Reviews (page 6 of 8)
I don’t hate or even dislike any of it, but I find it to be quite boring. His flow is fine, but his timbre is unspectacular. And it’s soooo long. I can’t imagine sitting through this whole thing again. 2.5/5
Somehow struggled to get into any of these
Before his long-standing role as a detective on Law and Order SVU, Ice T was a gangster. Not just any gangster, but the Original Gangster! Haha do you get it, I referenced the title. In all seriousness, he was one of the original innovators on the genre of gangster rap by utilizing hardcore hip-hop to put a life of violence and crime in the forefront of the music. Quality is pretty consistent throughout the record, but it rarely feels as though there's a true standout track. Ice T is not the most memorable or impressive rapper from this time, but his stone-cold personality is easily his most enduring feature. This is best-utilized on the song Midnight where the darker production lends exceptionally well to Ice T's delivery, leading to a frankly unnerving track that borders on horrorcore. Also hard not to like the song M.V.P.S. where he takes time to shoutout major name in hip hop, really cool. Incredibly funny is the crossover thrash song Body Count, which has Ice T dabbling in hardcore punk with a the band which is also called Body Count. The result is okay. For all that this album has to offer, it definitely runs too long for it's own good. Regardless, I think Ice T has a lot of great things to say, especially by closing the album condemning Operation Desert Storm and the prison industrial complex in America. I got a lot of respect for Ice T, and this album cements that.
I wish this scored higher because I really liked it. Sadly the numbers don't like and although I lived every track not enough of them were memorable and it sits just below the threshold for a four star. Favourite track: Mind Over Matter.
I feel l have to start off by saying this album could have cut some of the shorter songs/skits and it would not have made the album any worse. Editorial discretion can be your friend. "Body Count" is a great song though and it shows how versatile Ice-T is as an MC and artist. What I enjoyed about this album is how Ice-T doesn't screw up the songs by trying to include too many sonic tricks and just rap. It makes the songs stronger because it puts the focus on the lyrics. I think this is an album that is worthy of being on this list, because this is (another) great example of early 90's rap which became so focused on social issues, but the media just covered the violent and misogynist messages.
Suburban white boy rap. The second half with Bodycount is better. Definitely not as good as Snoop, Dre, Tupac, etc. but not too terrible.
Interesting tone coming from a member of NYPD's special victims unit. Solid beats.
I liked it. Fun listen even if silly bravado at times. I like these beats from the late 80s / early 90s
This is ok. Glad I had an opportunity to listen.
Im down with the Iceberg.
This made for a pretty fun and interesting listen. It’s deliberately self-aware but also hits on some heavy themes. There’s dialogue interspersed throughout the album, often for comedic effect.
This is worthy of being on the list just for feeling different. This is wild energy. It's intense and never slows down. MVPs is just an acceptance speech. The lyrics are nonstop and all over the place. This is comically too long. It almost has an intermission when they talked about being halfway through the album.
The mixing is a little manic on the opening track. He has a great voice but the beats are kind of weak. Mind Over Matter brings something interesting. Just over half way and this just feels over saturated with a repetitive sound. Midnight at least sounds different again and fun having a story, but It's too long. I'm not here for an audio book. M.V.P.s a strange check list of rap. Just put this in the liner notes. The waveforms of most of these tracks just look like a big rectangle. Body Count, okay like a hard-core song. Interesting. There is too much. Pulse of the Rhyme is alright, but he just doesn't feel locked in on the track. The Tower, did John Carpenter get paid? Well a nice anti war message. Overall this was a tedious listen. It did sound better in the car.
This album was not made for a white guy in his 40s, however I really liked it. I remember when Ice T was front and center with conservative dried up politicians. Early hip hop is so different than today. Ice T's lyrics cut and the samples are awesome. Really enjoyed this one.
This is fun, but it feels so corny and dated looking back from 2024. Ice T has talent for sure but this album just isn’t that interesting.
It's dated but . . . the beats are fire.
I was so hungover when I got this, and while that isn't Mr T's fault, it did mean that I entered it with extreme trepidation. I shouldn't have though! It was definitely one of the best rap and hip-hop albums I've had so far. Full of really powerful brass and genuinely quite funny skits (First Impressions is the absolute bomb). There's obviously horrible overcurrents of sexism and glorification of violence that loses lots of marks, but in general, surprisingly good.
I've never been a huge Ice T fan but these 1991 beats were just filthy
Gutted not to be on the list of Certified Players.
Best Song: New Jack Hustler. I like the uptempo rhythm, the scratching is good, and Ice T has a relentless, downhill kind of delivery here. Worst Song: M.V.P.s. Feels weird to have this kind of shoutout track fully in the middle of the album. Close it out with the credits. Overall: It's pretty good, if not dated. Things like the skits feel very "of the era", but at least the skits are largely funnier than a lot of its contemporaries.
Ice T is the flyist, dopest, muthafucka and I am totally on his dick
fine. I am not a huge rap fan.
there is a vibe but it is not a vibe that i vibe to, i kinda like Mind over Matter though.
Great album! Didn’t listen to Ice T back in the day, he just wasn’t in my rotation. I really liked it, but it seems long… I remember Body Count as a crossover hit with the heavy metal sound.
Well this was a surprise Great energy from start to finish Did not expect to like this anywhere near as much as I did
Rap not my style
Okee aso de erst song isch chli weird. I ha irgendwie rap erwartet und nöd eifach en beat. Hahahaha first impression isch jo meega funny Okee es goht eifach viel drum wie er krass isch aber finds no funny bis etz. Hald classic old-school rap Okee es isch bitz langwiilig etz. So jo i checks bisch en gangster. Fuuuck i ha gad gseh es isch meh als e stund lang😭
ich glaub er hett sich ned ungern gwaltverherrlichung und selbstverherrlichung gönd hand in hand aber d'beats sind insaaaane. und mich hetts eppe 5 mal verhaue und er isch in rick and morty... stabile 4
sie hend afoch en echte rapper gmacht usem rick and morty character. er seit mega viel ice t. aaah sie isch on his dick? beats sind seeehr cool. mind over matter isch chilliger und find ee beat wieder siiick. new jack hustler findi chli ehner 80er nervöse scheiss find er isch nöd soo en guete storyteller. plus s lied heisst bitches 2?? piano iwürf gönd no hard findi. über de nöchst song segi nüt isch oke? original gangster isch sehr viel jo ich bi soooo krass. i guess er pionier vo dem aber meh. "i was at the disco" uuuuh hard man gangster hahaha wa sex rhymes. hä "i fucked her" hahaha oke bitz funny? midnight samplet zeppelin goht hard. fried chicken beat huere cool. mvps isch afoch credits findi no nice. body cound huere geil er afoch rock huuuuere geil. drumsolo meeega aaaasss hahahahaha aber song isch sehr coool! gitarrist cha tschutte huiii Prepared to die goht no hard afoch gesprochenes wort. escape from the killing fields isch straight up huere politisch und geil. antirassismus und klassekampf time. ice t het zimli viel checkt. pulse of rhyme huere geile beat wieder, text macht nöd mega viel aber vibe stimmt mega. gun tower au wieder hert politisch. letste track anti irak krieg. und anti gun violence. söavery has been abolished except for the convicted felon. huiiii. fuck the police, alli andere au bush. huuuuere geile schluss.
ich lieb de ice t hahahahah de beat goht duuuuum also findi sini stimm so naja, er redt eifach chli iwie?? new jack hustler richtig cool, au wenns nacheme ziitli chli alt wird hahaha n-n-n-n-new jack-jack-jack hustler-hustler-hustleeeeeer MIDNIGHT MITEM BLACK SABBATH SAMPLE HARDDD also das isch ja es prequel zumene andere wichtige song vom icet, musses na mit lyrics ahluege (das woni ghört han, het mich jz nöd megaa überzügt) BODYYYCOUNNTTTT hahaha finds no cool mit dem interview usschnitt wege body count ja es isch z lang und es isch voll oke aber halt nöd meh
I only knew of Ice T from Law and Order SVU. I did not expect to like the music but I did like it despite its language. Mind Over Matter was my favorite track.
