then delivers a clever, silly interlude on the next track. "Body Count" being a genuine punk rock anthem is beautiful. He's co-opting the counterculture of white people, reclaiming it's black origin, and bringing said white listeners into the horrors of poor, predominantly black, underserved communities. This level of subversion is totally original for it's time and genre. It's a 4/5. I don't think I'll go back to this one much because it's sound was iterated on in the years after, but this was really well done

Wasn't expecting to like it, but it's pretty cool

Want to know what dogshit sounds like? This record is for you.

muy buenos beats

Uuu, some new old rap! (Oziroma, TIL, da je Ice-T mel heavy metal band?!) Kul začetek s sireno ("Home of the Bodybag"). (My dude, 24 komadov? Čez 70 minut? Ok.) Anyway, všeč mi je prvi. The era of the skits. <3 ("First Impression" je prou kjut.) "Mic Contract" je fakin hud. (Lol, se mi je zdel, da uzad slišim Flavor Flava - dva Public Enemy komada sta kle samplana.) Prelivanje komadov, to sm zmer fan. "O.G. Original Gangster" je hud. O, Led Zeppelin so samplani v "Midnight". Ok, "M.V.P.s" so samo shout-outi drugim rapperjem in rapperkam. Kakšen, km je dons unfortunate (npr. Afrika Bambaataa (ok, nism vedla, tud je umrl, prejšnji mesec), kakšen upsetting (Scott La Rock). O waw, še MC Hammer dobi shout-out na konc. "Body Count", k je s tem njegovim bandom, je zanimiv. Zakaj je sicer to edini non rap komad? "The Tower" sampla theme song od Carpenterjevega filma Halloween, ha. Album se pa zaključi z govorom, kjer med drugim omeni datum in da se je glih vojna verjetno začela - in ma prav, tko dva dni kasneje je bil Operation Desert Storm. Pa lepo zaključi s "fuck you" ljudem of the time, k so si zaslužili. Ej. Vesela sem, da mam zj v mojem poslušalnem repertoarju še en kul hip hop album iz obdobja, k mi je všeč.

Not bad, but not good either. A lot of songs, most with a similar sound. Favorite parts, sadly, were the Black Sabbath and Zeppelin samples.

ура реп! но однообразный альбом какой-то он не сильно выделяется среди остальной хип-хоп музыки 90х

Балл за хэллоуин

1 - TERRIBLE

Hip-hop simply isn't my vibe.

Never been a big fan of the self aggrandizing that comes with old school hip hop as it usually feels performative. The music is enjoyable to listen to however partially due to nostalgia and a lot of the tight drum lines with clean bass that show up in a lot of the songs. T's lyrics take the front stage, he's got decent rhyme schemes and clarity but still rings a little hollow to my ears. A lot of the interlude tracks seem to be played for comedy or lightheartedness, a lot of "candid" conversations thrown in, usually about how T is great and very very real, helps break up the album which is pretty long. I liked Body Count as a genre break as well.

Not my taste but it was genuinely great

Nope nope

Pues lo escuché de fondo y no me molestó

A fiercer set of rhymes would be hard to find. Ice T has got a lot of things to get off his chest, and you WILL hear them being catalogued.

When it's good, it's *good*, but unfortunately for me there's just a little bit too much filler, the interludes/skits are tedious, and some songs just overstay their welcome.

1/5 primeiro que não consegui terminar.

First time listening to this album. I’ve always loved New Jack Hustler but have always listened to it on the movie soundtrack. This album was pretty good though.

This is a really great album. So many bad rap albums on this, but this one is top

Often overlooked when talking about the 80s giants (your Rakims, your Big Daddy Kanes, your Public Enemies, Beastie Boys or Run DMCs), Ice T can comfortably stand against anyone, at least for his cultural impact and as a West Coast pioneer. That said, *this* album is a testament to his rap ability and song craftsmanship. While it is a bit overlong and songs tend to overlap somewhat, it never gets boring as there are at least 8 banging tracks spread out with some funny skits in between. Album also has a rock/metal track that severs as jumping point for Ice T's metal group of the same name. Just spectacle all around.

After listening to home of the body bag, I definitely felt like this album was gonna turn into a slog to listen. But pretty much right after first impression I was hooked. This album was catchy as hell.

