The Predator

If there was a Venn Diagram illustrating how the world of me and Gangsta collided the 2 circles wouldn’t be on the same A4 page. However, I understand the sentiment and it is genuinely scary that the themes discussed on this album continue over 30 years later however we are hear to rate the music and it’s not something I enjoy listening to so for that reason I give it a

G-funk. Love the early 90s hip hop sound. Love the cinematic narrative

Alien beats Predator every time

The Predator (Len Houmous). 3.0 7/16 It was a good day

Purest Rap.

Definitely the most miserable listen yet. I would advise taking ice cube as the larper he is and engaging with his work through a more comedic lense. When he isn't shelling out surface level political slop his music is just pointless whining. To his credit he shines the best when he's writing about fictional characters or scenarios. 'Today was a good day' solely justifies this tracks existence - would recommend skipping to it and then chucking your CD out.

"Wicked" has been one of my favorite songs ever since the day I first heard it. Loved the beats, love Ice Cube's delivery for the most part. The only criticism I had was that the album got a little silly near the end. If they'd have shaved off a couple songs, and maybe a skit or two, this would have been a 5. As it is, strong 4.

Pretty good album. My only real comment on it is that Ice Cube kinda picked one lane and stayed in it for the entire album. There wasn't much variety in his rap and the album sounds a bit samey by the end. The actual music and samples on each track was pretty decent though. Standouts were "When Will They Shoot?" "Check Yo Self" Overall a 3. Pretty solid and a cool listen but mostly forgettable.

Eigentlich war ich erst bei einer guten 3, aber nach ein wenig Reinskippen eben erhöhe ich doch auf eine knappe 4. Einige Lines von Ice Cube würde er hoffentlich heute so nicht mehr rappen. Es passt halt nicht ganz zusammen, in jedem zweiten Song die Opferrolle einzunehmen, weil die ganzen bösen Kritiker ihm Antisemitismus wegen schwieriger Zeilen in einem vergangenen Disstrack vorwerfen, man aber gleichzeitig über die gesamte Platte die Nation of Islam und deren fragwürdigen Führer Louis Farrakhan hofiert, der sich bzgl. antisemitischen Aussagen in der Vergangenheit auch nicht mit Ruhm bekleckert hat. Wenn man diesen Widerspruch aushält, bekommt man eine überraschend runde Rap-Platte, deren Soundbild heute, aber wahrscheinlich auch schon damals etwas veraltet klingt ("The Chronic" erschien nur einen Monat später). Trotzdem versprühen viele Tracks einen gewissen rohen Charme, die Texte sind sehr sozialkritisch, was ich in dem Umfang nicht erwartet hatte, die Rodney King-Riots sind omnipräsentes Thema, die Storyteller machen ziemlich Laune und mit "Check Yo Self" und natürlich dem Alltime-Classic "It Was a Good Day" sind hier fette Banger am Start (empfehle bei ersterem auch den u. a. aus GTA San Andreas bekannten Remix auf den Beat von "The Message"). Schon witzig, dass der erste Song, den ich hiervon kannte, das ziemlich beschissene "Wicked"-Cover von Korn und Chino Moreno ist, wo Chino auch das N-Wort rappt. Es waren andere Zeiten...

Damit konnte ich jetzt wieder gar nichts anfangen. Zu viel Gelaber, die Lieder für mich irgendwie nicht besonders herausragend. Sorry.

Woah das ist in meinen Ohren nicht gut gealtert. Beats langweilen, Flow holt mich nicht ab und Textlich ist das was ich bewusst gehört habe auch nicht prickelnd.

today was a good day 😌

Good album albeit dated

Was a good album

Coming in the shadow of Rodney King, it’s amazingly sad how relevant this is nearly 35 years later.

Think people forget how good Ice Cube was because he lowkey became a screen character. Great album

Strong 90s west coast hip hop album with poignant subject matter that is still important today. Production has aged a little better than Ice Cube’s debut.

I've always been a slight sucker for the 90s gangsta rap (lyrics super easy to condemn; I openly do) but damn do they not sound good with the catchy backing tracks comprised of pianos, bass and drums a lot of the time. The combination of the big beats, tambourine and strings in "When Will They Shoot?" was real novelty for me, with Cube's effortless flows layered on top made for a track that had serious attitude. Despite the talk of violence, a lot of the lyrics here hit out at the racism that was prevalent in a America in every decade leading up to this albums release. Straight from this "I'm Scared" shows real self-awareness (it makes me wonder if those decrying violence in the reviews here really absorbed what was being said in that track). As a white person, I will never know the struggle and the pain of being judged so harshly before I even speak; I can only imagine it would make some deeply upset and others deeply angry. Both feelings (any anything in between) is completely valid. The boxey beats and squeal were too abrasive for me in "Wicked", though the guest vocalist inclusion was fun. The funky beat and echoed vocal back to Cube's vocals in "Now I gotta Wet'Cha" were real cool. From the comments, I understand a DJ Muggs has to thank for the backing track on this one; it really gives the track a duality of light-heartedness against Cube's lyrics of gangbangin'. "The Predators" synths beeps and reverbed beats still proving six tracks in that it can do something novel with the simplest arrangements, all while Cube continues to keep his vocals consistent. I imagine praise for anything I do like going forward will still be the same; best to name other favourite tracks now: "It Was A Good Day" (probably my favourite, it's more heartfelt lyrics and it's good use of the Isley Brothers 'Footsteps in the Dark' hook), "Dirty Mack" (it sounds great, but the lyrics really cringe me out, especially the goo goo girl hook; need an instrumental!), "Don't Trust 'Em" (it was the use of the samples on this one that swayed me), "Check Yo Self", "Who got the Camera?" Overall, as much as I hate the content of the lyrics, if I am basing this on how it sounded sonically throughout, I still had a good time with this. A solid 4, -1 for misogyny and violence.

Listening to The Predator today, it’s both incredible and deeply sobering to realize how much of this album still hits with the exact same urgency it did in the shadow of the 1992 LA riots. Ice Cube’s aggressive flow and venomous, socially conscious lyrics dissecting police brutality and systemic racism are unfortunately just as relevant now as they were over 30 years ago. Sometimes it's hard to genuinely say these themes are timeless, but the proof is right there in the lyrics. Three songs in, on "Wicked", Cube spits, "And I won't choke like the Buffalo Bills", and here we are 34 years later, and the Bills still be choking... Really makes you think. The production on this goes hard, the beats and samples are just next level, and the whole thing has such a raw, gritty energy. That said, it’s definitely a product of its time; the casual misogyny and homophobia in the lyrics make for some pretty uncomfortable listening in 2026. It’s pretty intense and doesn't really let up, but the delivery is so powerful that you can't help but pay attention. "It Was A Good Day" is a total standout, though, that chilled-out vibe is a perfect breath of fresh air in the middle of all the chaos. It’s got its flaws, but it’s a total classic of West Coast hip-hop.

Not a bad record. Favourite Track(s): Wicked, It Was A Good Day Least Favourite Track(s): Dirty Mack

ITS okay

i like this album its ice cube he have the flow

The music is good but the lyrics and persona are so over the top I just can't.

Heard Before? No. I was never much for gangsta rap. Notes: - typically i complain about intros and skits, especially on already-too-long rap albums. but these inserts are chilling and effective. - his flow delivers diminishing returns, but very powerful in small doses. at the same time I'm not sure this strongly focused work would benefit from more guest features. - beats aren't as creative or varied as some of the other great albums of the era, but they work and there are no duds. - obviously this is a lyrics album, and one more concerned with political righteousness than political correctness. and it is every bit as harrowing and visceral as it tries to be. - highly recommended for anyone thinking about a career in policing. Verdict: Violent. Serious. Political. Unrelenting. Essential. Listen Again? Not my thing, but I'm very glad I heard it. Uncomfortable in the best way.

It’s aight

1992 black america rap, it's on like donkey kong When will they shoot? Wicked Check yo self

god i hate rating albums, why i decided to do it anyway, it's nooooot to my taste, however listening wise it just more bearable then the albums i gave a 2, so i guess its a 3....