Felt one note in voice throughout the album, and fat longer than necessary, but musically it's all there.
This is a long album but wow, is it good. A lot of usual rap posturing, but also a lot of social and racial commentary. The album opened strong with Home of the Bodybag. New Jack Hustler is another standout, although I could do with all the repetition at the end of the track. Ed’s Dead was just a funny little song. I thought I would hate Bitches 2, but it was hysterical. Damn, Ice-T can tell a funny story! The title track is another phenomenal song. Fly By showed some amazing lyrical skills by Ice and the guest rappers. Body Count was a nice surprise; wasn’t expecting the hard rock song here. I knew Ice had a rock band but haven’t heard any of it. Loved it! The Tower and its sampling of the Halloween soundtrack was another pleasant surprise for me. The rest of the tracks were good, the above were the standouts for me. MVPs was my least favorite. Like a lot of rap albums, this one had skits. The skits were a mix of talking and short songs. I normally hate skits but these were pretty funny. This album is a clear 5.
I die harder than Bruce Willis!
As someone who listened to nothing but rap between ‘89 and ‘93 and would consider myself very knowledgeable of the genre at that time, I never took Ice-T seriously. I have since learned a bit about his formative years and understand he was on his own at a young age, and was brought into the worlds or drug dealing and prostitution as a teen. That said, I was never able to take him seriously as a rapper. He has always seemed more like a caricature than the real deal, and I can’t say why. I will say the beats on Mic Contract and OG are smoking’, and New Jack Hustler is one of the best rap songs of that era. However, some of it definitely sounds like he heard Straight Outta Compton and told his producers to get some of that on his new album. Ultimately, I just can take him seriously.
La réponse de Ice T a ce qui doit constituer un album hip hop et à ce qu'implique la vie de "gangster" aux États-Unis ; entre l'humour pseudo-candide, la critique sociale pointe (même si certains clichés subsistent). J'ai personnellement aimé la chanson rock, sûrement parce que c'est mon genre de prédilection
Rap from era I like rap best, am a sucker for Public Enemy around that time and this does resemble it musically a lot,
2.5
Not for me
A solid album which falls into a number of hip hop traps, some of which were possibly Ice T innovations - shout out tracks, tracks promoting side projects (in this case Ice T's band Body Count), tiresome skits and a run time that's far too long. Onto the positives - Ice T has credibility on both the East Coast (born and raised in New Jersey) and the West (moved to LA after losing first his mother, then his father at a young age) and fuses both styles together. It keeps the album interesting. Ice is clearly a disciple of hip hop, respecting the history and recognising the new and this informs the music. The beats are quality, if a little similar at times. What's especially striking is his social observations - this is a man with something to say and is unafraid to say it. A manifesto for young black men and women to express themselves unashamedly. There are more messages of positivity and self worth within than many were finding in schools, work and society. Overall, an impressive, belligerent and important album.
Once again, rap, to me, is just missing the "C" at the beginning of the word. But then, it wasn't intended for Boomers, was it?
Tem a música com um minuto, tem as guitarras no body count, mas ainda não funciona para mim um disco com mais de uma hora de rap.
"I heard on Kotaku it was better than Civ 5 with the Brave New World expansion pack" - Ice-T, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Early gangster rap is pretty funny. Ice T spells a lot of words out to make rhymes, like "The I, the C, the E, the T," or "M-I-C." And apparently everyone was trying to kill him.
Gonna pass on this. It's Sunday for goodness sake.
Look, I bought Body Count's debut back then and still own it, with Cop Killer on it, but I grew up in a rural German town, riding my bike, listening to Thrash and Prog Rock. The most Gangsta I'd been by '91 was to hide from my parents that I had, legally, started smoking. I have never listened to much of this music, certainly not for 72 minutes straight. I don't know what to do here. It's... aight? Cool sampling? Probably important, too. I will say I kinda like this Ice-T fellow. Better than the other two Ices. Uhm. 4 stars, so when there's more of this coming up, I've already shown my due appreciation*. Ha! (* in earnest. I don't relate to it, but I did need to hear this album - as a societal and musical slice of time - while being entertained well enough and that's a +1)
Pass
Cutting music
Es un álbum conceptual, pero con música que no es de mi estilo.
I really don't like rap. I expected to listen to half of 5-6 tracks, write this off as a 1-2 star album, and move on. To my surprise, I listened to all of the 72 minutes of this album without ever feeling the urge to skip anything. Even the 'skits' aren't nearly as dumb as on other rap albums. OK, this dude wants us to know that he's reeeeally hardcore and that he likes swear words. But otherwise, this is actually pretty good, no-nonsense stuff. It figures that Ice T also likes metal music and it shows in the hard-hitting beats. Probably not really 4 stars for me. But it's so rare that I can even stand rap music and this one's a rare exception.
Always got time for Ice-T. Great breaks, spot on lyrics.
Yeee tangy
Classic of rap, grandfather of samples. Partway through some rap~metal comes on? Incredible
Early gangster rap was just different. Ice T is incredibly articulate and well versed throughout the album. Every song is enjoyable and tells a message. The short breaks help bring more meaning and personality to the album. Body Count is a unique mix of rap and metal. Overall an a super solid album that I definitely plan to come back to. I think there are better albums from this era and of this style, but not many and I can see how this helped influence rap going forward.
Solid album if you removed the whack skits and songs. Could probably be 45 min and get another star out of me.
Too bad one star is as low as I can go.
Even for 1991 this album has a very dated sound. My favourite song on this album is Midnight which samples the eponymous track from Black Sabbath and it also has the most modern flow.
cool
Thought I’d hate it. Didn’t
Fínir sprettir ...
I’ve never really enjoyed listening to Ice-T. Maybe it’s Because I just view him as a law and order actor over this gangster rapper but either way this album was good proof why I don’t listen to him. It felt like with all the skits he was justifying why he’s such a good rapper or why he’s so cool. Just seemed silly and for a rap album this was way longer than it needed to be. No thanks water-T. 4.7/10
First Impressions was a funny bit, and while I didn’t really enjoy this for the music, it was definitely entertaining
Thought I might enjoy this at the start, but it got more and more boring. Album length way too long, far too many tracks. Nothing particularly interesting, apart from the random Body Count song, which isn't much better and seems completely out of place. Best part was the Black Sabbath sample, and the amusing intro thing for track 2.