Honestly went into it expecting not to like it much but was pleasantly surprised. A surprising amount of range.

Pretty much what I expected,could have been anyone of a hundred different gangster rap performers. Except that there were fewer swear words and fewer 'niggers' mentioned. Not my thing, and un noteworthy. 1

Thank you Mr T for explaining the over use of the N-bomb by you and your genre more broadly. Very eloquently put. And you are right, you do have freedom of speech. And yes, I will stay off your dick. But, I will never enjoy your music, your aggression, misogyny, ego or glorification of gang culture. So kindly stay off my dick too. Thank you.

Not another rap album with some more 'With a niggga nigga here, a nigga nigga there, and a bitches, bitches here and a bitches bitches there, old Ice T had a rant, eeyi eeyi oh!' What a load of old farm fertiliser.

No.

Nostalgic 90s rap

Toch liever Fuze Tea

This was quite good, I Ice-T's rapping and lyrics, he keeps up a strong level of intensity throughout and touches on a lot of themes from the gangster world. There's a nice variety of beats as well. Not 5*, it's a bit long and my interest waned a little, but a good 4

How much i liked it 1/5 How good Ice T is at his chosen art 5/5

I swear sometimes, y'know what I'm sayin'? I swear when i shut my hand in a door, y'know what I'm sayin'? or to make a forceful point, y'know what I'm sayin'? Sometimes I just swear cos it amuses me, y'know what I'm sayin'? But I don't particularly like the music I listen to to be a constant stream of swearing, y'know what I'm sayin'? So fuck you, Mr. fucking wanky-name Ice-T, you cunt.

More lyrical than musical but really enjoyed this. Seems a proper rapper. 4

This is roughly my tenth hip hop album from this era, and I’ve been mixed to poor on the reviews. Everything so far has been corny, crude, misogynistic and dated. This one is refreshing in a lot of ways, it’s fast, clever, subversive, challenging, and despite its length holds up throughout. Never heard this before verrry good!

Some half decent backing tracks but I really don’t connect with this genre

amazing

Highlights: Mind Over Matter and Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last Year. A lot of this didn’t quite do it for me. Old school hip hop is hit or miss and this is no run dmc

Way too long and seemed very dated. I could care less about all the mentions in M.V.P. The only thing that was interesting was Body Count - mainly for the guitar and drum work on it - now an album like that would be much better than this one. I think you could lose every guest artist song on this album(less Body Count) and the and have a better album. And just how many times does anyone need to hear "O.G. Orginal Gangster" in a row? 40 is way too many - I think he could have gotten by with 9!

Guns, violence, misogyny, ‘Look at me, I’m amazing’… This record seems to capture everything I hate about this genre’s leanings, which is its only achievement as far as I’m concerned. But then I can’t help thinking I’m probably not really Ice T’s key demographic. Tedious, egotistical, rubbish, but each to their own, eh?

Tiresome. How can it be good when the topic of your art is so blatantly you. A self-aggrandising load of old bollocks. I daresay you could beat me in a knife fight, gun fight, dick measuring or whatever but not very bothered thanks Ice-T

actual rapping is quite good, lyrics are all over the place, but the beats are just really not doing it for me.

Pleasantly surprised by this. Aware of Ice T of course from Law and Order and also his song Cop Killer, but never spent time with his hip hop. Really enjoyed the fresh blend of fast paced lyrics over some rockish backing. A little long for my liking but he packed it with a lot of interesting songs, riffs, and themes.

It's fine. I'm not a huge fan of his vocal style, but his lyrics are on point for the time. I can't say it's terribly relevant to today's time. It's fine. Album cover is atrocious. Just bad.

Jájá, ekki það að gangster rapp geri neitt fyrir mig, en þetta var svo sem heilt yfir ekki leiðinlegt. Nenni ég samt öðrum umgangi? Æi nei. 2,6 eða 2,4?

Hard-core unk rap. But it was great, really enjoyed it.

2.5 - Meh

296/1089 First Impression is kinda iconic icl otherwise, it was a chill listen but just not really for me so a bit middling faves: OG Original Gangster, The Tower 51/100

Pleasant surprise. Thought it was going to be one of those awfully dated gangsta-rap albums, but it does feel sincere. Most songs are great. An underrated gem.

