The Predator

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This article is about the album by rapper Ice Cube. For other uses, see Predator (disambiguation).
The Predator
The Predator cover
Studio album by Ice Cube
Released November 17, 1992
Recorded 1992
Genre West Coast Hip Hop, Gangsta rap, Conscious hip hop
Length 56:27
Label Priority/EMI
Producer Ice Cube, DJ Pooh, Sir Jinx, Torcha Chamba, DJ Muggs
Professional reviews
Ice Cube chronology
Death Certificate
(1991)		 The Predator
(1992)		 Lethal Injection
(1993)
Singles from The Predator
  1. "Wicked"
    Released: December 1992
  2. "It Was a Good Day"
    Released: March 1993
  3. "Check Yo Self"
    Released: August 1993

The Predator is a 1992 and third solo album by Ice Cube. Released within months after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, many of the songs comment on the racial tensions during that period. The title is a partial reference to the movie Predator 2, and the album itself includes samples from the film. [1] Ice Cube's most successful album, "The Predator" has sold more than 2 million copies and is certified double platinum in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Overview

In the opening song, "When Will They Shoot", Ice Cube addresses criticisms of antisemitism he received for his last effort, Death Certificate:

White man is something I tried to study
But I got my hands bloody, yeah.
They say I can sing like a jaybird
But nigga, don’t say the j-word [2]

Elsewhere "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up" is directed at the LA Police officers acquitted in the Rodney King trial; an event which ignited the 1992 LA Riots. The similarly-themed "Who Got the Camera?" imagines a scenario where a black man is subjected to police brutality. The songs are broken up by interludes involving interviews with Ice Cube, and what appears to be a debate between members of a congregation.

Although it is sometimes mistakenly classified as a G-Funk album, the album derives its sound from the Public Enemy/Bomb Squad production template, in contrast to Dr. Dre's definitive G-Funk album The Chronic which is largely based upon Parliament/Funkadelic-derived rhythms, slow-rolling basslines, and layers of whiny synthesizers, mixed with snips of live guitar and flutes.

[edit] Reception

Although not as lauded as his previous efforts, The Predator was a well-received album. Entertainment Weekly called it "...Ice Cube's strongest, most cohesive work yet..." (11/20/92, p.88)[3]. Q Magazine included it in their "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s" (12/99, p.74)[4]. Spin Magazine called it a record that "demands to be heard" (1/93, p.61)[5].

It spawned three hit singles: the famous "It Was A Good Day", which was a big hit in March 1993, "Check Yo Self" and "Wicked". Both the album and single version of "Check Yo Self" include an appearance from Das EFX, with the latter utilising a sample of Grandmaster Flash's "The Message". "Check Yo Self" received continious radio and MTV play. The song certainly got a boost from the old school resurgence that was happening at the time and it also further popularized the trend.

[edit] Track listing

Original release

  1. "The First Day of School (Intro)" – 1:20
  2. "When Will They Shoot?" – 4:36
  3. "I'm Scared (Insert)" – 1:32
  4. "Wicked" – 3:55
  5. "Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha" – 4:03
  6. "The Predator" – 4:03
  7. "It Was a Good Day" – 4:20
  8. "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up" – 4:23
  9. "Fuck 'Em [Insert]" – 2:02
  10. "Dirty Mack" – 4:34
  11. "Don't Trust 'Em" – 4:06
  12. "Gangsta's Fairytale, Pt. 2" – 3:19
  13. "Check Yo Self" (feat. Das EFX) – 3:42
  14. "Who Got the Camera?" – 4:37
  15. "Integration (Insert)" – 2:31
  16. "Say Hi to the Bad Guy" – 3:19

2003 Re-release with bonus tracks(*)

  1. "The First Day of School (Intro)" – 1:20
  2. "When Will They Shoot?" – 4:36
  3. "I'm Scared (Insert)" – 1:32
  4. "Wicked" – 3:55
  5. "Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha" – 4:03
  6. "The Predator" – 4:03
  7. "It Was A Good Day" – 4:20
  8. "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up" – 4:23
  9. "Fuck 'Em [Insert]" – 2:02
  10. "Dirty Mack" – 4:34
  11. "Don't Trust 'Em" – 4:06
  12. "Gangsta's Fairytale, Pt. 2" – 3:19
  13. "Check Yo Self" (feat. Das EFX) – 3:42
  14. "Who Got the Camera?" – 4:37
  15. "Integration (Insert)" – 2:31
  16. "Say Hi to the Bad Guy" – 3:22
  17. "Check Yo Self (The Message Remix)" - 3.54*
  18. "It Was A Good Day (Remix)" - 4.28*
  19. "24 Wit An L" - 3.25*
  20. "U Aint Gonna Take My Life" - 4.09*

[edit] Partial list of samples

The following lists some of the songs and sounds sampled on The Predator.

The First Day of School (Intro)

  • Contains a sample from the motion picture "American Me"

When Will They Shoot?

Wicked

Now I Gotta Wet'Cha

  • "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by Solomon Burke
  • "Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)" by Parliament
  • Song playing during the intro is "Guerillas in tha Mist" by Da Lench Mob

The Predator

It Was a Good Day

We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up

Dirty Mack

  • "Aqua Boogie", "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)", & "Unfunky UFO" by Parliament

Don't Trust 'Em"

Gangsta's Fairytale Pt. 2

Check Yo Self

Who Got the Camera?

  • "All We Need is Another Chance" by The Escorts
  • "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball" by Main Source
  • "I Gotta Thang, You Gotta Thang, Everybody Gotta Thang" by Funkadelic

Say Hi to the Bad Guy

  • "P-Funk" by Parliament
  • "I Ain't Got Nobody" by Sly Stone

U Aint Gonna Take My Life

[edit] Album singles

"Wicked"

"It Was A Good Day"

"Check Yo Self" ["The Message" Remix Version]

  • Released: 1993
  • B-side: "It Was A Good Day (Remix)", "24 With A L"

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The singles "It Was A Good Day" and "Check Yo Self" (Remix-Radio Edit) were used in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
  • Nu-metal band Korn covered the song "Wicked" on their album Life Is Peachy.
  • In late 1993, Ice Cube made a cameo appearance in Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride" video. Walking out of a bathroom with a group of girls in L.A., he turns to the camera and says "Damn right it was a good day" referring to the single.
  • At the beginning of "Who Got The Camera?", a quote from the 1988 classic film, Die Hard can be heard, "See if there's a black and white that can do a drive by."

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Album

Year Album Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
1992 The Predator #1 #1

[edit] Singles

Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles Rhythmic Top 40 Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
1992 "Wicked" #55 #31 #1 - #31
1993 "Check Yo Self" #20 #1 #1 #18 #1
1993 "It Was A Good Day" #15 #7 #1 #13 -

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chillin' with Cube | | Guardian Unlimited Film
  2. ^ Ice Cube LYRICS - When Will They Shoot? Lyrics
  3. ^ Tower.com: The Planet's Entertainment Destination for Music, CDs, Movies, DVDs, Books & more
  4. ^ Tower.com: The Planet's Entertainment Destination for Music, CDs, Movies, DVDs, Books & more
  5. ^ Tower.com: The Planet's Entertainment Destination for Music, CDs, Movies, DVDs, Books & more
Preceded by
Timeless: The Classics by Michael Bolton		 Billboard 200 number-one album
December 5 - December 11, 1992		 Succeeded by
The Bodyguard (soundtrack) by Various artists
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