So many tracks. Could definitely get rid of track 2 ( first impressions) don't understand why some woman is talking at me. I'll be honest this isn't for me. Sounds like he lives in a pretty rough hood. And guns are everywhere. I could not relate to this at all. Also track 9 was too much. Also they had a habbit of saying you know what I mean, no I haven't got a bloody clue! Overall would not recommend another hour of my life wasted listening to a rubbish album.
Really enjoyed this to be honest. Body Count gave me Beastie Boys vibes in a good way, just hope it didn’t ruin Rock & Roll for El Grande now he won’t be able to relate to it. Only criticism is Prepared to Die: “[Mandela] is a hero, he needs a Nobel Prize. But that will never happen, so I'm gonna keep rappin'” He won one 2 years later which makes Ice T an idiot and a liar who then kept rapping. Generally really good album though!
HL: "Bitches 2", title track, "Midnight", "Body Count", "The Tower" The Halloween sample in "The Tower" is used to great effect. Same with the Zeppelin/Sabbath in "Midnight"; "When the Levee Breaks" is used so much tho lol Even though the lyrical content is anything but amusing, there's something about Ice-T coyly introducing his metal band 18 tracks in that cracks me up (Y'know, I'm not JUST a rapper...) This has a trying runtime like a lot of 90's hip-hop records, but some unexpected musical diversity. I also felt it got better over time, after not being into the first few tracks. 3.5 January 26, 2024
When not busy being confused by repeating exposition of Law & Order and being the subject of a terrible Rick and Morty episode, it's hard to forget Ice T was an O.G. This is one of THE classic early hip-hop albums. Yeah, there are some of the usual pointless skits but the tracks themselves a fucking ace. Flow, production, beats are all top drawer. Don't sleep on this album. Best Tracks: Mic Contract; Mind Over Matter; New Jack Hustler (Nino's Theme)
I don't like alot of ice T's music to me it just feels like discount kendric or even dre kinda dry but I liked the switch up and didint mind the overall bests kinda a 2.5
This is some aight gangster rap - definitely not my thing, I've never been a rap fan. But this definitely isn't bad, some cool ideas spread throughout but nothing that kept me fully engaged. Fav songs: - Body Count - O.G Original Gangster
Gángster total. Divertido de escuchar, no se hace nada pesado.
Fucking hell THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT
Surprisingly fun listen. Some of it did not age super well, but hey it was the 90s. Like others have said - Ice T has become at least in my mind part of Law & Order and less a part of Rap History. So it was cool to get back to his origins.
Bad voice and flow. Eh beats. Only a couple songs that I might consider listening to again. Too long. Too many skits.
2 soundtrack songs I currently enjoy listening to. Fargo, North Dakota (from Fargo) Raphael's Final Act
Mostly bad. A couple good songs 2.5
Why do rappers love being called Ice so much? Ice Tea, Ice Cube, Vanilla Ice… but off innit? I’m not sure if I’ve heard Ice Tea before. Let’s listen! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: OG Original Gangster This review will be a short one because I need to go out. This album was ok. I found it really funny how MVPs kept calling people players, and gave a backhanded compliment to MC Hammer. Don’t think I’ll be returning again, but this was fine.
It's West Coast lumpen rap--a progenitor of the genre. What more is there to say?
i had a lot of prejudice going on with this album, almost did not wanna hear it only for that horrible cover. however, this is actually good, i thought it was ambitious enough and honestly it made a statement. maybe too long but i don't know if shorter it would still sound good. i liked the beats and the arrogant raps, quite old school too but really good old school, might need a second listen before rating it though (just because of that denzel curry video about old school raps that i can't get out of my mind)
💖 body count 🗣️ 8️⃣
Not fan of this style
Mal was von nem Schwarzen. Rap
While I wasn't much of a rap/hip-hop fan, this album is very nostalgic in sound. It was fine but seemed to have too long of an overall runtime.
Not bad. Had a Public Enemy feel to it at times.
Razor-sharp and witty in some places; puerile, immature, and absurdly misogynistic in others. Some of it is just talking and it's far too long.
Typical 90s hip hop. It's got excellent storytelling. If I'm not mistaken, Ice T samples Black Sabbath's - Black Sabbath in the song Midnight. Favourite songs: Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous, Fly By, O.G. Original Gangster, Mic Contract, Midnight, Bitches 2, Straight Up Nigga, Ziplock Least favourite songs: First Impression, Evil E - What About Sex?, Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last Year (fuck skits), M.V.P.s, Street Killer 4/5
The best song was the rock song. The rest of it was reasonably boiler plate angry man.
I liked this one, pretty funny too.
I guess I always knew Ice T did more than just SVU but this was eye opening. Nice work.
Good old school rap. Nice strong message about LA in the late 80s/90s
Oof he’s a terrible rapper.
Nigga mothafucka hela tiden. Det bästa med Ice-T är ju ändå Coco.
I really enjoyed this. It's funky as hell and I do like Ice T's voice. This whole thing is a bit 'retro' even for 1991 - maybe 'classic' is a better word, esp as compared to the contemporary stuff from Dre/etc which I would maybe call 'progressive' instead. We had a Dre record recently and I found it to be super well-produced and full of fancy sampling and it sounded great. This is more simple - cool break beat, simple sampling, and cool sounding rapping. It's possible the lyrical content isn't great - I feel like I didn't notice it. To me this is 'old school' without being silly like BB License To Ill or Run DMC.
Just a bit clunky for me.
not my cup of T
Classic early 90s west coast gangster rap, braggadocio is the order of the day as Ice raps about people being bitches (both genders), gangster hustle shit, and guns going bang. Plenty of mid song skit style breakdowns but Ice changes things up with the hard metal "Body Count" that would be spun off into a legit side project by the same name. They are, of course, infamous for the "Cop Killer" song, but then Ice-T would spend the last 23 years playing a cop on TV, really makes you think... Oh, and fuck Tipper Gore and the PMRC
Ice T wants you to know he's a hardcore n***a who ain't no sellout b*tch even though he played a cop on a TV show, thinks fighting a war in the middle east is bullshit, but his brand of violence is cool. And he is really proud of his violent lyrics. Too bad because the beats were pretty good here.
2/5 naaaaah
I have no idea how to rate rap artists, but I enjoyed this.
This is decent but longer than it needs to be. Body Count is interesting, but sounds pretty dated.
A little long but a classic of the genre so I gave it an extra star. A couple less songs and skits and you’d have a five star album.
It's... fine. Passable for 90s hip-hop, at least. The skits are actually pretty entertaining, and come close to outshining many of the actual musical tracks - which is a bit of a no-no. There are a few musical highlights, namely the great Mind Over Matter, the raging mood of Fly By, the unexpected metal-rocker Body Count, and the chilling keyboard hooks in The Tower. Unfortunately, the album is brought down severely by its lyrics, which veer all over the place, from misogyny (Bitches 2) to narcissism (Straight Up, among others) to underwhelming sex-talk after stating in the previous track that there would be nothing of the sort (Fly By). The percussion is also generally uninspiring - very standard for 90s rap, having a kind of semi-lo-fi electronic sound that makes the production sound much worse than it should. The rhythms themselves are not interesting. 2/5
Too many songs but very listenable!!