O,G, Original Gangster is the fourth studio album from LA-based rapper Ice-T, who went on to a very successful acting career after establishing his musical success. This album is regarded as the best of his recorded work. Ice-T creates eloquent rants set to a looped break beat. Some of the tracks show an introspective, thoughtful side, like "Mind over Matter." Unfortunately, most focus on a celebration of violence: "Home of the Bodybag," "Body Count," and "Street Killer."

Dislike this music so much. Tough man bragging does nothing for me.

I bought this CD when it came out, in a longbox, I'm an OG.

Top notch rap album.

Bro. Why are rap albums so long. Ts is sooo repetitive omg every time i think the song is gonna end it just continues Body count was so unexpected lol

I really don’t like gangster rap

Cool album! I never expected to say that about a rap record, but this is both funny and musically really well done Body Count is a great rap/rock song that's made it into my collection now, but I'll be listening to the whole collection again very soon

Was nice to hear him and consider the time period this was in.

I felt nostalgia listening to this album. Thanks for the trip on memory lane. I was going to say I liked him better as an actor, but that's not true either. He seems like a good, hard working guy. I respect that.

Gangsta rap.

Favorite Track: OG Original Gangster

A classic.

Not a big fan of 80s rap (i know this is 91 but it's def 80s coded) but Ice-T kinda won me back with the creative lyrics and funny punchlines. This is one of those dope occurrences where the rapper outshines the instrumental. Love how he mixed genres and stayed true to what he knew. I'd give this a 3.6-3.7 but I'm just gonna round up. Highlights: Straight Up Nigga, Escape The Killing Fields, The Tower

If this was shorter, I probably would have enjoyed this more, because there really are some interesting beats and samples and sounds, and his flow and tone varies quite a bit, too. But it does often settle into some kinda stale rhythms and rhymes. So, liked it both more and less than I expected. 3/5

The last album I reviewed (Beck, Sea Change) I praised for being unapologetically vulnerable. I'd say this album does the same thing in a VERY different way. There's almost no filter to be found within a hundred miles of Ice T. Body Count is an awesome fusion of genres and was a great prelude to the band of the same name. This album does it all and it does it well

This album gets what it gets because though seminal in the history of rap, especially “gangster rap”, it has only the barest most incipient touches of the creativity that hip hop would grow into. Everything, the lyrics, the nursery rhyme schemes, the delivery, the production, and the ideas, everything sounds dated. I mean can today’s Ice T even support the albums violent, anti police themes after having made millions of dollars playing a police officer on tv for over a decade? Does the justification of the use of the word “bitches”, don’t worry ladies he calls men “butches” too so it’s okay, hold up under any modern logical scrutiny? However beyond all this and in no way impacting my score, I find the use of the “N” word problematic for me as a white listener. This is bound to come up again if virtually any other rap albums are featured on this list so let me address it specifically once. The totality of this album is noticeably light on the use of this word by modern rap standards but there is an entire song dedicated to its use so it feels appropriate to comment on this here. At once there is the very obvious difficulty that listening to this music creates an environment in which I have to repeatedly hear a word that I do not want to and cannot repeat which is almost the exact stated purpose of a song, to get stuck in your head. I was raised in some poor parts of the South, and I have heard this word said more to me in person by people of all shades than I ever need to have heard it. It is a hateful, debasing word to me no matter whose mouth it is in, and I simply cannot understand, rationalize, or support its use by anyone. Arguments that it is somehow a reclamation of a hate word by the oppressed do not hold water with me. It’s not an a word appropriated by the oppressors from some vestige of common black culture. It’s a word of the slavers, of the unjustifiable time when men fully believed they could own another human being to be treated like a lesser animal. These ideas and this word need to come to an end. It is a remnant of a bygone time that we are all best healing from and leaving behind. It is a label of “other” that is unsustainable in our globally connected era. Never again should anyone live in fear of being owned. This is not to say that the experiences of Africans at the hands of European and American slavers should never be forgotten. Let it forever be a cautionary tale of the inhumanity that humans can visit upon other humans, but letting it become a cultural identity serves no one.

Was ready to hate this, but it turned out to be pretty funky for a rap album.

Not really my genre at all, but this was rather fun to listen to. A bit long and it certainly started to feel like that after a while, but Mr T has enough style going on to save the album from a low grade

This exceeded all of my expectations. I mostly know Ice-T as Odafin Tutuola (SVU obviously) and didn’t know his music well. This is awesome. So fast, so clever, so lyrically dense.