Classic Hip Hop right here, It Was A Good Dat is obviously the best song but there are so many other bangers like the title track and When Will They Shoot?

Good music, appalling lyrics.

I wasn't informed that Ice Cube was once able to bring the heat.

Some iconic tracks and I appreciate the fuck the police vibe, but overall the album is around 4 songs about dicks too long

Ice cube really did go hard, enjoyed it

Fun stuff, probably 4 stars just because I thought basically every track was pretty catchy.

I'm convinced Ice Cube's success is 80% his vocal style and not anything to do with his rapping ability. The album has some bangers which keep this high up but his rhymes are subpar.

Easily Cube's most controversial record outside of N.W.A, freaking out white suburban parents since 1992. I remember sensational news stories about this being released like it being named Predator was some sort of admission of social decay.

Gangsta rap isn't really my bag - this was fine as background music, I didn't listen too closely but nothing really grabbed me

Decent album. Enjoyed his energy and thought the execution was good. Doesn’t have the same impact as other artists at this time though. Rating: 7/10 Favorite Song: It was a good day

As always with Ice Cube, a lot of good and a lot of bad This is definitely a decent hip hop album; it’s got great vocals, strong messages, and some pretty solid beats. Today Was A Good Day is an absolute classic that does an amazing job of painting a picture of a day in a life, and really breaks up the album with a less angry, more down to earth track. There’s some good wordplay as well, which I always appreciate I think the messages and lyrics at times are the hardest to defend for this one. He has an entire song about “meaning what you say and saying what you mean,” which is a decent message on its own but leaves no excuse for all the sexist/homophobic stuff in this one. Although the overall quality is higher than the last album we had from him, I still think it struggles to set itself apart from the rest of the 90s hip hop I’ve liked I’m thinking high 3/low 4 for this one; not irredeemable since there’s some strong bones but there’s enough about this one to annoy me that I can’t justify liking this one too much

Yes, It Was A Good Day is the best song. I think it says so much that a completely unremarkable day is in fact something abnormal and noteworthy. Great stuff, especially with the following track. That's a 1-2 punch. sadly, i think this once really loses steam. like the beats are all nice but man they really started to blend together.

There is something about the unavoidably (musically) insubstantial nature of hip-hop that makes the album format, and in particular the hour-long unbrokenness that the CD afforded, a necessary demonstration of scope and capacity. A hip-hop record really has to be more than the sum of its parts: a few bitty, average combinations of mildly engaging instrumental and lyric become holistic statement of intent and character, something personal and literary, when presented omnibus. 'The Predator' is less accomplished than Ice Cube's best work, but it presents an aesthetic vision, a political principle, an artistic statement; engaging with the whole hour front to back is something vaguely theatrical and unavoidably rewarding. As an alternative, more sonically conservative 'West Coast' vision in the face of the Dr. Dre ground-up synth-funk challenge, the unity and good humour of this album leaves at least the first round something like a balanced draw.

Y'know, there's a very simple reason why I liked 'The Predator' and wasn't as much a fan of 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted': this one aged better. With 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted,' I couldn't exactly square away its more misogynistic lyrics. Unless it's particularly egregious, I'm not someone who's very easily offended by old stuff; I don't find much use in doing that. Really, my problem is more with how hard Ice Cube sounded like he wanted to be taken seriously, which didn't smooth over the lyrics the way Dr. Dre's party-up G-funk or Eminem's cartoonishly evil Slim Shady persona could. If Ice Cube wants me to take his reality raps seriously, well, I hafta take it **all** seriously. And I seriously did not enjoy the misogyny — even if it **is** true to "the streets." This is not a problem on 'The Predator,' however. I mean, if there were any misogynistic lyrics, I didn't clock 'em. 'Coz, frankly, I was too busy focusing in on just how angry Ice Cube was on this album. And, well, given a lot of the stuff he says about how black people are treated in America... And given, particularly, that this thing came out mere months after the '92 L.A. riots... Yeah, woof. It ain't fun to think about. That's the unfortunate part of aging Thank goodness, then, I suppose, that the album bangs as hard as it does. This **is** the album with "It Was A Good Day", after all. If you can't bump to that at the very least then I don't know what to tell you. Honestly, given how angry Ice Cube is on a lot of this album, it feels a little weird to say that I had "fun" listening to this album — but I'd be dang lying if I said I ain't had any, y'know? But all throughout it, I'm still taking him seriously, and that's the ultimate advantage this album has over 'AmeriKKKA.' Because of his rage, I found his rhymes and his delivery all a lot more engaging. And, really, of everything he says on this album, the only thing I chaffed against was his mentions of Louis Farrakhan. Ice Cube brought Louis up for his black nationalism — I wince at it given Farrakhan's history of anti-semitism. If I give a side-eye to Chuck D calling Farrakhan a prophet, you bet I'm not gonna jive with Ice Cube calling for Farrakhan for president. However, in the grand scheme of the album, that's the only real issue I have with it. And if the only issue with this album is that Ice Cube brought up Farrakhan one more time than Chuck D did on 'It Takes A Nation...' Well, dang. It's a real good album, then, isn't it? One you just wished could've maybe aged a little worse than it did, so that so much of it still wouldn't be relevant today? But that's hardly the music's fault.

A damn good album from one of the pioneers of West Coast hip-hop. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 5. It’s a good day. It’s a good album too; definitely a significant improvement on “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” in terms of album flow & being able to more concisely deliver the points he wants to make here. It also helps that he’s not portraying himself as a hyper-sexist here; yeah, he’s still calling them hoes & bitches & everything in between, but he’s not being a direct hater outside of “Don’t Trust ‘Em”, and even then, that’s a track about a lady seductress successfully being able to pull off a heist on a cocky rich man (pun intended) with the help of her own crew. If that isn’t some kind of weird twisted respect, I don’t know what is. The main issue that underlines this album is, of course, the Rodney King incident, and Cube’s love for his native L.A. shines through here, taking lead on the torch that plenty of other West Coast albums would carry on a number of tracks released after the riots. Ice Cube is shooting nothing but truth-filled bullets here, and the hate in his heart for those 4 dirty pigs who beat Rodney down is the justified pulse that drives this album. He really does feel like The Predator here, in the sense of a sort of omnipresent stalking / hating on those cops on a number of tracks, even when they seem unrelated. There’s always a verse around the corner that’s laced with lingering frustration & venom from their Not Guilty verdict, and it hits every time. It’s a bit ironic, of course, that the track that’s endured the longest from this album is the one that lacks a single ounce of that frustration & has somehow managed to hit a universal pulse with everyone. To be fair, it did sound like a pretty damn good day. I liked all 12 of the main core tracks here, and while some of the interludes did feel a little odd, most of them provided a good flow – I especially liked “Integration”. Not because of Louis Farrakhan, mind you, who I find to be abrasive as hell at best & just straight up anti-semitic at worst. However, I like its presence near the end of the album, if only because it feels like something that wouldn’t have reasonably found a place on “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”. It speaks to an actual responsibility that he carries well on this album, & the weight of that responsibility has led to a significantly more focused overall project. One that, thankfully, got rewarded with being his best selling album (and getting a #1 on the Billboard charts after dissing them several times here). It’s definitely deserving of being on the list – great lyrics, GREAT production that fully fits Ice Cube, a super varied flow that gives each track its own identity, and a real standout for the first half of ‘90s rap. It’s an easy 5.

in yo face! / preachin / the truth

I was feeling very gloomy today and somehow this complemented it nicely.

Love Ice Cube, could listen to him all day

Enough with the Ice Cube. The guy doesn't need 3+ albums on this list.

Favorite track(s): When Will They Shoot?, Wicked, It Was a Good Day, Don't Trust 'Em, Who Got the Camera?, Say Hi to the Bad Guy

667/1001 2026.07.28 🌕🌗🌑🌑🌑

I wish I didn’t dig this as much as I do. I guess it’s my age.