Not as boring as I thought it would be. Despite feeling dated, the rhymes are bearable and beats are catchy enough, I also love the switch up on Body Count🤘 Best song: Body Count 🎸 Worst song: MVPs, while it’s a kind shoutout track, the echo effect is really annoying (annoying annoying annoying annoying) PS: this album is surprisingly progressive, especially for the 90s ex1: “I saw a brother kill another cause he said he was gay but that’s the way it is. it been that way for years and when the body hit the ground I heard a couple of cheers it kinda hurt me inside…” ex2: “She wanna be lez he wanna be gay well that’s your business…”
Listening to this album was like catching "The Sixth Sense" two decades late. Its pioneering role in gangster rap, much like the film's iconic twist in cinema, is undeniable. Yet, its sound doesn't pack the same hard-hitting punch for my drama-seeking ears tuned to today's more intense, heavier beats, EXCEPT FOR BODY COUNT.
Not sure I've listened to an entire Ice T album before. Lots of good individual tracks, but like most 70+ minute albums there's some content that, if cut, might have made it stronger.
Production like Public Enemy, with lyrics like NWA - but more direct. Might actually prefer his records with Body Count though.
Ice T is fine... I suppose. I don't know anyone who really LOVES Ice T. He is obviously very influencial on gangsta rap but, I can't relate.
This has the same unpolished urban feel of an NWA album, its too bad Ice T isn't a better lyricist
OK - OG. Not bad.
The album cover art is truly hot garbage. It's interesting how I really like 2001 by Dr. Dre but have a hard time standing this, even though it's the same genre. I guess it just isn't as good. Weak 2 for me.
Seeing the cover I was not looking forward to this. Started out thinking this could be a 1 star album. The more i listened to it the more I liked it. The skits were ok, the lyrics were fun in an old school Gangsta rap type of way. And some social critique thrown into the mix. It is a bit samey and drags a too long though.
SO GOOD
Third hip-hop/RnB album in 5 days, and the weakest of the lot. Low-fi sound only works if you've got a strong flow and compelling storytelling and this doesn't. Has too many skits, basically an album trying to hide that it isn't very good.
Another one that drags, and goes on too long. Too many skits, as well - although the one at the beginning of the album (First Impression) is great. The production is mega basic, but the lyrics and rapping are much better (obviously with the caveat that he falls into some pretty lazy rapper tropes at times). 3/5.
Man this is just so awesome. Many tracks feature stereotypical old-school gangsta rap (in the best way), then switching nonchalantly to tracks with surprisingly thoughtful social commentary, to a track that’s just shouting people out to even a punk song. The album’s considerably long runtime is kept entertaining by Ice-T, whose writing is consistently funny and well delivered while also, as previously mentioned, being capable of unexpected poignancy. Ice-T is the Original Gangster and Robert is too for including this here (even if it got phased out in later editions).
Alltså lite långtråkigt blev det... ice t e confirmed boss dock
It's derivative off Public Enemy but he does add a creative and comedic twist to the formula. Several strong tracks, decent skits (often funny), the majority are ok but often forgettable. The production is fairly basic, not too much interesting going on. With the double album length, I consider a lot of it to be filler, making it an exhausting listen, but at least there are highlights dispersed. Initially I thought "Body Count" was a joke, but it turns he actually does have a crossover thrash metal band called Body Count, and their debut was surprisingly good; same level as this one I'd say. Favorites: New Jack Hustler, OG Original Gangster, Midnight, Body Count, The Tower
Can't believe I'd never listened to this before.
Ice T goes hard. Track for track I like Power better, but Ice and Islam get tighter and realer, while somehow keeping an undercurrent of irony.
After seeing him for so many years now on Law & Order, you still have to remember that Ice-T was the s**t. He crafted (what one negative review called) a real manifesto here. Yes, it's hard to listen to some of the tracks. Not because they're outdated, but "Straight Up N***a" is not going to be on any rotation for me. He has a lot of anger towards authority, which he should. Totally justified, and the last track took me back to the Iraq War and worrying about being dragged into doing that. Hearing "Body Count"... I'm more of a fan of metal as I get older (which is weird, because you'd think your tastes would go softer as you age). When his group first came out, I was not into it (not for any particular reason), but now I appreciate more of what he was trying to do. I thought it was weird that it was on a rap record, but hey it's record. 72 minutes is a bit much, though. The interludes at least weren't skits, which always bother me on rap records. So overall, I lied the album, but it was really too long. Favorite tracks: "O.G.," "MVP," "Body Count" I'm in between a 3 and a 4 for this. But the length brings it down for me. It's just way too padded.
Interesting album. As far as rap albums go, especially pioneering ones from the early 90's, I didn't think it was all that special other than noting that Ice T is a very good, smart lyricist. However, that was the first 16 songs, ending with MVP. When I heard that one I thought it was odd because it sounded like an album closer given that it's a shout out to other artists. But I think that was the point, and the point of the rest of the 8 songs was almost to be like an EP of new or experimental material. Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous has lyrics that suggest that and Body Count is all about his heavy metal band and rock rap. And that was essentially the feel of this last 8-song segment - more rock rap than just rap. And it was really, really good. Those two plus Escape from the Killing Fields and Pulse of the Rhyme might have been my favorite on the whole record. Once I listened to the last part, I found myself enjoying the first part more on second listen, looking for and finding other songs where he varies the music and instrumentation. So I appreciated songs like Mic Contract, The House, Fly By, and Midnight even more. Maybe this album overall is no better than a 3.5 but I'm going to round up for doing some different things with the music and his clever lyrics.
Definitely no reason for this to be a double album. Even at 30 minutes I think this would be a 3 or 3.5. As is, easy 2. 🤷
all cuss no music
This led me down a way deeper Ice T rabbit hole once I read that he also has a Metal band which is actually heavy as fuck. The man is a bit of an enigma
I'm extremely biased with this one because Ice T is a punk (not in the good way), but his O.G. Original Gangster is not new, original or even a good representation of Gangsta Rap. 1/5
I be like Ice-T, but I like 1992’s Body Count (I e-T’s hardcore band) album better than this one.
Hip Hop that samples Black Sabbath and horror movies? Sick. This album's lyrics are so over the top at times it's distracting. Still, super fun and thought provoking. Favorite tracks: Midnight, Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous
I got halfway through it which is better than I thought I would do. I can't say it's absolute shit because it is clearly well done for the genre. But there's no setting where I would choose to hear this. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.
solid time capsule of the scene at the time. strong vocals from T, i thought the spoken interludes were fun and provided a rough through line for the record
Better than most rap, but still rap. There are some rap albums I would give 5 stars to, but very few. If I were judging this vs. other rap albums, it would get 4 stars. But against all music genres, 3.5 stars, rounding down to 3.
Some nice old school beats, but not a fan of Ice-Ts flow
No
I like this style of Rap and the era (late 80's- early 90s) is the best. I like the beat and the attitude.
Body Count is what Limp Bizkit tried to be. I'd listen to a full album of songs like that from Ice T
Los Angeles was fast on its way to becoming the bedrock of hip-hop and Ice-T was one of the central faces. O.G. Original Gangster is his most expansive and uncompromising album by that point, using its hour plus long format to espouse thoughts on the varying situations around him from hustlers to rapper foes to the ills that continue to plague America (racism, inequality, the prison system, police brutality). Although it is a tad too long for its own good, perhaps this level of attention is best suited for what Ice-T wanted to express as he sets his sights on bigger targets and greener pastures. Generated on 11/24/2024, reviewed on 8/27/2024 Favorites: Home of the Bodybag, Ziplock, Mic Contract, Mind Over Matter, New Jack Hustler, Bitches 2, Straight Up Nigga, O.G. Original Gangster, Midnight, Body Count, Escape From the Killing Fields, The Tower.