There’s so many better rap classics, this one seems very uninteresting.

This is a cool ass album. The beats are dope, the vibe is immaculate and he drops some bars. Enjoyed it! 8/10 [KEEP]

Sounds a bit dated over the decades, which I guess is normal, but the way he here and their bites the styles (and partly lyrics) of other rappers (Rakim, Beastie Boys) is pretty revealing. But all in all a timeless classic.

man...

Not my thing.

Really insightful and dense with content. An hour long album can be difficult to stay interesting but the musical and lyrical variety makes this fun and moving the whole way through.

Et ålreit west coast hip hop-album. Synes produksjonen er jevnt godt hele veien gjennom. Litt for langt og uten de virkelige høydepunktene, men helt innafor. Top 3: Home of the Bodybag, Bitches 2, Fly By

Things really started going downhill for me during the trumpet in bitches 2?? its so weird. I loved body count so much though that this one gets a 3- really highlights the thoughtful elements of this album that stood out.

On the surface level I dislike this album, the music feels very samey because I struggle to appreciate it and as of many rap albums, it's just jammed with expletives and derogation that for me, detract from some of the important messages this form of music conveys. I well understand that these things I dislike are pretty much a convention of rap - its just not quite to my taste. There were however parts of the album that I could appreciate, especially the way in which his individual personality came through - his evident sense of humour, refreshingly truthful perspective on poverty's link to criminalisation and reclaiming of his own story (maybe slightly over confidently). However, respect can't force me to enjoy something, the listening process felt strenuous at times, but, I did really like the woman, whoever she may be, she brought some well needed breaks. Oh, and Ice T's real name is Tracy, that's unreasonably funny to me.

I was really hoping for a law and order jail cell ‘Chung Chung’ between tracks, but this was still more than a religious experience anyway. This dude is the supreme. What can’t he do? I have to give him the deserved props.

Well there we have it - served up THREE American c(rap) albums in SIX. days. I now know beyond doubt what genre dominates and pollutes this list and why my average star rating is 2.62. 1/5 27/2/26

Excellent 90s rap. This album is a treasure trove of great beats. The music is similar to the aggressive style of Public Enemy, but less maximalist and chaotic. There are still nice details in the beats, but there’s enough space to allow you to hear everything and appreciate it. Fantastic production. Ice-T switches between conscious rap and gangsta rap, and… I want to say pop rap. There’s nothing particularly ‘pop’ about this album, but there’s something about the way he crafts his persona that reminds me of a pop star. He creates this larger-than-life personality in his songs that later artists like Eminem, Kanye, and Kendrick have all done their own version of. I’m thinking specifically of the songs where he says things like, “I know I’m not supposed to say this but…” The lyrics are in-your-face and his delivery is very clear. The spotlight is definitely on him and his rapping. He wants you to catch every word. Overall, it’s a little dated and there are some silly skits between tracks. But there’s lots to appreciate and enjoy. And he was clearly very influential.

Really nice album cover, I love the fonts / type and overall composition. The parental advisory card could use a little bit of margin space to the left of it but that's ok! Good voice, flow, beats, & production, but not my favorite lyricist. Sometimes I feel like he just writes down a bunch of tough guy gangsta words and phrases and then random places them on paper and that's a song. While listening, often I'll get to the end of a song and not really get much of what it was about besides "he's tough" and "he's a gangsta". Not that that is incredibly unique to him as it's definitely super prevalent in rap from this era, but I don't know, maybe it just doesn't come across as authentic when it's him singing. "Mind Over Matter" is a great example of this and ironically it's lyrics are about writing lyrics.. and it's just kind of bad and corny. It sounds really amateurish. "O.G. Original Gangster" is the big track on this album and sheesh does this one feel inauthentic too. I also think his flow really breaks down in this track as there's often so many times where he does a rhythm or cadence and repeats the same exact rhythm throughout the track (and rest of his songs really) so you almost can mimic his inflection because it's so repetitive. And then there's several times on this track where he rushes his flow to squeeze in some lyrics in a phrase and it comes across as really sloppy. "Evil-E What About Sex" kind of sucks too. "Me and the boys want to hear you rap about sex, Ice, please? Come on bro please?" Is this a real conversation that happens in studios between rappers? "Fly By" on the other hand sounds great, with fast in-your-face rapid fire vocal sections that are exciting and super tight. Unfortunately, it features two other rappers and they are the ones that elevate the rapping. Cool Black Sabbath sample on "Midnight". 2/5 for me. Ice-T is obviously one of the more famous rappers from this era and I'm sure he deserves an album on this list, but I'm just not really sold.