Post NWA individual albums were and still are peak rap. So many classics. 5/5

Hearing samples by his peers like the Beastie Boys or Public Enemy is so funny to me. It’s like if you heard Drake sample A$AP Rocky nowadays. I don’t think this album is quite as good as his first, but there is still lots to love here. Too many skits though. Favorites were The Predator, It Was A Good Day, Don’t Trust ‘Em, and Check Yo Self.

A bit patchy but there was some good stuff on this and I'm a white guy in his sixties

I think theres way too many songs on the album and they are all so similar, except today was a god day. which was gold. I do appreciate being able to right lyrics and putting it out there. But really the only song that made me be like "wow" was today was a good day. They rest is good listening tunes though but nothing earth shattering imo.

This record is awesome. Really cool having Straight Outta Compton right before bc it shows the development in Ice Cube’s personal sound. Much more politicized and pointed at the people trying to demonize him, yet again a no skip album

Beats are phenomenal. Fupp Cube is an interesting dude. Maybe not my kind of interesting, though. Flows were a lot better than NWA as well. Not enough wow factor for anything more than a three.

Would’ve liked it better if we didn’t have it the day after straight outta Compton. Beats are fine. Flow is better than the NWA album, same w lyrics. But I enjoyed it less. He’s anti semitic

Like Straight Outta Compton, a lot of what Ice Cube does flow wise feels pretty dated, but he isn’t propped up by E and Dre here and the album is weaker for it. However, the emotion is here and cube has a lot to say about a lot of important things.

Ice Cube is not talked about enough. They gotta give bro his flowers

Amazing.

Es curioso que haya visto más el trabajo de Ice Cube como actor que como rapero, pero en ambos casos me parece que lo hace muy bien, se vuelve un poco repetitivo, pero es bueno, logra las 4 estrellas, pero muy preciso

Good beats, cringe lyrics. Dude, get over yourself.

Like Dr. Dre, Ice Cube is an N.W.A. alumnus, but while Dre's first solo album relied on gangster bravado and insults against former bandmates, The Predator is quite different. This is a socially charged album, made against the backdrop of mass unrest in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers who beat a black man. But what does it offer if you're non-American, and especially non-black? A nicely angry, heavy rap that sounds just as good at a party as it does in a mosh pit (it's no surprise that Ice Cube is a frequent guest at rock festivals). This sound is occasionally diluted with reggae and funk motifs. Against the dark beats, the instructive lyrics don't come off as comical, as they sometimes do with bands like Public Enemy. The artist's flow is pleasant, and his voice is stern but not aggressive, like a school gym teacher's. If you like Cypress Hill or House of Pain, you need to listen to this!

A bit repetitive. Not really a fan of this.

Good flow, but the lyrics were a bit much. Which is odd as I don't generally mind, but found myself enjoying it a bit less... which some of the songs allude to. So I don't know.

Je connaissais pas mal de sons mais j'avais jamais écouté d'album d'Ice Cube en entier et c'était une bonne surprise. J'ai vraiment adoré la vibe

Cool

Pretty fun - definitely a little more bloated than Straight Outta Compton. So many tracks that are just like some dialogue from an interview with a beat over it. I kinda like him better as the leader of a crew - he was definitely the best part of NWA but it's kinda fun when Eazy-E shows up sometimes. Obviously It Was A Good Day and Check Yo Self are awesome. Love how much his one thing that every song is about is violence. Like not even necessarily as a means to an end it's just like "I'm going to kill you". It's awesome. And so much braver to rap about beating up cops than like beating up some other rapper - there are so many cops and they're everywhere you go.

Yes classic! High quality rap - relevant, unfortunately timeless and high production quality

Working on this one, will return to it.

Ice Cube, being Ice Cube. He’s an OG what else can you say.

Some classic gangsta tunes. Very long though.

Some classics on here, and a reminder that nothing has really changed.

5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Lands somewhere between 3-4. Probably a 3 as far as the music is concerned. 4 because of the interstitial dialogue w.r.t. the conversations occurring immediately after the Rodney King riots will likely bring me back to it.

The devastation and fury of the LA Race Riots loom large over this whole album. 30+ years later and the lyrics/message feels as relevant as ever (unfortunately). Themes aside, the production is slick, and Cube's vocals dominate each track. Thankfully, the skits are limited in quantity (unlike many other gangsta rap albums from the same time period) and, while crude, focus almost solely on the tense race relations in America and the African American struggle.

listed to at work, enjoyed it

1992? But could be today, like it.

I think this all about ‘it was a good day’ for me personally. To be fair ‘check yo self’ is a banger. Great with his lyrics and the beats match up well. Used to be a big rap fan, but now I’m not as fussed. Was still nice to listen. Probably should give this abit more of a listen.

The same as every other gangster rap album (guns, bitches, murdering) but with even more irritating samples

I am aware of the existence of Ice Cube - but I am not familiar with his stuff. I do have one song liked by him on Spotify - "Arrest the President" from 2018. I was vaguely aware that he came from NWA. Thoughts after listening 3 times ... I'm only gonna count the actual songs on this - not the intro or "inserts" which are just interviews and other talking. So instead of 15 total songs, I am only rating 11 of them. I really do like the groove of a lot of this - it's pretty fun and funky. A lot of the lyrics don't totally connect with me too much, although some if it seems like it's meant to be kinda funny though. I basically think about it as it's reporting from the front lines where folks like Ice Cube grew up. So it's definitely interesting to hear this perspective. I ended up liking 9 songs on this - "Wicked", "Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha", "It Was a Good Day", "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up", "Dirty Mack", "Don't Trust Them", "Ganstas Fairytale", "Check Yo Self", and "Who Got the Camera?". So this is a new high water mark for hip hop albums - my first 4 star rating! And I just got to add 9 more new songs to my Spotify library. Liked songs on Spotify: 9/11 (not 15 when removing the 4 intro/insert tracks) Rating: 4/5

The beats were good, some good messaging but rap is not my style

solid

Bardzo fajny klimat, aczkolwiek nie rezonujący ze mną, muszę dać K. do przesłuchania i to chyba byłaby dobra płyta do czytania "Wszyscy wiedzą..." Jill Leovy.

Nice flow, always liked Ice Cube. But again, rap albums don't really stick into my head.

As a farm kid from a rural community during this time period, early Gangsta Rap really spoke to my personal struggles (especially when stacking hay bales or shoveling poop)... Just so happens I was a world away from Compton and the streets were gravel. Gang Life wasn't exactly knocking at my door. As a reminder of my early gangster life, this album for me is somewhere between 4 and 5 stars... 4.5 stars.

Ice Cube started recording this album in early 1992. Then on April 29th, four police officers were acquitted for the videotaped beating of Rodney King, Los Angeles erupted into six days of riots, and Ice Cube scrapped a significant portion of what he had already recorded and started over. The album that came out in November was a fundamentally different record than the one he had planned to make. Sometimes history rewrites your album for you and there is nothing to do but get in the studio and respond. It Was a Good Day is a national holiday and I will not be taking questions on this. The genius of the song is not just the groove, which is built on an Isley Brothers sample so smooth it should be illegal, but the fact that Ice Cube treats the complete absence of violence and harassment as cause for celebration. Nobody he knew got killed. He did not need his AK. These are the criteria for a perfect day in South Central in 1992. The song ends with the music cutting out abruptly and Cube muttering to himself before the album lurches immediately into We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up, which is about the Rodney King verdict, which is either the most jarring album sequencing decision of the decade or the most honest one. Probably both. The album also coined the phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong." Nintendo later trademarked this phrase in 2010 to promote a Wii game, which is the most 2010 sentence ever written and Ice Cube deserves royalties he will never see. The second half bogs down somewhat, which is the honest critical consensus and also my honest experience. A 4 was within reach and the back half let it slip. 3 out of 5. One star for It Was a Good Day. One for the production, which hits like a freight train with good taste in samples. One for the historical document this album represents, angry and specific and completely unwilling to make anyone comfortable.