It’s got a good beat
Better then the other rap albums I had here.
Better than some of the other rap albums, but again too long. Typical problem of the 90s rap albums on this. Some of the skits are annoying but some of the messages have aged nicely and still relevant today.
First impressions is a damn good skit Bitches 2 👍👍👍 Black sabbath on black sabbath by black sabbath sample
Idk I was never a huge fan of Ice T. This felt lacking in good lyrics (and sometimes lyrics at all)
Pretty cheesy album, but after another listen through, it does have some pretty good messages in it.
Really not my cup of tea
Det vat svært ikke at tænke på Rick and morty når man hører hans stemme . Men et godt album alligevel
Has the famous "Body count" track I've heard in the past. Was OK, some decent tracks but a lot of filler in my opinion.
It's not bad: this album felt a little unoriginal (ik the name so had to make the joke). Everything about this just sounded the same and like it had been done all before. It wasn't bad but I didn't really enjoy listening to it at all. I am not a hiphop head or anything so I may be missing out on smth here but honestly it just needed smth a bit fresher.
Gang shootings, gun sounds, anger.
Truly the OG of gangster rap. Monster album. Too long
4* for the beats -2* for the rhymes Man I don't get gangsta rap
Ooooh, so deep. Such a valuable manifestation of its time - I honestly knew nothing about Ice T, but this is so direct, visceral and on some topics - ahead of his time. Absolutely agree with everything he has to say and to put the words to music... I feel you, Ice T, I feel you 😘
Didn't mind this, but it was way too long. Seems like a pretty straight-ahead hip hop album, for the most part, with a few interesting samples. The vocal style seemed a little repetitive too. Rock Rap is not something I have ever enjoyed, and those excursions here did nothing for me except make me want to skip past.
You've got to be in the right frame of mind to make this work. A drizzly early morning stuck in the bloody Estuary Wilds is not quite South Central. It's a comedy album, right? So much machismo. Nice use of antidisestablishmentarianism. It's a shame there was no rhyme for this. Quite funky for hip hop. It bridges old school with world domination superstars.
Po bem legal rapzao com base muito diferenciada
Pretty solid banging gangster rap. Interesting mix of rock in some of the songs too
Nr. 15/1001 Home of the Bodybag 1/5 First Impression NR Ziplock 3/5 Mic Contract 3/5 Mind over Matter 4/5 New Jack Hustler 3/5 Ed 2/5 Bitches 2 3/5 Straight up N* 3/5 O.G. Original Gangster 4/5 The House 3/5 Evil E - What About Sex? NR Fly By 2/5 Midnight 2/5 Fried Chicken NR M.V.P.s 2/5 Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous 3/5 Body Count 2/5 Prepared to Die NR Escape from the Killing Fields 3/5 Street Killer NR Pulse of the Rhyme 2/5 The Tower 2/5 Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last Year NR Average: 2,61 Couldn't really get behind this album. Also don't understand why he included one random rock song.
An absolute classic with some great songs like Escape From The Killing Fields, The Tower, Mind Over Matter and the title track. The albums balances the Gangsta with socially critical and pure hiphop tracks and that what keeps this album interesting enough over the (long) running time. If Ice-T would've culled a few of the lesser songs and had taken it easy on the skits, it would've been a perfect one.
Fun listen.
I made it through the album. It’s not totally my style, but I liked a few songs.
Love this. The flow's great, T is clearly top of his game. And he isn't a giant kangaroo yet.
Pretty good.
This encompasses pretty much everything you could expect from a rap album: - Excessively long runtime punctuated with skits/interludes galore, and guest spots (of which I recognise none) - Laidback jazzy samples alongside dark, murky beats and rock music crossovers - Loads of gangster braggadocio and boasts of violence, but also serious political and social statements, shout-outs and plenty of throwaway humour All the good and the bad of 90s hip-hop in one album then. How to rate? I dunno… It largely kept my interest, despite its length, and the fact I actually listened to most of the lyrics probably reflects well on Ice T’s charisma levels.
🤡
Ok very boring repitive lyrics in some songs knock it down to two.
Entertaining
bad
This certainly provided some welcome respite from the truly frightening depths of audio piss that have been endured thus far. It certainly doesn't earn my first 5*, but it's up there of what we've had so far. A surprisingly long album at 24 tunes.
You'd never think that a man named Tracey Marrow would ever be able to get away with referring himself as the original gangster and quite frankly he doesnt. Stick to solving new york sex crimes please Icey
Box office album from a box office man
While this was a good album, I felt it dragged out for a little too long. The album had a good amount of songs I really enjoyed, but there are some I would skip. It greats a medium to high 3.
No
Its weirdly empowering and still so topical today, its fun that he subverts the usual misogyny of rap and turns it around (see Bitches 2 as example) some of the skits are unintentionally hilarious, some are intended to be funny and some are just cringe, so for that it loses 1 star. 4 in total
Never really listened to Ice T but it was alright. Not my favorite rapper.
Escoltar 'Body Count' enmig del disc, un any abans de la seva publicació, i amb l'introducció/ explicació d'Ice-T ha estat tot un què; no recordava aquest fet. Per la resta, gangsta rap de manual, perpetrat per un dels seus màxims exponents. Massa llarg, i sense molta substància. Un exercici de génere en un any especialment generós pel hip hop
The tough guy gangster shtick just doesn't hold up after 30 years, and that's legit the only thing he raps about for 75 minutes. Could've been shorter, less skits. He gets into a good flow a solid amount of times. The rock song was an interesting surprise. The album was good, but didn't leave me wanting more.
The 90s was the golden age for hip hop for multiple reasons. One being that we saw the rise of west coast rap stars. Ice-T was one of them. However, being from the Bronx in NYC, I grew up as a staunchly NY hip hop fan. I couldn’t even receive Ice-T back then. Listening now, 30+ years later, I see he’s really a talented rapper. He’s also a well-rounded artist, introducing us to his metal band on Body Count. In all, this is a pretty stellar album from a pretty stellar artist. Of course, I knew of Ice-T back then; mostly for “Colors,” which isn’t on this album. He and other west coast rappers, like NWA, made a name for themselves making songs that came to be referred to as “gangsta rap,” providing a glimpse into Los Angeles gang life and spelling out all the ways they would fight back against police brutality. However, I wasn’t much into the west coast sound, so I didn’t pay much attention. But Ice-T has a good flow, and these tracks aren’t distinctly west coast. They’re just classic hardcore hip hop. Maybe because he’s actually originally from Newark, NJ. In fact, he spends half of MVPs shouting out east coast rappers of the time, and the other half shouting out west coast rappers. The song I’m most familiar with on this album, aside from the title track and Bitches 2, the most west coast-sounding track on the album, is New Jack Hustler (Nino’s Theme). It was featured on the soundtrack of the eponymous New Jack City, a 90s movie classic. Ironic that this is the song Ice-T the rapper contributes to the soundtrack since Ice-T the actor plays a cop in the movie. Even more interesting that he’s played multiple cop roles as an actor when he rose to fame belittling police and threatening to meet their brutality blow for blow. I wonder if that’s how he saw his career playing out.