An important album in the development of rap. But doesn’t hold up, flow feels simplistic now.

I didn’t like most of this.

I’ve heard this before. I love rap from this era as I’ve said before. This differs from a lot of gangsta rap from the time in that I didn’t catch any of the blatant misogyny in most of the other gangsta rap from this time and he seems to be more making fun of it than anything. I wasn’t able to pay close attention to the lyrics and it’s a 72 minute album that I don’t have time for a close relisten, so maybe I missed some bad stuff. There’s a decent amount of cutting humor in here, and the Body Count track is great (especially with the lead in where he says rock n roll is Black music). Only complaint is that the final track is an outro rather than a song, but that’s pretty common for 90s hip hop. So I’ll excuse it and give it a 5

Fav- midnight 2/5

how many law and order jokes are there

Never really explored Ice T before, I don’t mind his music but I prefer other rap styles in truth. The album is too long but it does get interesting toward the end with Bodycount, which is a straight up rock song and the album transforms into something a little different from there on.

I honestly thought this was going to be vanilla ice, so I was slightly disappointed going into this. This was okay. I do just find these sorts of albums repetitive. It was quite funny at points, and bitches 2 may be a feminist anthem. I don’t know whether this is just one of the first but there are so many LA crime stereotypes that now just feel overdone to be rapping about. I think this sounds of it’s time and that’s good.

This was alright, didn't make a massive impression on me. I appreciated the point of the album but I didn't feel particularly moved by it sonically or lyrically.

Not my style but interesting and clever lyrics :))

3/10 Another horrible rap album. It was going to be a difficult day for anyone, following the Greatest album I've heard so far (Blood on the Tracks), but this is in a different universe. One of violence, bad language, ignorance, vile attitudes and sex. It's offensive to the ear, to the brain and to the heart.

It sounds a bit dated now but it’s listenable rap music of its time.

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I'd never really listened to him before.

He needs some cool tunes, not just any will suffice But they didn't have Ice-T, so he bought Vanilla Ice.

Gangsta Rap. Why? 24 largely indistinguishable tracks. Only hightlight is the sampling on Black Sabbath on the track "Midnight".

I like west coast rap a lot, but this Ice T album doesn't really do much for me. His voice blends into the beat a lot, which makes his already relatively bland voice stand out even less. Did Bitches 2 really need to be here? The House was a good track, but the What About Sex interlude afterwards gave me whiplash.

mja

I like that he talks about his fear of flying . Real shit

I definitely prefer 90s rap compared to 00s and later rap. This was not bad. I enjoyed the listen. My only complaint might be that it was a bit long. I remember Body Count from the 90s. Used to be a firm favorite request on the dancefloor when I was Dj'ing. Forgot all about it. Standout songs were Ziplock and Body Count. 3 stars

Old school. I can see why white America was terrified by this guy back in the day. Great spin

you know what I'm sayin'

Intéressante découverte mais je ne réécouterais pas.

Who knew the guy from Law and Order could rap? I honestly didn't know what to expect, but this was pretty cool. Sure it felt like 1991 but that was also a cool throwback. Enjoyed it but it did overstay its welcome just a tad.

Stressig. Hätte mehr erwartet. Wieviele Titel kann ein Album haben?

Hard to judge for me. I thought it was going to feel long but the switch up near the end to rock in body count. It felt at times like there was too much glamour or fantasising on violence and not enough reflection (which was present in places).

The production is very sophisticated throughout; modern beats which other rappers of the early 90s would have killed for. I appreciate the social conscience of the lyrical content when it moves beyond braggadociousness. The overall effect is surprisingly friendly given the “gangster” label. Gangster rap has a sensitive side. If I was to critique this I’d say the rapping itself is decent, but not mind blowing, and the project is overlong with several of the songs covering similar ground. I was happy to see the inclusion of his heavy metal side project though - impressive range.