One of the most influential rappers at the peak of his creative power. If it were only for It Was a A Good Day and Check Yo' Self, it would've been a great album, but it's a masterpiece front to end. 5/5

This definitely felt pretty bloated at almost an hour. There were only a couple songs that actually left an impression, and only one that I really really like (Good Day) so this feels pretty overrated but still not bad enough to get any less than a 3/5.

Easy to harp on the omnipresent violence but this is also a wildly smooth, comfortable album. It also seems to have a more mature view of that violence than most from its era. He is THE predator Highlights: "When Will They Shoot?", "It Was a Good Day"

Ice cube is one of the guys that you would expect to be kinda boring but he’s actually great

Favorite song: When Will They Shoot?

I used to play the game Go quite a bit with a friend of mine who was a far more skilled player. If you know about Go, then you know it’s like learning a language, and the learning curve is tremendous. Whenever I’d made horrible moves, my friend would instruct me by simply hinting ‘shotgun bullets are bad for your health.’ I still say this to people when they’re doing something wrong, and nobody ever knows what I’m talking about. Thank you Ice Cube. Aside from that, this album has to be the realest of the real. Addressing the gangland fantasy of this genre, and still commenting that it was a good day because he didn’t have to use his AK, Ice does paint an accurate portrait of how America was at the time, and how America still is now.

Ikke min smak

It’s got that one good IceCube song a bunch of other songs that are cool but not special

I've had my thoughts on him with his other album (tldr: speaks to real black issues but is misogynistic & homophobic), but he still delivers great flow throughout with the backing of some great beats. It Was A Good Day is the standout, but the rest is pretty great.

Highlights: Now I Gotta Wet ‘Cha, Check Yourself, I’m Scared (Insert), It Was A Good Fay, When Will They Shoot? In a nutshell: take a walk in Ice Cube's big black boots. First thought: "great. Another hip hop album (eyeroll)." Looked at Wikipedia article: "okay, this album could have some substance" First track (intro): “shit, this is a stark way to begin an album.” Completed the album: wow. Intense is an understatement. It's not an album I enjoyed per se, it's more of an album that I will be thinking about for a long time. The inserts served a purpose instead of being self-indulgent skits. Good beats. The recording of The Predator coincided with the Los Angeles riots of 1992. There is no doubt that these events inspired Ice Cube’s lyrics. Overall: 6/10

Don’t really care for this at all

Hmm, this is one of the better rap offerings on here. I like the overall sound and the interludes are interesting and different. He gets his point across well and it’s not as juvenile as so much of the genre. Misogyny does rear its ugly head once more though so that’s a thumbs down. 3.5 rounding down

I can't believe I hadn't listened to this before. Some of the lyrics did not age well, but putting those aside I really enjoyed this one.

No

Nuance required here. Same trappings as always of great energy, super great topics and bars, why does it have to be misogynistic and homophobic man. The skit on here where his reasoning for what he’s saying is “fuck em” is infuriating. It’s just edgy to be edgy and no backbone or reasoning to stand behind it. Stand behind what you’re embodying or admit what you’re saying is just to be edgy and shut the fuck up. This is not just Mr Cube, it’s so much of this 90s and early 2000s rap. That said, good album, good day is a phenomenal song and maybe one of the greatest vignettes of all time. 10/10 song.

Surprised to say that was my first time listening to that album all the way through and it’s a great listen

First day at school, de titel deed me even dubbel kijken, word dit het Ice Cube kinder album? Nooope, absoluut niet. De intro gaat al over het binnentreden van de gevangenis. Super gezellig, precies wat je verwacht bij Cube. Rest van het album is die klassieke hard Ice Cube sound, old school boombap beats en dan gewoon bars. Weinig refreintjes, weinig zang, ook de beats zijn vrij rauw. Behalve Today was a good day dan, dat is echt een compleet ander nummer dan de standaard Ice Cube sound. Het is wel grappig om te horen in de context van het hele album, lijkt echt in niets op de rest. Opvallend trouwens; de skits op dit album voegen daadwerkelijk iets toe. Ze gaan voornamelijk over police brutality, de ongelijkheid tussen zwart en wit en wat er fout gaat in Amerika. Het is te makkelijk om te klagen over het grove taalgebruik van Cube op dit album, mensen doen dat echt te makkelijk. Daarmee negeer je eigenlijk waar dit album echt over gaat; het is een aanklacht tegen Amerika en de ongelijkheid. Ice Cube en NWA hebben beiden een hoop muziek gemaakt die dat duidelijk maakt, op een manier die de mensen waar ze vandaan komen ook begrijpen. Ja het is grof, Ja het is pure old school hiphop, maar ik snap meteen dat dit een essentieel album is. Probeer dit album zo neutraal mogelijk in te gaan, het lijkt een 'simpel' bragging gangsta rap album op het eerste oog. Maar er zit behoorlijk meer in dan weer een simpel gangsta rap album... FAVO: When will they shoot? , It was a good day, Dirty Mack, Say Hi to the bad guy

“It was a good day” and a few album skits I actually enjoyed vs having them feel like filler. Still think I like public enemy more but happy to get deeper into the early 90s rap scene.

It Was A Good Day is the obvious standout here. That said the album was full of strong messaging relevant to then and unfortunately now.

I can't believe I had not heard this before, but it hit right when I got off of Hip Hop. It's fantastic all the way through--still docking a point for misogyny, but it's a 4.5 for me.

West Coast hip hop at its finest. Cube is a pioneer in this game and this record cements that. Not my favorite of the west coast identities, but Cube is an important milestone in hip hop history for his lyrics on culture, race, demographic, and lifestyle in the 90s in LA. This is a great record.

Solid album. 90’s rap rules. The hits are a way better than the rest of the album, but it’s far from filler.

Pretty damn good. Hits still hold up. Topics are still relevant. I just feel like his rapping gets too close to "rip-rap rippidy doo" cadence too often.

Ice Cube used to know what was up when it came to how America treats black people. We all know that sadly today Ice Cube defends the white establishment. I wish he was still advocating for violence against racist whites. I have to give this album a low rating because I cannot forgive the misogyny and homophobia. The year being 1992 is no excuse. Honestly it knocks the legs out from under the rest of the politics in the lyrics.

A voice of the 90s with strong messaging.

Good production and beats, solid delivery, and some pretty heavy subject matter. Crazy he’s making crappy Amazon movies now. Likes: When Will They Shoot; The Predator; It Was A Good Day; Check Yo Self

Концепт выдержан, но данный рэп слишком постарел

Review: This was a very good album that is one of the most important in the history of hip hop. Ice cube branching off from NWA and finding his own identity can be seen clearly with the passion throughout the album. He is rapping with purpose and you have to respect that. There were some lackluster songs and the consistency definitely could have been better. Another critique that I have is that even though It was a good day is the best song on the album it feels kind of out of place. All of the other songs feel dark and sharp while the best song feels like it doesn't make sense in the storytelling of the album.

It's not as good as lethal injection, but it's still a great album that put him on the map.

Oh, boy, I wanted to like it, but I couldn't. Not even the billion-plays song. Deff not for me.

Buenísimo album de hip hop. Muy disfrutable, Ice Cube fluye por los temas. Una cosa espectacular. 7/10

I really like a lot of tracks on this album but I find it a bit uneven.

I shouldn’t love this, but I do. Whatever. Most rap sucks, and most rappers are vile, blood sucking degenerates. But this guy gets me moving. The anger and passion in his voice was made for poetry. Bring it Cube!

Not bad at all in the context of early 90s Southern California. Infinitly influential and actually kind of holds up. My big problem with Ice Cube is the same with flavor flav, you dipped out and chose hollywood. The skits are so uniquely 90's, and the samples and beats are quite repetitive and simplistic. But I can't ding Ice on all that. It was of the time. 3 stars on merit, hard to rate it higher in the big 26.

6/23/26. Ice Cube's energy and message throughout this album is intense, almost like heavy metal in a hip hop album. Still believe it's underrated among legendary 90s rap records.

This is an album of it's time. Caught somewhere between the very real issues with American society, particularly relating to the Rodney King incident and the LA riots of 92' and calling every woman a bitch or a ho. The king stuff is incendiary and this coming from a white guy who lives thousands of miles from where this all happened. A really interesting album and a great soundtrack to the riots. Ice Cube will come up again on this journey and rightfully so.