Dated
Upon initial contact with Ice-T's music, I had envisioned him to be an ill-mannered and psychologically unstable man with an extremely uneducated and barbaric frame of mind, whose raps displayed nothing but ridiculous jargon, shocking sexual audacity, and repulsive images of the ghetto. However, after further analysis of his music I can deduce that he is the epitome of antidisestablishmentarianism who embodies the entire spectrum of the urban experience and struggle. But to make things more plain and simple to the layman, I find Ice-T to be the dopest, flyest, O.G., pimp, hustler, gangster, player, hardcore motherfucker living today. To be honest, I'm totally and completely on his dick.
Class. Syndicate, fool
I like the flow, but certainly not the lyrics.
Album has some nice samples, but it shows once again how good music is ruined by hiphop/rap.
Would have been 3 stars if it was half the length
A bit simple but it also has a oldschool vibe that flows quite well
Feels very one dimensional
Da går fint å hørra på, men e for langt
There's some good stuff on here but a lot of it really feels dated too. Plus he gets really preachy, and let's face it, he's not the best rapper on earth. Body count was revolutionary at the time though.
No thanks
ICE-T 1991 FOOL! Ice really lays out his personal manifesto, with deep love and also hatred for his native South Central. His chops are real, his sampling is on point. The general vibe is a little dated but still decent. The end shout out track is the punkest thing recorded in the 90s.
Very old school sound, not in the top tier but still good and worth a listen.
good but not for me
Thematically and lyrically not for me.
(3.5) I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
2.5
Surprisingly good. I’m not into the language, but this really isn’t music for me.
Smooooooooth.
Woulda been 5 stars but a little too long lol
Klassischer Rap.
Iv not listened to much Ice T apart from his big hits. Enjoyed this more than I was expecting but my bar was pretty low, some of the beats are a bit date vs modern hip hop. Somewhere between a 2 and 3,
I can't decide if I like older rap better because I'm old or if newer rap just isn't my thing. I've never been a fan of rap and don't own a single album. However, since listening to many albums on this site I find that the 80s-90s stuff is much more palatable to me. Is it my age? Or was it just better back then? I wonder...
Hip hop. Otro coñazo
de los mejores discos que escuche este año
I wish I could be more positive about this album because there are alot of good moments on this album. However its let down by two things; skits and its length. It has no business being as long as it is. If you cut the skits and end the album with MVPs. The skits really suck.
8/10 classic gangsta rap
Awful.
Alright, I'm down to change it up with some rap 👍🏽 '91! meh, it was aight 2 stars
Body count the band and album or bust
Rating: 6/10
The first Ice-T album I purchased and still a classic.
Musically, I never really thought Ice T was a great rapper - although I do appreciate his lyrics. I don't know why but he does seem more thoughtful and poetic (at times) than a lot of other rappers.
Once the generator has produced the 1000th 90s hip hop album, you start to think ‘who gives a shit?’
Some funky stuff here but with time other parts sound borderline comedic. Last spoken word piece was powerful though.
*didn’t fully listen* Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: not my usual thing but this is easy listening and enjoyable to a degree Favourite song: (so far) Track 8 - Bitches 2
Helt fel person att recensera hippetihopp. Som att recensera en broccoligratäng när jag inte gillar broccoli. Men jämförelsevis ok.
Guilty pleasure
Ice-T crafted an incredibly fun and enjoyable album while still making it original, intelligent, and relevant. There’s enough range on this album to justify a longer runtime and I didn’t get bored at all through the album. It stays intriguing the entire run. Sometimes his flow can be a little clunky and the rhythm doesn’t really match up. That’s the only critique I have though. 4/5
Big beats, occasional rock, poorly aged skits.
O.G. indeed
Entirely too long. Contender for world's worst album cover? It's easy to make fun of T, but my friend has some good flow and he managed to do something no rapper has ever heretofore made me do: laugh at one of his skits.
I love Ice T and this album would have got 5 stars if some much of its 72 minutes run time wasnt interludes
Part of the golden age of hip-hop, perhaps one of the last masterpieces before the lull. Harsh, loud, violent and angry, justifiably in all cases. Absolute genius, with some metal guitar thrown in for good measure.
I don’t know why, maybe hindsight but I don’t really believe anything T is saying here and it hurts the overall record. He doesn’t feel gangster because I’ve seen the rest of the story. It’s well produced…but that’s about it.
I tried but not for me
Way too long and repetitive
Better than Ice Cube
3.6 Solid rap album, political, some metal crossovers what more could u want fave songs: home of the bodybag
Some great tracks on this. Some less so.
How is this album in the list and not Paid in Full - Eric B & Rakim, which will be my suggestion once I finish the list.
Great album.
This kinda rules. Body Count is a BOP.
A pretty fun rap record- nothing that really grabbed me too much though.
Life was simpler on the early 90’s.
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories. DUN DUN - Pretty good classic rap with great production and beats - Ice T has pretty slick flow - 3.5, maybe a 4 if it was shorter
- you can tell he’s an OG - balances deep themes with fun lyrics - Really enjoyed it
Not bad
Not a huge fan of the lyrics but enjoyed the variety of music behind the rapping.
65 of 1001 Ice-T - OG Original Gangster Favorite Track : Body Count Rating : 3/ 5 I listened. Going for a 6 am walk with this in my head was a new way to start the day. This was likely a powerful release, at the time. Listening now, it checks all the boxes of why this isn't really my thing. Lets be real, it wasn't created with me in mind. He is a compelling storyteller. He is touching on some hard subjects. He has a message to share and he does that well. Liked the little bits that separated many of the tracks. Without getting into a philosophical/societal discussion, that is pretty much all I have.
ja mislim da je ovaj album baš cool. baš og. podsjeća kao neki film, neka igra, nešta ove tematike - sa skitovima kao uvod u sljedeću pjesmu
Was expecting to not like this, thinking it would be the start of gangster rap which kinda ruined the genre for 30 years, but this is actually cool as fuck. Mic Contract is essentially big beat a few years early. Without sounding dated like that whole scene does. As is New Jack Hustler. Well, as are loads of these. The jazz and soul samples and general groove going on here really work for me. Being a pasty white dude means I can't drive around blasting Straight Up N out the window without broadcasting what a bell end I am, but it's a great track. And obviously making me uncomfortable and fuck you I don't care, is the whole point. Then there's a radical change of direction Midnight is epic, whatever the lyrical content of the previous tracks, the music was party time, that party is definitively over now. Mixing Black Sabbath with Led Zep drums and a deeply disturbing story. Absolutely bangs. And then the party starts again. Ok that was weird. Kicking back off with a namecheck song. So look, everything is great. Escape from the Killing Fields in particular. Message. And we round off with a beat built around a Halloween John Carpenter sample, and Ice T telling us all personally how fucked off he is about everything. What's incredible here is an album 72 minutes long, and I didn't lose interest or get tired of it at any point. What a great record.
Cracking
It's good. It has some brilliant sample choices (Sabbath, The Theme from Halloween) and variety (hi Bodycount) and some of the songs are great - but it is a little over long and there is some cruft in there.
Echt een OG
Behalve met Bodycount heb ik ice T altijd maar een saaie baas gevonden.
Oh dit is pure nostalgie. Love it
I heb Ice-T altijd het sullige broertje van de echte gangster-rappers gevonden. Met de grote jongens willen spelen maar dan hard wegrennen als iemand 'BOEH!' zegt.