Ice T gets a low 4 from me, the lyrics are hit and miss for me but i really enjoy everything about the instrumental production, sounds like some of the best boom bap i’ve heard

Ice-T has something to say that has some value about the sociocultural conditions of being a G. Unfortunately, he says it for way too long and a bit too one-note. I like some of the songs, but wouldn’t really put on the album to listen in whole. The beats aren’t particularly strong (though are a bit hard) and it all starts to sound a bit dated.

It was good but not my favorite definitely a low 3

Du rap avec quelques originalités (une instru de piano sympa à un moment) mais qui reste basique

J’aime les instru hip hop mais c’est pas mon préf (la voix me touche moins que d’autres artistes je pense). En revanche, j’aime bien quand il joue dans law and order haha

Hip hop très sympa

po achei bem bom o ice T tava 100% em dia nesse álbum com o tema

pedradaça, hein só flowzão violento, letra pedrada e beats bão demais com uma pegada de metal e hardcore. bacana demais, mto bem feito. body count eh fortíssima!!

Would have got a 4 but didn't include the SVU theme.

Absolute RELIC

I had never heard Ice T's music outside of a Body Count album, but I was surprised with how coherent and in your face this record is. It's very easy to imagine his music and Ice Cube's being in conversation with each other. It's brash and loud and not all of the lyrics have aged particularly well, but it's definitely a compelling listen.

nope.

1. home - 1 2. firzt - 0 3. zip - 1 4. contract - 2 5. mind - 1 6. huztler - 1 7. ed - 0 8. bitchez - 0 9. niga - 1 10. gangzter - 2 11. houze - 1 12. zez - 0 13. fly - 1 14. midnight - 1 15. chicken - 0 16. mvp - 2 17. rich - 2 18. body - 0 19. die - 0 20. fieldz - 1 21. killer - 0 22. ryhme - 0 23. touuer - 1 24. year - 0

Favorite songs: New Jack Hustler (Nino’s Theme), O.G. Original Gangster

I can see how this was an important and controversial album when it was released. A building block of modern rap and lyrics that pushed against a lot of "civil society". The rapping doesn't feel smooth, however. Some songs are poignant an reflective, others are just not great. A mixed bag for sure.

it really grows on you

Hmmm. Well, this album was controversial when it came out and it still can raise a hackle listening now. This was the first time I ever listened to an Ice-T album that wasn’t Body Count. Same idea, less metal riffing. Personally, this ain’t my culture so it doesn’t resonate as much, except maybe First Impression and OG, which was totally speaking my truth…or dreams. Whatever. Bitches was kind of funny as it seemed liked a response to Queen Latifah’s UNITY. I do appreciate how the music and rapping changed up across the album, from the slow OG to the uptempo Fly By, which was a pretty good track. I get why it’s here. Collectively it’s a good album and great production. I just don’t think it’s do me any more. Watching Ice T as a cop on TV or doing geriatric commercials, I don’t think it’s him anymore either….

Random thoughts: * I was kind of pissed at this album choice, thinking it wasn't the right Ice T album, but then they had the Bodycount preview song and this was a worthy addition to this collection for time capsule purposes with both gangsta rap covered and the rock/rap crossover he is also know for. * I prefer the Bodycount album but this was a pretty good listen. There was plenty interesting going on. * The crudeness of this music has to be overlooked which is problematic. * Anyway, solid choice with the Bodycount, the New Jack City song, and some of Ice T's signature gangster rap. Really captured the place and time.

Classic rap album. Aged pretty well compared to a lot of rap albums from that era.

So not my thing, but seems okay for something I've got no feeling for

like it

Maybe its good rap? IDK

Not really up my alley, but it eo got something

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. At first I kind of felt like it was cheesy (and it for sure is at times) but its also pretty freaking cool. The beats are really good, I really like the way he uses the turntables. Lyrics are good (and problematic at times). This is a really solid rap album though. Body Count is super sick. I love that he went all in Black Sabbath style rock music.

Rough. On the one hand it's got some nonsense that clearly he doesn't believe in. On the other it's got some stuff he truly does believe in.