On his third solo album, Ice Cube spends nearly an hour bragging about how great he is, complaining (by name) about everyone who has wronged him, or preaching about the evils of white people and women. Big hit "It Was a Good Day" breaks the mold by being more positive (although Cube still views women as sex objects on the song), but my enthusiasm for the song has been dampened by the overplay of its video on MTV back in the day. "Check Yo Self" was another single, but was more popular (and superior) in its remix that samples hip-hop class "The Message". Das EFX rappity raps the hook on both versions of the song, making this very 1992 sounding. "Wicked" stands out from the lukewarm G-Funk that features on most of the album's musical backing. This reflection on the 1992 L.A. riots has more of a Bomb Squad sound collage style, harkening back to Cube's debut, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. The backdrop works in its support of Cube's lyrics about the chaos of the time period. Overall, The Predator is a disappointing album full of dated beats with problematic lyrics that has definitely not aged well.

At first I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I'm not a big fan of gangsta rap, often because of the lyrical content rather than the music. The Preditor starts off strong though, with a powerful political message. It does sadly descend into misogyny and homophobia towards the end of the album. Ice Cube also keeps saying that he's not anti semetic or anti Korean but I'm not sure why. Perhaps his previous albums had some similarly unpleasant references to those about "bitches" and "faggots". It's a shame as I thought the album was good otherwise and, while it's not as egreously offensive as Ready to Die or Smack My Bitch Up I'm still knocking off a star.

This was a nice visit from the past. I like the melodic rap of the 90s, and the lyrics felt like I was being sat down to hear someone talk about things that matter.

That one famous song is here, yk the one. Like the one that goes like that one melody yk? Do you know?

Quite listenable for a hip-hop album. favourite: "It Was a Good Day"

Go melt

This album has a couple of real classics, but I couldn't keep myself interested for the entire 56 minutes. About three and a half stars.

This was never meant for me, but I feel like it still holds up.

It was a good day for old school West coast rap.

It hasn't aged as well as I thought it would. It Was A Good Day is the only track I really liked on this listen.

Some of it sounds a bit dated, but still pretty enjoyable

The super angry schtick gets old

Solid stuff.

The beginning was funny my bad. I think old hip-hop is just a bit too repetitive and boring for me. I like music with clear melodies. Def an important listen, since it speaks a lot on the racism and social tensions of the time, but I wouldn't listen to it again. 3/5

1 good song

Some great classics on here!

When Will They Shoot - 4/5 I’m Scared (Insert) - 3.5/5 Wicked - 3/5 Now I Gotta Wet ‘Cha - 3/5 The Predator - 3/5 It Was A Good Day - 2.5/5 We Had To Tear This Mothafucka Up - 2.5/5 Fuck ‘Em (Insert) - 2.5/5 Dirty Mack - 2.5/5 Don’t Trust ‘Em - 2/5 Gangsta’s Fairytale 2 - 2.5/5 Check Yo Self - 3/5 Who Got The Camera? - 2.5/5 Say Hi To The Bad Guy - 2.5/5

For me it’s one of the stronger albums of this genre

Just another generic hip hop album yet again with rampant misogyny. It's not actually all that bad outside of that, in terms of vocals, instrumentals, production etc It's certainly not anything special but it's perfectly ok. But the lyrics and just overall lack of originality are really what drag it down. I think that NWA and the members as individuals obviously have a hugely important place in the timeline of hip hop throughout the years, but there is definitely something to be said about the fact that they are more influential than actually good.

Insufferable.

Pretty good

This was Wicked.

Some interesting themes and social commentary. Too bad Ice Cube is the biggest sell out this side of the Sex Pistols. 6/10

j'adore !

I’m not much of a fan of gangsta rap. Typically I’ve found it to be too harsh to enjoy, even though I respect where it’s coming from. I was surprised by this album, as it was pretty focused on current events of the time and Ice Cube mostly aimed his venom at the police and systemic racism. And I was all in for that, nodding in agreement with way more of the lyrics than I’d imagined I would’ve been. It’s when songs strayed from that message (Don’t Trust ‘Em) that I was less enthusiastic. I rarely add gangsta rap songs to personal playlists, but both When Will They Shoot and (of course) It Was a Good Day have been saved.

Preferred it to the previous Ice Cube album. Didn't need two Cube albums though. 2.5/5. Raising to 3.

"[The right honorable gentleman] will swarm on any motherfucker in a blue uniform" This is excellent. Love Cube, love this album. Whod've thunk ,in a few short years, this hard gangsta muthafukka would be starring in family movies. Doesn't change the art. Fo-stahs

It was a good day

This album comes in strong with the social commentary and the beats are on point. Wild that it came out around the time of the 1992 L.A. protests.

Okay I do feel bad for giving bad scores to all the 90s rap albums. It's just not my kind of thing. But this one had some good sections rather. I just don't really vibe with the antisemitism of it all and the having sex with women.

It was a good day was the highlight

Definitely a classic, great production great flow, great political critiques, it’s got all the hallmarks of a great rap album. I think what keeps this from being an all timer is the lack of variety on the flow. He really just has one. This album is really just missing its curveball.

Overall Rating - 2.69/5 (5.38/10). Not my usual preference, but it's well done and topical.

This is as 90s rap as it gets and I don’t love 90s rap. Some good beats here and there but mostly a miss for me.

At times, the lyrics poignantly captures the anger of black people vs cops. At other times, I found the lyrics cringy.

This was very good. I wasn’t able to pay attention to the whole thing but what I really appreciated is how the music was secondary to the lyrics. Ice cube has something to say and he wants you to hear it. He speaks clearly and confidently and sounds almost effortless to the point of not trying until you look at the lyrics and see how they line up. Guy is a poet. I would like to go back and listen better.

No one can spit it with quite as much violent venom as Ice Cube in the 90s. He was right to be so angry. Incredible West coast beats, great flow, and an unrelenting anger that makes this white boy want to march in the streets with him. A landmark record.

*Meed a “no” star option! No music, just vulgar lyrics

Tento rap tiež nemusím...

No es de los que mas me gusta Dos temas muy miticos

not really that original but I liked some of it.

Had never listened to Ice Cube before...

The feeling of dropping a quarter down a drain before finding a silver dollar in the park. Not as everyday by any means but got its moments. As someone who’s not a rap fan like at all Twas pleasantly amused with this one. Also loving the social commentary we gettin. 1992 rarely looked better on itself. Solid 7.4/10. Still not crazy high cause it’s rap but that just my bias. Drink: gimme a horchata with too much cinammon. Also too many ice cubes.(hah get it?!) still good flavor tho with the right meal.

This a pretty political album, there's no doubt about it. So giving my thoughts on the songs themselves feels a bit inappropriate. It can't be helped though.🙏 The intro built anticipation, and When Will They Shoot did not disappoint! The best song!!! Wicked wasn't as strong, but Don Jagwarr definitely made it exciting. The Predator must have influenced the horrocore genre, at least a little bit. I recognized It Was A Good Day the moment it started playing. I don't like this song very much, but I appreciate it's positivity because I did start feeling a little sad. Dirty Mack was pretty meh, but "Who framed Cube? Mothafuck Roger Rabbit." 😂😂😂 You still can't trust no ho 🤷‍♀️ My favorite songs happen to the be first and last ones 💭 After listening to this album I respect Ice Cube even more. He is cool🧊haha get it

05/30 Meh

My second Ice Cube album- I actually found myself enjoying this more than the last. Tight lyrics filled with social commentary, less speaking out against women, and some of his best hits. Overall- good hip-hop album. 3.5/5

Kan hier weinig mee eerlijk gezegd, maar ook weer niet slecht

Niet heel hard maar niet heel bad.

This whole album was fire.

A lot of the songs were really solid, and I really dig the aggressive, high energy rap, but there were also some reeeeeal corny songs.

cool, the staple style of the time

Ma swoje momenty, bywa dowcipny, spostrzegawczy. Ale do wybitnych raperów mu brakuje jakiejś iskry bożej. 6/10

n word rap, good day le da 2/5

That was OK.