Very solid, but too long.
Too long and really does not provide anything new to consider within the genre from that time.
Just another interchangable rap album from the early nineties
Dope. Very rock based vibe. Hard af.
Hip hop rap. Un poco todo igual.
I listened to this hard as nails album, stopped, and listened to it again. Rolex watch, can’t fit no more diamonds on it. Pinky ring, worth a house if I decide to pawn it. Damn, Detective Tutuola.
The first song absolutely set me OFF the noises in the background were triggering something in me which soon became a pattern. I mean some of his work is actually really nice- the rock aspect, and his actual rapping is nice, but all the distractions, the background noises, the inter parts, etc. was stuff that really made me resent the album.
Always liked this kind of hip-hop - it's about the music! Old school organic/sampled beats and a very rhythmic vocal style that doesn't overtake the music. I also love Ice-T's voice - perfect combination of aggression and smoothness. Negatives? Too long. Also skits in general are lame - automatic skips. Still when this album is rolling it is fantastic - grading on the best, it's a keeper. 7/10 4 stars
Not bad at all, but really generic.
he uses the same relaxed flow for the entire album its just slow 2.5
Better than expected
This album dropped as a shock to worried parents and was rapidly embraced in my circle as a great album. Ice-T brought the hardcore sound of West Coast rap nationwide and it was a wild thing to see this opposing style from say, Public Enemy. There are a lot of songs on here that I absolutely still vibe with, especially Midnight and Body Count, the former being sampled gorgeously by Dj Shadow. Ya Shoulda Killed me Last Year is amazing and I can remember we just dropped our jaws to hear him tell everybody to f**k off.
Wow, was surprised that this showed up in the list and all I can think about is the blending of the OG Ice-T and his band Body Count had a lot to do with its placement here. Sure, there's a long history of rap artists collaborating with mainstream music to broaden their appeal -- Run DMC and Aerosmith (Walk This Way), Public Enemy and Anthrax (Bring Tha Noise, though I'm not sure Anthrax was ever considered mainstream), or The Fat Boys collaborating with The Beach Boys (Wipeout) all fall into this category. The difference here is that Ice-T was fronting Body Count. Body Count, for a minute, even eclipsed Ice-T's career as a rapper especially when the track Cop Killer was removed from future pressings of the self-titled release. Beyond that, It doesn't hurt that the hottest track on this album was the theme song from the much-hyped Mario Van Peebles film New Jack City. New Jack Hustler is the go-to track on the album and IMHO overshadows the real star of the album, Fly By. Nat the Cat drops some tongue-twisted lines in rapid succession that should not go unnoticed. Also worth mentioning is that somehow, the fact that Ice-T is / was a rapper has eluded contemporary culture as he's now known more for his SVU work (and also this great bit by John Mulaney) than as a rapper and musician ... https://youtu.be/F1sd4CRcaE0?t=75
Another 3-in-1 hip hop review, this time tracing the thread from N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” through Ice T’s “OG Original Gangster” to Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic.” There are a lot of albums that “changed” hip hop, and “Straight Outta Compton” may be peak among them. Peak for impact, not peak for quality. They may not have created gangsta rap, but N.W.A. took it mainstream with their platinum hit album, forcing America to come to terms with life in inner city minority neighborhoods like Compton and popularizing the use of the n-word in hip hop. Incredibly impactful, but musically it’s stuck in 80s hip hop without signs of evolving. That evolution wasn’t necessarily needed though - by far the best part of the album is when Dr. Dre emerges with “Express Yourself.” It’s old school, it’s not violent or profane, and it shows that style can work in a timeless way. As for the rest, Ice Cube’s rapping is pretty solid, whereas MC Ren makes no real impact and Easy E’s nasally rapping is the worst part of the album. On the other hand, Ice T is a better rapper than anyone in N.W.A. (except maybe Dr. Dre, who was mostly limited to small features outside of “Express Yourself”). Ice T is such an OG, he had to tell the rest of America what OG means. He didn’t create the term, any more than he created gangsta rap, but helped bring it to the masses. “OG Original Gangster” is at once a coda for the early days of hip hop and a declaration that gangsta rap would dominate the next decade. The production and musicality is much better than “Straight Outta Compton” (though in a style that was firmly on its way out), and T’s rapping also stood above other MCs. Ice T may be the OG, but as an OG, he’s older and wiser and better able to reflect on where they’ve been and where they’re going. While those who followed in his footsteps often succumbed to the gangsta life, Ice T emerged on the other side with a career in film and TV, and is today probably more known for his role on Law & Order SVU than for his rap music. After Ice T and N.W.A. opened the door, Dr. Dre left N.W.A. and began a solo and rapping career that would fully establish West Coast gangsta rap as -the- rap genre of the 90s. “The Chronic” presented a serious evolution in sound from “Straight Outta Compton” or “OG Original Gangsta.” The themes remained the same, but the edge got even harder and the early trappings and influences of hip hop faded away. My group member pretentious-ass wrote (4 years ago, when I was supposed to review this) that “The Chronic killed hip-hop.” And I think in a lot of ways he’s right. Something different emerged from it, but it was something far removed from Ice T, N.W.A., and everything before it. West Coast gangsta rap after “The Chronic” did seem to become all-consuming, sucking the oxygen away from alternative hip hop and any other style.
Half of this feels like a pathetic attempt to appear street life authentic. A review of Ice-T’s personal life makes it seem like much of it is authentic.
It’s fine, a good rap album! There are a lot of rap albums I would put above this one, though.
I admire anyone who can get away with saying shit that would immediately get me cancelled and fired. And possibly murdered, ending up looking out a ziplock.
Hate this album. Love me some Ice-T on SVU but, this is a disgrace. Horrible example for young black kids that are too impressionable. Yes, I am old white dude, but I do love rap and hip hop - when it is done right. If zero stars was an option Id’ give it that. 0/5, maybe .5/5, but my rating will unfortunately be a 1/5….
Didn’t like it
Big fan - nice beats - would listen again
O.G. is a listenable rap record with all of the hallmarks from this era of hip-hop. The beats are not as hard as the Public Enemy records and the flow isn't as smooth as other contemporary MCs but the album has some solid features and great samples.
Was prepared to write this LP by everyone’s favorite SVU star well off before it started, but found myself pleasantly shocked at how it managed to hold my attention for well over an hour. The cheese factor is definitely on okay, but there’s some alarmingly prescient and outspoken social consciousness as well which was unexpected. Musically it’s a bit middle of the road, but T keeps it varied enough between skits, interludes, spoken word tracks, and fully-fleshed beats to where things aren’t too grating over the course of 70 minutes. Overall, this one came out of left field for me, and I’ll have to give a few tracks here some replays given how well they landed the first time around.
2 stars. Meh
I missed out on the West Coast hip hop scene. I grew up in the mid-west, and while Ice T was a known entity to me, my hip-hop flavor was Outkast, Biggy, and Jay Z. Of course, now Ice T is synonymous with various detective-oriented television shows, which upon hearing this album is hysterical. Ice T shows his talent with this album though. The grooves are excellent. This is a bopping rap album. "Mic Contract" is a standout example. Unapologetic to the extreme in terms of how he views America, his place in it, and the rules of the hustler. If this album came out today, I think it would be a 3 star record, but because of its influence and pioneering of the genre marrying the grooves, rhythms, and heavy metal infusion, I bumped it up to 4 stars.