For an album made in 1991 this was about as 80s rap as it gets. Filled with boombastic west coast beats and a straight forward rhyming style. But while it sounded a little dated the content was not. Interesting how Ice was ahead of the curb with how women are portrayed in gangsta rap by praising them VS degrading them. He also tackled various political and societal themes that came off informed and strong. Lastly, it was cool for him to have a Bodycount song towards the end. A little weird that he had to explain what the hell he was doing but the commentary and the song got into an album that also had classics like New Jack Hustler, Bitches 2 and the title track.

not my taste but i like body count 🔥

This Ice T has a bad aftertaste—the tea is watered down, with way too much artificial sweetener, used to conceal the lack of taste.

DNF - don't think this one is for me. It's hard to take this album serious because it dated so poorly. "i'm the illest"??? ik it's the slang of the era but this just isn't for me and that's okay!

A classic, but not so much my thing.

some of the instrumentals were fun but just not a fan overall

01) Home of the Bodybag - 7,0 02) First Impression - / 03) Ziplock - 7,0 04) Mic Contract - 6,0 05) Mind Over Matter - 6,5 06) New Jack Hustler (Nino's Theme) - 6,5 07) Ed - 6,0 08) Bitches 2 - 6,0 09) Straight Up Nigga - 5,5 10) O.G. Original Gangster - 7,0 11) The House - / 12) Evil E - What About Sex? - / 13) Fly By - 5,5 14) Midnight - 5,0 15) Fried Chicken - 5,0 16) M.V.P.s - 5,5 17) Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous - 5,5 18) Body Count - 5,0 19) Prepared to Die - / 20) Escape from the Killing Fields - 5,5 21) Street Killer - / 22) Pulse of the Rhyme - 5,5 23) The Tower - 6,0 24) Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last Year - 1,0 TOTAL: 5,63 (56/100) Current ranking: 731/860

A LOT better than I expected - A LOT - but still pretty stupid without much to redeem it. I would be impressed if anyone is still listening to this by choice.

It's nice to see Ice T represented in this collection, and while this isn't a great album (and definitely *way* too long), it seems like a good selection from his fairly lengthy discography (especially if you include Body Count). Like so many late 80s/early 90s rap albums, music definitely takes a distant back seat to the lyrics, but at least Ice T is a good storyteller, and the tracks rarely stick exclusively to the stereotypical gangster themes of sex and violence (thankfully, as they're not very good when they do). The best of the lot for me are "New Jack hustler", the title track, the PE-influenced "Fly by", "Midnight" (mainly because it samples Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath", a nice crossover), and the depressing "The tower"; I really wanted to enjoy "Body count", his introduction to his rock/rap/metal/funk band, but I was surprised how weak that track was. Reading up on this album was also a nice reminder of his fairly extensive film and television career (for example, I had no idea that he's played the role of Odafin Tutuola since 2000 on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", which qualifies him as the longest-running male series actor in American TV history), and unlike his fellow SoCal rapper/actor Ice Cube, Ice T hasn't descended into weird and sad conspiracy theories and questionable politics.

Hasn't aged well. I did enjoy a few of the samples along the way.

Loved the production, beats and bassline. Good grief, so smooth and funky. Didn't love the lyrics. Not necessarily the subject matter; it's hard-hitting and conscious, far more meaningful than a lot of gangsta rap but it's hard to get through some of these tracks, and absolutely essential to skip the tiresome skits that also help to bloat this album out to a whopping and unnecessary 72 minutes. Trim it down to 40-50 mins of highlights and it's a masterpiece.

When I think of hip hop this is about what it sounds like. 3.6/5

Total mince

A pretty cool album!

It's alright

Some good, stuff some meh. Not bad.

I think I was expecting a bit more

Very simple rhyming schemes on most songs

Best Ice T album. Not a big rap fan so downgraded rating. Still enjoyed listening and understand why it is on the list. 0 songs added to playlist.

A disturbing depiction of life in South Central LA delivered with more thought and perspective than I expected. Might have benefited from being truncated a bit, but a compelling and interesting listen.

Wow this was so so good. I loved it.

This album was so much better than expected. Really enjoyed it, have a lot more respect for Ice T now

Dang, what a baller album

I'm sure it hit hard back in the day, but comes across as corny now.

There’s so many better gangsta rap albums from the 90’s….stick to Law and Order. It’s not all bad, but way too long, and sounds dated and corny. Likes: Mic Contract, New Jack Hustler, Body Count

I never imagined I would listen to 72 minutes of an Ice-T album, but here we are. It was ok, pretty typical gangsta rap.