Great album Standout songs: When will they shoot? We had to tear this mothafucka up Who got the camera?

Immer noch nicht meine Zeit und meine Musik.

A statement of the anger of black Los Angeles around the time of the 1992 Rodney King riots, with a heavy focus on policing as you might expect. Some of the clips interspersed with the songs really make this a document of the emotions and debates around them, including the moral panic around rap’s alleged influence on the violence. Musically, more of a mixed bag. Sonically it’s mostly in the wheelhouse of the Public Enemy ‘wall of noise’ approach, including some samples from Flavor Flav’. But it lacks, perhaps understandably, some of the levity of PE, with lyrics often misogynistic and violent. There might be historical reasons for that focus, but it did lessen my enjoyment of the album.

As an album that captures the anger of black America in 1992, it works really well, and is worth a listen on that basis. It is tarnished by some of the more misogynist lyrics on some tracks.

Sonically, this is a really strong album; the sampling is excellent and the beats are always varied and interesting. Judged on that basis, it’s one of the best hip-hop albums I’ve had so far. Unfortunately, the lyrics often detract significantly from my enjoyment, hence a slightly lowered score. The material about police brutality, racism, etc. is great (e.g. ‘We Had to Tear This Motherfucka Up’, though the real standout is ‘It Was a Good Day’, a fantastic and really quite tragic classic). However, there is far too much sexually aggressive, violent, homophobic and misogynistic stuff here for my liking.

Im not a rap fan by any stretch although I am a child of the 90s. Im mildly familiar with ice cubes hits and history. So this isnt really my thing. But I really liked this, turned up and on a good speaker system it was a lot of dirty fun

Upon listening to a few other gangsta hip hop records from this era before I got this one, I found out I am not a huge fan of the genre. But this one surprised me! The beats were funky, the lyrics were flowing, and the energy was booming. Definitely my favorite of this style so far

3.3 5x

No soy experto en Rap y menos aún en Ice T o Ice cube, aunque prefiero a este último, su música me gusta más. Si en este listado ya están NWA (con el fundamental Straight Outta Compton) u otros discos del propio Cube como AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted este The Predator podría estar de más pero claro la cosa cambia al escuchar It was a good day (con ese sample de Footsteps in the dark de nada menos que los Isley Bros. y la inestimable ayuda de los Cypress Hill). Es el único rayo de luz en todo el disco, pero menudo temazo. El resto es heavy-rap. Rimas con contenido crítico sobre los problemas y disturbios raciales a principios de los 90 (los RHCP también escribieron Under the bridge sobre ellos) y mucha fuerza, pero no es para ní. Yo prefiero a los De La Soul, Digable Planets, Balck Sheep, Native Tongues o los Disposable Heroes...

Heavy gangsta rap

Quite enjoyed this, funnily enough I thought I heard some similarities with Korn

Tidal botched the album. Good thing I found the CD. Masterpiece.

3.33

Muchísimo mejor de lo que esperaba un disco de rap

I like this album but there are a lot of prison rape references that don’t sit well

Not my thing but I appreciate the effort

Ice Cube seems like an entertainment and sports franchise at this point, but the album <bleep> does <bleep> groove <bleep><bleep>.

Thought I heard some portions of Doggystyle, but that came out a year later. It's decent rap from an angry man, but not my thing.

Solid.

Get to the chopper!

The unbelievable has happened. Sound the horns, hear the peal of the bell tower. WE have a decent West Coast rap record. More than decent in fact. Despite the overplayed garbage song that this record is most famous for, where Ice Cube outs himself as a recreational basketball stats counter? Ice Cube is out here counting rebounds at the park??? Probably the lamest moment in rap history. Also, most of the people listen to that song as a "chill feel-good vibez" song without even quickly examining the context in which it exists. It has become so ubiquitous in the moron zeitgeist, that it is disqualified from artistic merit in the obnoxious douchebag community (I am lead chair). Remove the assist counter anthem and the weird sex parts and you've got a viscerally angry and outspoken rap record that is leagues beyond most anything coming out of California. Remove the drop-top cars and the parties, and you have righteous hatred of white supremacist systems and a killer set of beats to match. 3.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Is this about my cube?

Regardless of the artist, I’m generally not a fan of interludes and skits, even when they come from someone as iconic as Ice Cube. That said, the inserts on The Predator feel thematically appropriate and fit the overall tone of the album. On a nostalgic level, this is a fun record to revisit. Certain tracks—especially It Was a Good Day—immediately transport me back to high school and to the countless hours I spent watching MTV. On a personal level, though, this album lands in the “good, but not a favorite” category. Hip-hop and rap—particularly gangsta rap—are genres I tend to enjoy most in small doses. That may be why I connected with this music more as a teenager, when Ice Cube’s biggest singles filtered into the mainstream and were easier to appreciate one track at a time. Sitting down and listening to the full hour of The Predator while working feels a bit taxing for me. Not because the album isn’t good, but because it’s a lot to take in all at once. If music were an annual holiday potluck with rock, jazz, country, pop, and hip-hop all laid out on the table, The Predator would definitely earn a spot on my plate—but only in a modest serving. No one wants a plate piled entirely with creamed corn. At least, I don’t.

Every time I see skits and interludes on an album it lowers expectations immediately. Outside of those unnecessary moments, the sound is what you'd expect from this era of rap. The beats are inventive, but can get old pretty quick for me on some tracks. I generally ignore lyrics, so I assume they're all about self-posturing, bitches, guns, violence, and money. Still, today was a good day for a journey in the 64'.

Overall: 8/10 Alright, I'll get into the negatives first. It's early 90s gangster rap, which means it's misogynistic, homophobic and very violent. Not only that, but if you've seen any interviews with Cube recently, you get the sense that he doesn't stand by the political lyrical content on this album anymore, which lessens some of the impact. With all that being said, the songs here are so good. Incredible, danceable beats are used for politically charged songs about the black experience, especially as a black man living in California. I think his flow had evolved since his N.W.A. days as well. Despite some of the unfortunare lyrical content, he sounds his most mature here. Now we get to It Was a Good Day. What an absolutely incredible rap song. He just tells the story of a good day that he had, and it's captivating. I think that song is a masterpiece. It's a shame that Cube has changed so much since this point in time, because he really was a great voice in the rap industry. Fav Song: It Was a Good Day

Tiresome themes, tiresome sound, tiresome lame rhyming, tiresome profanities.

i can say it's really refreshing having so much '90s hip hop music in succession after... what, almost two years of being on this platform and getting "hey bossman, wanna listen to some indie jangle power pop?" anyways, coming at you today is the third album by N.W.A. member ice cube, released within the 1992 los angeles riots. ice cube's rapping and musical style is really in your face. real aggressive and vigorous. i think ice cube does hip hop in a way that gets heads turning much more compared to the other men i've reviewed these past few days. the "predator" theme is prevalent with samples from the predator films. it's conscious, cultural... really it's yet another record that made history in rap.

I liked this better than America’s most wanted, but still not amazing.

Didn’t overly care much for this one

What an opener!

uncle cube is always a good listen no matter what act hes with ill go see him live

There's a couple songs I quite like on this but the rest aren't as good

This is fine, a couple good, many mediocre. Heard worse rap albums by far

Ice Cube is a fucking Trump-humping jackwagon now, but I have to credit him with a pretty damn great album from ‘92. His beats are better than his flow, but Ice draws blood from the cops and whitey with nasty vigor. And he can be really funny about it too. Much better than I expected.

Day 268 Gonna start calling my family ‘devils’ Highlights When will they shoot? It was a good day Who got the camera?

OK, this surprised me! Really incredible - strong lyrics but its the beats that got me personally. Really cool album, very happy to of listened from start to finish.

Solid album with powerful messages that still resonate.

Not really my thing

Just 1 good song

Well I'm 30+ years too late. I listened to this and loved it. Alternately socially interesting/honest and genuinely funny.