😎
one sentence review: (Liked "first Impression" for the humour, but I can agree with the words, if you listen to it...) at first enjoyed & felt all cool and tough like gansta, but soon it reminded me why I just dont listen to Rap - gives me a headache, glorifies shitty lifestyle/actions/gang war, machine gun violence, childish, mindless, full of violent disturbing boasts and attitudes, the horrible underbelly of the american psyche of the disempoered and alientated. they want ot destroy the system taht destroys and marginaises them. sounds cool for a sountrack.... but grates really quickly... hardly uplifitngif you listen tot the words.
Canterbury Bankstown, home of the manoush and the K Mart fool. Mix of different people, quietly going about their lives fool. Down with being down with it, fool they catch a bus or a train, sometimes walk..fool. But hey motherfucker, you are a fool, see fool..(queue the machine gun) fool. No machine guns in Campsie fool, so what's up G? Fool. Fool. Motherfucker. Fool. Fool. Fool. Fool. Fool. Fool. Did I mention to say......fool. Fool. Hit the trip wire, Canterbury Kebabs. Fool. Fool. That's right.....fool. Still here? Fool. Gangsta fool. Fool.
Look, it’s dated. It hasn’t weathered the last 30 years all that well. The fact that the track I enjoyed most was Body Count - the name of his band & not as good as Cop Killer - speaks mouthfuls really. Still, there are tracks here where the message gets through - Home Of The Bodybag, Escape From The Killing Fields & Straight Up Nigga all have important things to say. There are also some really funny moments - First Impression & Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last Year (touching & funny). A lot of the rest I find a tad boring, but I only gave it one listen & that was the first time I’d heard it.
oof, this was a tough listen. I like Ice-T. He is smart and charismatic, and I saw him live at the Enmore Theatre in 1989 with my mate Tim, and he was terrific live. I liked the Power album and some of the Iceberg. But this is not good. It sounds like an early blueprint for gangsta-rap, even though it comes well after Straight Outta Compton and some of the other foundational-texts of the genre. It should be a lot better than this. He repeatedly refers to himself as the "O.G.", and mentions his classic track "Six in the Morning" multiple times, which sounds like just trying too damn hard to establish his O.G. status cred. The misogyny is appalling. And he sure loves the n-word (to an almost ridiculous extent). And there is so much flab on this album. Home of the Bodybag, MVP and Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last year (and most of the skits) are just Ice rambling off the top of his head (not even free styling). And so long! At 72 minutes, this could have been significantly edited down and made a much stronger album. I really wanted to like this, but it's flabby, lazy, repetitive, irrelevant and unpleasant. And Ice-T can be so much more than that. Not his best.
I like this more than I thought I would. It was really solid
What is with rap albums and feeling they need to make their albums so long? Even the ones I like can usually shave a solid twenty minutes off the run time. Otherwise this album is alright. I like the lyrical content, and it is indeed pretty funny like many here say, but there's something here keeping it down, probably the length, honestly. Pretty average otherwise.
Hustler, word, I pull the trigger long, Grit my teeth, spray till every nigga's gone. Got my block sewn, armored dope spots, Last thing I sweat's a sucka punk cop. Move like a king when I roll, hops, You try to flex, bang, another nigga drops. You gotta deal with this cause there's no way out, Why? Cash money ain't never gonna play out. I got nothin to lose, much to gain, In my brain, I got a capitalist migraine. I gotta get paid tonight, you muthafuckin right. [something] my grip, check my bitch, keep my game tight. So many hos on my jock, think I'm a movie star. Nineteen, I got a fifty thousand dollar car. Go to school, I ain't goin for it, Kiss my ass, bust the cap on the Moet. Cause I don't want to hear that crap, Why? I'd rather be a New Jack-----Hustler Brilliant. 5/5
Meh
Gode greier!!
Et av de beste hip hop albumene jeg har hørt!
Excelente álbum de rap, mostra a mente criativa de Ice T ao longo de linhas bem construídas e skits entre as músicas, achei um pouco longo só.
4 3 really good rap
I understand that outlaw music is a presence across cultures but honestly have had about enough gangster rap with this list. With the intervening years as an actor and "reality" entertainment star, it's easy to forget what a big presence Ice T was in that scene though. It's very good for what it is, and though I'm no expert I think the incorporation of heavy metal and rock was pretty pioneering.
A lot of talking and skits. Also that "rock" song was pretty weird
i dig the beats and the production and but the gangsta shit is just too juvenile i can’t get into it anymore
One of my old favorite albums. I don't listen to this kind of stuff now but in the day I was loving it. I like several songs on this album.
He should stick to SVU.
This was a fun, albeit bloated album. I'd say the album is 50% murder rap, 25% comedy, and 25% soapbox, lol. While the first half of the album had some hits, he gets a little carried away with the second half. Personally, I do find him likeable enough that it doesn't bother me as much as others might. While I enjoy his style of rapping, the beats are really what I enjoyed from this one. Ended up adding the two songs I knew well from this. Overall: a fun, playful, yet murder-centric listen. 6.5/10
Truly bad. It is 'me me me, woman are whores , look at me'
A bit tedious. Sometimes quite entertaining but a bit too much for me. Rather a lot of unnecessary 'attitude'. Have no problem with explicit language when it's used creatively, but this is just for controversies sake.
EH, I'd rather listen to Ice Cube.
Pretty dated. But still had some quality bits. Body Count was a good track. It was an album full of busy but in the best kind of way.
Great album, a little long
Crazy to think that my Mum gave me this album on tape as part of a Christmas gift when I was in middle high school. I guess she didn't listen to it first. Pretty offensive and what I believe to be a low point in the evolution of hip-hop, the early nineties gangster rap.
Just a bit too gangster for me. I'm not the OG, I'm more PG.
Social commentary at its best
Love the metal cross over - enjoy the sarcasm/humor/honesty/angst
Really enjoyed this, crazy how well this album hasn’t aged though. Ice T’s conscious rap vibe is sick though, really enjoyed it as a throwback. Really puts into perspective how much hip hop has changed over the last 20 years.
Love the genre/era of music so knew I'd enjoy this. Wouldn't say its the best album of the genre but I think the best album to show someone if they hadn't listened to Ice T before. I think his story telling and word play is really good, this particular bit of New Jack Hustler stood out to me as an example. Got me twisted, jammed into a paradox Every dollar I get, another brother drops Maybe that's the plan and I don't understand God damn, you got me sinkin in quicksand But since I don't know, and I ain't never learned I gotta get paid, I got money to earn The Tower had that Halloween sample on the beat which was really cool and there was probably others that I didn't realise. Also Body Count stuck out as it was completely different than the rest in being more of a rock song. Would give more than 4 but less than 5.
Great beats with some hard hitting views. Felt like another NWA album which most definitely isnt a bad thing This has been one of the harder ones to rate, but I vibed well with it and did enjoy listening to every track.
Gangster rap is not my genre at all but if I listen and think "if this was playing while I was driving around in Saints Row 2, would I enjoy it?" Then the answer would be yes. 2.5/5
This album is vapid and tedious. Every "song" is indistinguishable from the rest. Hip hop is just so bad. Music for posers by posers
Damnnn Ice T goes hard