Death Certificate

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the article about Ice Cube's album. For the document concerning a person's death, see Death certificate.
Death Certificate
Death Certificate cover
Studio album by Ice Cube
Released October 29, 1991
Recorded 1991
Genre Hip-Hop, Political Rap
Length 61:08
Label Priority
Producer(s) Da Lench Mob
Professional reviews
Ice Cube chronology
Kill at Will
(1991)		 Death Certificate
(1991)		 The Predator
(1992)


Death Certificate is the critically acclaimed second solo album from rapper Ice Cube, released on October 29, 1991. Highly anticipated (with over a million advance orders[1]), the album was certified Platinum by December 20, 1991, and to date has sold over two million copies.[citation needed] It was also the source of much controversy due to some of it's racially charged content, and Ice Cube's acerbic statements on drug dealing, racial profiling, and the right to bear arms.

Contents

[edit] Music

[edit] Lyrical Content

Comprised of two sides, The "Death Side" was a critique on the current state of the black community in America, while The "Life Side" which followed it was an instruction on the direction needed to pull said community out of the mire of violence and economic ruin depicted on the Death side.

The album garnered critical acclaim and controversy in equal amounts for powerful and evocative songs. "Us," perhaps the album's most insightful track, explains Ice Cube's stance on what the African-American race must do to reach the "Life Side." The evocative "Bird in the Hand" is a track sympathetic with the plight of the minimum wage worker, teenage parent, and inner city drug pusher and critical of figureheads ranging from George H. W. Bush to Jesse Jackson. As Cube raps:

So now you want to put the FEDs against me
Cause I couldn't follow the plan of the presidency
I'll never get love again
But blacks are too fuckin' broke to be Republicans

"Horny Lil' Devil" is a fierce attack on white men who sexually harass and objectify black women, while "Black Korea" is a controversial track that attacks Korean store owners who are constantly suspicious of their black customers. The track was seen as a response to the Latasha Harlins shooting.

The track "Look Who's Burnin'" tells of the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases in low income neighborhoods, while "Alive on Arrival" tells the story of a young man caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting who slowly bleeds to death while in a hospital waiting room. "Color Blind" preaches neutrality and brotherhood between gangs, such as the Bloods and Crips. The album is also famous for the bonus track "No Vaseline," a vicious "diss track" aimed at Ice Cube's former N.W.A band mates.

[edit] Controversy

Due to fear that laws against racial incitement in Europe could see the album banned, the European release deleted the tracks Black Korea and No Vaseline. In 2003, Priority Records re-released Death Certificate with one bonus track, "How to Survive in South Central", originally appearing on the Boyz N the Hood soundtrack. The album spawned the singles and music videos "Steady Mobbin", and "True To The Game".

In the September 2006 issue of FHM, Ice Cube stated in an interview that he did not regret the controversial statements made on the album. Regarding the offense caused to Koreans, he said, "If there's still a problem, it's their problem."

[edit] Acclaim

All Music Guide calls Death Certificate "even harder and angrier than AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted... It continues the sharp insights and unflinching looks at contemporary urban lifestyles that his solo debut only hinted at; in short, it's hardcore without any gangsta posturing." They also call it "funkier, noisier, and more musically effective (than AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted)."

  • Rating: A- "...20 tracks of the most visceral music ever allowed in public..." - Entertainment Weekly [2](11/15/91)[3]
  • Rating: Recommended "...adrenalin-drenched funk...integrates vitriolic politics with raw street knowledge...achieves an almost George Clinton-esque sense of celebratory freakiness..." - Spin (1/92, p.72)[4]
  • Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century. - Vibe (12/99, p.158)
  • #8 on MTV's Greatest Hip Hop Albums Of All Time. [5]
  • #17 on the Greatest R&B/Hip-Hop albums as voted by the British public. [6]
  • Selected as one of The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums.

[edit] Track listing

Tracks 1-11 are The Death Side, while tracks 12-20 are The Life Side.
# Title Producer(s) Performer (s)
1 "The Funeral" Sir Jinx *Intro*
2 "The Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx Ice Cube
3 "My Summer Vacation" Boogiemen, Ice Cube Ice Cube
4 "Steady Mobbin'" Boogiemen, Ice Cube Ice Cube
5 "Robin Lench" Boogiemen, Sir Jinx *Interlude*
6 "Givin' Up the Nappy Dug Out" Boogiemen, Ice Cube Ice Cube
7 "Look Who's Burnin'" Boogiemen, Ice Cube, Sir Jinx Ice Cube
8 "A Bird in the Hand" Boogiemen, Ice Cube Ice Cube
9 "Man's Best Friend" Boogiemen, Ice Cube Ice Cube
10 "Alive on Arrival" Boogiemen, Ice Cube Ice Cube
11 "Death" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx *Interlude*
12 "The Birth" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx *Interlude*
13 "I Wanna Kill Sam" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx Ice Cube
14 "Horny Lil' Devil" Boogiemen, Ice Cube Ice Cube
15 "Black Korea" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx Ice Cube
16 "True to the Game" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx Ice Cube
17 "Color Blind" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx Deadly Threat, Ice Cube, J-Dee, Kam, King Tee, The Maad Circle
18 "Doing Dumb Shit" Boogiemen, Ice Cube Ice Cube
19 "Us" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx Ice Cube
20 "No Vaseline" Ice Cube, Sir Jinx Ice Cube
21 "How To Survive In South Central" (Remastered version only) Ice Cube

[edit] Partial List of Samples

The following lists some songs and sounds sampled for Death Certificate.

The Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit

My Summer Vacation

Steady Mobbin'

  • "Deep" by Parliament
  • "Love Amnesia" by Parlet
  • "After the Dance" by Marvin Gaye
  • "Reach Out" by Average White Band
  • "Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk (Pay Attention- B3M)" & "Theme from The Black Hole" by Parliament

Givin' Up the Nappy Dug Out

Look Who's Burnin'

A Bird in the Hand

  • "Chains and Things" by B.B. King
  • "Take Some. . . Leave Some" by James Brown
  • "Bop Gun (Endangered Species)" by Parliament
  • "Don't Change Your Love" by The Five Stairsteps

Man's Best Friend

  • "Flashlight" by Parliament
  • "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton

Alive on Arrival

  • "The Big Bang Theory" by Parliament
  • "Hot (I Need to Be Love, Love Loved)" by James Brown

The Death

  • "A Funky Song" by Ripple

The Birth

I Wanna Kill Sam

  • "Chocolate City" by Parliament
  • "Funky President" by James Brown
  • "Rock Creek Park" by The Blackbyrds
  • "Cold Chillin' in the Spot" by Jazzy Jay
  • "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James
  • "Hot Pants...I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming" by Bobby Byrd

Horny Lil' Devil

  • "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" by Sly & the Family Stone
  • "Funky President", & "Please, Please, Please" by James Brown

True to the Game

  • "Reach for It" by George Duke
  • "Outstanding" by The Gap Band
  • "You Can Make it if You Try" by Sly & the Family Stone

Color Blind

Doing Dumb Shit

  • "Cosmic Slop" by Funkadelic
  • "Funkentelechy" by Parliament

Us

  • "Gamin' on Ya!" by Parliament
  • "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss

No Vaseline

How to Survive in South Central

  • "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton
  • So ruff, so tuff" by Zapp

[edit] Album singles

Single cover Single information
"Steady Mobbin'"
"True To The Game"

[edit] Album Chart Positions

Year Album Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
1991 Death Certificate #2 #1

[edit] Singles Chart Positions

Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles
1991 "Steady Mobbin'" - #30 #3

[edit] Miscellanea

  • As a result of the controversy over Death Certificate, in 1992 the state of Oregon declared any display of Ice Cube's image in retail stores throughout the state illegal. This ban also included advertisements for St. Ides Malt Liquor, which Ice Cube endorsed at the time.
  • On the hook of The Game's song "The Documentary", off his album of the same name, Game lists some of rap's most legendary albums, mentioning Death Certificate.
 v • d • e Ice Cube
Discography
Albums
Solo albums & EPs: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted • Kill at Will • Death Certificate • The Predator • Lethal Injection • War & Peace - Vol. 1 • War & Peace - Vol. 2 • Laugh Now, Cry Later
Compilation albums: Bootlegs & B-Sides • Featuring... Ice Cube • Greatest Hits
N.W.A. albums: N.W.A. and the Posse • Straight Outta Compton
Westside Connection albums: Bow Down • Terrorist Threats
Singles
Mainstream singles: "Who's The Mack?" • "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" • "Wicked" • "It Was a Good Day" • "Check Yo Self" • "Really Doe" • "You Know How We Do It" • "Bop Gun (One Nation)" • "What Can I Do?" • "The World Is Mine" • "We Be Clubbin'" • "Pushin' Weight" • "Fuck Dyin'" • "Hello" • "You Can Do It" • "Until We Rich" • "$100 Bill Y'all" • "Chrome and Paint" • "Why We Thugs" • "Go to Church"
Featured songs: "Straight Outta Compton" • "Fuck Tha Police" • "Gangsta Gangsta" • "Hand Of The Dead Body" • "Natural Born Killaz" • "Bow Down" • "Gangstas Make The World Go Round" • "Chin Check" • "Let it Reign" • "It's the Holidaze"
Related articles
Ruthless • Priority • Lench Mob • Virgin Records • N.W.A. (Arabian Prince • DJ Yella • Dr. Dre • Easy-E • Krazy Dee • MC Ren • The D.O.C.) • Westside Connection

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.icecube.org/bio.php
  2. ^ http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2775494&title=Death+Certificate+%5BExplicit+Lyrics%5D&artist=Ice+Cube
  3. ^ http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2775494&title=Death+Certificate+%5BExplicit+Lyrics%5D&artist=Ice+Cube
  4. ^ http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2775494&title=Death+Certificate+%5BExplicit+Lyrics%5D&artist=Ice+Cube
  5. ^ http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/2005/greatest_albums_0505/index4.jhtml
  6. ^ http://www.trevornelson.com/nonflash/top100.asp
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../d/e/a/Death_Certificate_d181.html"
In other languages