Going from 80's country to this is enough to give anyone whiplash. Good beats, I like Ice Cube's delivery, plus there's a lot of Public Enemy on here.

Hell yeah! Classic '90s hip-hop that still hits HARD over 30 years later. Nearly perfect in its production (DJ Muggs tracks being some of his strongest work ever) . Vocal delivery is pure power. Lyrics and themes are still so eerily relevant. I wish more modern hip-hop followed this blueprint.

I like it better than most rap I hear. I think it's the Public Enemy influence that makes this more listenable. His voice is cool and really carries his aggression. Sometimes that's cool and sometimes it just lumps this in with all of the typical gangsta rap garbage. "Dirty Mack" and "Don't Trust 'Em" are very basic and are exemplars of this weak sauce. I really don't understand anyone wanting to listen to songs where the guy is just talking about how big his dick is. Boring! I guess what I'm saying is that I can listen to this in small doses, a couple of songs at a time. Otherwise it gets too repetitive and annoying. Let's call this a 2.5 and just give it 2 stars. I like some of it, but not enough to come back to listen to the whole thing.

Politically charged and aggressive. Hear it in the angry lyrics. At least one or two tracks musically sounded a little like Cypress Hill. Pretty solid, but there’s political gangster rap that hits harder and is lore interesting to me.

I’ve never knowingly listened before but it is possible but of course I know the famous singles from the album, including Wicked, which sadly I came to know more for the Korn version but the original is much better. Knowing how much I liked the songs I knew already, this lived up to my expectations so very much enjoyed. Being recorded shorty after the LA riots in 1992, sadly a lot of the themes covered are still extremely relevant today.

not my taste

Mid

The things that Ice Cube rapped about in the early 90s is still on-going today. Using this album as a symbol of race relations, social issues, and areas of difficulty is an art form. However, I think the actual music struggles at times with repetitiveness.

mucho rap pocas buenas melodias. no es de mi agrado

Parempaa gängstaräptii.

Original Gängsta

Ice Kuubio toimii kyllä, omalaatunen flow, kiukkusta lyriikkaa, mikä jottei.

GREAT !!!!!! everyone should listen to this before they die !!!!! not i gotta wet 'cha it was a good day dirty mack check yo self

it was a good day will always b top tier to me liked the rest of the album too right the beats were really fun

Angry and I respect that even if this wasn’t my favourite thing to listen to.

Okay, I know Ice Cube is super important to hip-hop history and I do like this album, but that War of the Worlds remake from last year makes it harder for me to take Ice Cube seriously than when I got AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted for the project in 2024. I hear the music and a small but vocal part of me just thinks about Ice Cube's befuddled expressions from what little I've seen of that apparent atrocity. Man, what were they thinking? Okay, onto the album. I like this. As stated earlier, I have heard Ice Cube's debut solo album, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, and I thought it was alright. I do think that The Predator is better though. I don't know. There are things that interest me more here. I like the production more. It feels a bit closer to modern, whereas AMW was still clearly continuation of the 80s stuff he had done with NWA. The album still feels like an early 90s release, but it's more interesting. The writing is also more interesting. As per usual, there are parts that haven't aged well, but the album has a stronger focus on politics and the 1992 LA Riots in particular that I really appreciate. As far as songs go, there are some good ones here, but there's really only one that's worth discussing prominently, that of course being "Today Was a Good Day." Oh, this song is so good. The production is the best on the entire album and the writing takes the basic idea of "Ice Cube having a good day" and makes it more interesting than it has any right to be. The fact that the song highlights things like the lack of murders and cop cars on the titular "good day" does a great job of reminding the listener that Ice Cube's life typically had those things in them, though the other songs on the album also remind you of that. It's an excellent song, though it does make the rest of the album seem kinda weak by comparison. Overall, The Predator is a solid time, but not the best of what hip-hop has to offer. Aside from the one outstanding track, the album at large is solid, but not super impressive. The pacing's also a little weird. High 3/5.

I get and truly appreciate the cultural relevance of all of these 90s gangster rap albums, this one in particular. But I just hate this music. It's monotonous, cliched, and though still relevant as far as the racial commentary it hasn't really aged well otherwise. The abject violence, rampant misogyny, homophobia, and all the other tropes of this kind of music just grate on your ears. It's funny to me that Ice Cube went from this to acting, especially in family friendly movies. He's actually really funny too. There is a little bit more variation in this than most I suppose. I still can't recommend it or even pick out something I liked because this kind of music is just not for me, but it wasn't the worst example I've heard so there's that. 1.75/5

So I think Now I Gotta Wet ‘Cha kinda represents the way I feel about this album overall. The samples, the music, the hooks have me. The message of violence- well it’s incredibly disturbing. Kinda like American Psycho. The novel, not the film. Reading the novel I get to sections where I can’t believe I’m still reading - but I am, I have multiple times. I think American Psycho is a brilliant novel. The title says it all. And I have to say I think this album is also pretty f*ing brilliant. Not that I want to listen to it on the regular. But glad I heard it as an album at least once. 4 stars. Boolean rating: yes, glad I heard it before I die, before they put me six feet under and I can listen no more.

2 1/2

Still really good

Enjoyed it overall. Liked When Will They Shoot and Check Yo Self best.

This seemed good to me! This kind of street-rap is not really my thing but I was happy for a listen today.

Amazing. Still sounds fresh and relevant. Total masterpiece.

One of his best outside nwa

DNF. was really catchy and all but if you’re so uncreative that you have to use the f-bomb every 3.5 seconds, maybe you should pursue another profession.

I found this quite uninspiring outside of the big hit. Fave Tracks: It Was A Good Day 2.4/5

eh me dio mucha paja. Muy monotemático.

Surprised at how much I vibed with it, even though I think the early half of the album is kind of weak. Don't take me wrong, a lot of, if not most of, the tracks have some really good beats and production going on, but I do think that some overstay its welcome, specially during the first half. The turning point is shortly after "It Was A Good Day", which is undoubtedly the standout track of this album. For me the album really started picking up from "Fuck 'em" onwards, specially with tracks such as: Dirty Mack: I loved the saxophone sample in the background Gangsta's Fairytale 2: it has an awesome bassline Check Yo Self: is pretty iconic too, and it feels like a great follow up to the previous track. Who Got the Camera has a great production, very funky. And finally, Integration + Say Hi To The Bad Guy is a pretty good closing duo to the album. It almost makes me forget how iffy the first few tracks are. Overall, solid album.

This was fun - 3.5 rounded up

Too much of this sounds alike, and as much as I love Ice Cube in movies, this is not my jam.

Notable for being the album with "It Was a Good Day" and "Check Yo Self", The Predator is more of what we've come to expect from Ice Cube; tales of police brutality, hood life, and his sexual prowess. This time around production duties are handled by a few DJ's including DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill. Overall the album isn't much new. Cube spends a few songs addressing antisemitism accusations, and slows things down on a song or two, but otherwise it's the same ol' Cube.

Just one of the greatest voices in hip hop period - at the top of his game.

Much better than his other album on here. I like the message, and it’s cool that it brings these audio samples to people who may have never heard them, and pique people’s curiosity.

Still relevant lyrically but also has heavy on the misogyny, homophobia that makes it uncomfortable to listen to in 2026

The star of the hit film War of the Worlds (2025) is a pretty good rapper

Thought provoking.

It hooked me both politically and musically.

These grooves are funky, heavy, cool, infectious. Gangsta is a genre I don't really "get," it's not my culture, it's too violent. So, it doesn't appeal to me lyrically. It's hard to get past being offended. But I can see how some guys would be attracted to Mr. Cube. Killer grooves though, foot tappin' production. Please don't make my head explode like a cantaloupe.

Surprisingly nice

Pretty chill album I liked most the songs and seems like a nice 90s rap album

Really not for me. Just can’t appreciate why I would want to listen to this again.

Definitely No.

I was waffling between an 2 and 3, leaning heavily towards a 2 due to the repetition and no real distinction between other hip hop acts of the time. Further reflecting this evening, and you know what? It was a good day. I wouldn’t have had that depth of thought without having listened this earlier in the day.

the most i know of this guy before this album is war of the worlds. he’s good at rapping, he should’ve stuck with that lmao. the album’s alright. i’m a little distracted, there’s a lot going on today and i don’t have time to really get into it unfortunately. 3

NWA was dope and that Friday movie was funny but that's about it for this guy. Next!

I'm pretty torn about this album. Although I definitely agree it belongs in the collection, and Ice Cube almost rises to Public Enemy's level of social criticism--albeit without any of PE's musical or lyrical creativity--it's also hard to ignore Ice Cube's troubling blind spots on this album that became more and more obvious as time went on. "Wicked" is probably the worst of the lot, a well-done song whose video (and lyrics) sadly conflates the real and deep-seated anger triggered by the Rodney King trial and police violence with (literal) imagery of Korean store owners robbing Black bystanders at gunpoint, and Red Hot Chili Peppers gleefully participating in local store looting and demolition. It's hard to avoid feeling (especially with his previous and future excursions into antisemitism and anti-Asian rhetoric and conspiracy theories) that Ice Cube isn't just channeling the rage that fueled the Rodney King riots, but is instead mired in a sad and largely self-destructive perspective that takes aim at entirely the wrong targets, a sort of transferred aggression that dogs can't help doing, but humans *should* have more self-control than that. It would be easier to temper (or perhaps just ignore) Ice Cube's dubious politics if there was more music on this album than there is. As it stands, though, you're pretty much left with his messages, which doesn't do as well for him overall as he probably thought it did (although his blistering critique of law enforcement's embedded racism and violence remains sadly relevant 35 years later). I'm also annoyed at myself for having such a negative response to this album.

Nope, don't buy the anger and bravado. Sometimes it's easy to be hard.

Typical 80s 90s hip hop copywrite steal from NWA or older bands

On one hand, I really like political rap. On the other, I really dislike gangster rap. Enough of the misogyny and f slurs, please. Very hit and miss album for me.

В это трудно поверить, но надо признаться, что я не смотрел Хищника и, кажется, не люблю рэп

Странно, как бы я ни любил рэп, но как-то не в меня. Хотя с удовольствием переслушал нетленку It Was a Good Day, и еще Don't Trust 'Em неплохая. И вообще для актера он неплохо читает.

Хера он злой как черт. Нраааа

Не самый большой любитель Айс Кьюба, так как с другими его альбомами и N.W.A. у меня особой связи не сложилось. Но этот альбом мне на удивление понравился, крепкий вест-кост гангста рэп, хоть я и больше по ист-косту всегда был. P.S. Очередной альбом, где есть один хит и все остальное разной степени качества. Кажется, что слишком большой фокус у автора списка идет на хиты, а не на сами проекты.

Лучший трек: It was a good day Худший: Gangsta's Fairytale Ожидал большего. Большинство треков монотонны, минуса незапоминающиеся. Check Yo Self в ремиксе звучит поприкольнее

3, it was not such a good day...

Неожиданно понравилось около половины материала альбома. У этого артиста я знаю только хит про хороший день и для меня это слишком софт реп. А оказалось, что сам по себе альбом вдохновлен лос-анджелесскими стычками, и в нем достаточно агрессии и политоты, которые я люблю в современных JV&B или Kneecap. Кроме того, этот альбом упоминается в любимом сериале «Трудности ассимиляции», наконец поняла отсылку. Неужто пора смотреть «Войну миров» 2025 года? В плейлист ушли: When Will They Shoot?, I’m scared, Wicked, We had to tear this mothafucka up. Оценку между 3.5 и 4 округлю до 4

I’ve heard this before, but haven’t listened to it since the early 00s. I love this era of hip hop in spite of the misogyny and homophobia and violence. This album came right at the time where the faster beats that Public Enemy had were giving way to the slower beats that the g-funk rappers had and it covers both pretty well. The version of Check Yo Self here uses the Sweet Inspirations version of I’m Blue, which was also sampled by Salt n Pepa in Shoop, when I remember it using The Message from Grandmaster Flash, I guess that was the single? I’m pretty sure I remember the grandmaster flash sample in the video. Anyway the album version rocks in a different way but still rocks. The whole album kicks ass. Bumping a point off for the misogyny and homophobia. For violence, it’s mostly talking about shooting cops which I’m fine with.

I was previously familiar with Ice Cube but not really any material. This isn't the sort of music I would normally listen to, but this album was pretty good actually. The beats are interesting enough and while I typically don't like rap vocals, this did not seem too bad for me. I doubt I would listen to it again, but I am fine to have heard it once.

I liked a few songs. Prefer other rap records.

Solid old school album

Might be my favorite old school rapper. I loved this album

I'm under qualified to describe this but the bounciness of 90's rap and the clear and concise bars make the listening experience very fun and nostalgic. Also very relevant politics

Shakin a little ass to this today

This goes hard. Pisses me off that nothing has changed in almost 35 years. 3.5

Banger🔥

In my opinion, Cube's best album. Definitely the one with the best singles. Favorite song: The Wicked

Ik had er weinig zin in, maar na een paar dagen uitstel moet ik er toch maar eens aan beginnen. Aanvankelijk zijn er een paar verschrikkelijke herrie beats. Gillende mensen, luchtalarmen, snerpende blazers, druk gedoe, piepjes. Ik was er bang voor en terecht zo blijkt. Veel (hoge) geluiden ongebalanceerd door elkaar gemikt. Richting het midden van het album wordt het af en toe wat minder, maar toch zorgt het ervoor dat ik al heel snel helemaal geen zin meer heb in dit album. En als dan bij track 8 het gegil weer begint ben ik er klaar mee. Ik vind dit echt ultiem verschrikkelijk, kan er niet naar luisteren. Ohja, en hij noemt vrouwen bitches. 1 ster.

Nicht sonderlich nennenswert.

It's a good album, a bit dated, but the energy radiates through the speakers. I feel like I'll be not returning to this one, because I'm too white and European though.

If we put aside the mysogyny and violence there are some funky tracks. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would

A great album, as cool as it is relevant. When Will They Shoot? was my fav song and first listen of the album and It Was A Good Day and Check Yo Self were my other highlights

This one isn't my favorite Ice Cube album but it is a great listen. The rhymes are strong and the beats just as catchy as previous albums. The messages are just as relevant today as they were then, not so much the misogyny. Biggest Hit - It Was A Good Day Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - Gangsta Fairytale 2 Not So Hidden Gem - Check Yo Self

Fuck ice cube

Hard heavy instrumentals and some smooth flow. One of the best hip hop albums I've had so far.

actually bad

Quite good, easily recognisable. indisputably good music with a great flow. But just don't see myself listening to this on the regular.

The only song I really loved was It Was A Good Day and I think that's the general consensus given that this one song has more streams than all the other songs on the album combined. Not really my go to music - I feel like this was written for a certain audience and as a British Grammar School girl that's probably not me.

He's singing about a lot of stuff that is unfortunately still relevant today which makes it a lot easier to connect with this. I don't normally like rap but this was surprising ok.

Não gostei não... ouvi a primeira metade do álbum apenas...

I gotta say it was a good day

Classic. Enjoyed it

Favorite Track: It Was A Good Day

Nice idk

Some really, really good songs on here like When Will They Shoot?, It Was A Good Day and Check Yo Self. It kinda feels like every track where Ice raps like rent is due is followed by a very... okay (at best) track. It's 90s gangsta rap so misogyny is (unfortunately) rampant on the record, which is incredibly hypocritical on a record which is primarily about the struggles of a black man growing up and living in America, but I digress. The themes that are topical in terms of the broader theme across the record (a.k.a. racism) are very well laid out, and it's kind of scary to see that very little has changed in nearly 3 decades. If a few weaker tracks were cut from record I could give this a higher score, I feel like. But 3/5 as it stands.

An album fueled by the by the beating of Rodney King and the subsequent acquittal of the 4 Police Officers who beat him. Unfortunately still a very relevant record as Police brutality, discrimination of minorities and abuses towards them have still not been eradicated in the US society.