Blade Icewood

Blade Icewood (March 14, 1977 – April 19, 2005), born Darnell Quincy Lindsay, was an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. Icewood was raised on the westside of Detroit in the vicinity of 7 Mile Road & Evergreen.^[1] He was a member of the Street Lord'z rap group and is considered one of the most influential rappers in the Detroit underground rap genre. He was fatally shot on April 19, 2005, in gang related violence while at a car wash in the 7 Mile and Faust Rd area of westside Detroit.

Street Lord'z/Chedda Boyz/Dirty Glove Entertainment (1998–2005)

Blade Icewood debuted as a local rapper in Detroit with the Street Lord'z on their album, Platinum Roleez Don’t Tic Toc. He performed with TewTimes, Yacht, Jesse James, O Dolla,Brick, Baby L, Juan, TJ Da Thug, G Rock, Fat Mike, Lil Kuz, Rook, Cashout, K Deezy, Chedda Boy Malik, Big J, Lady Blade, Dj Mark G,, Gift Reynolds, Young Roy Boy, Ron Ron,and Starr Strukk rap group until his death in April 2005.^[2]

Beef with Eastside Chedda Boyz

Conflict over the name Chedda Boyz began after the formation of the rap group the Eastside Chedda Boyz.^[1] The second album released by the Street Lord'z, Platinum Masterpiece, boasted the subtitle, "Original Chedda Boyz," further deepening the conflict between the Street Lord'z and Chedda Boyz. Icewood would go on to release a bonus DVD with his "Stackmaster" solo album that featured an interview discussing the origins of the name Chedda Boyz; Blade is seen speaking in a slow, deliberate Midwest drawl, where he states "The Street Lordz Chedda Boy original, that’s me. All that bullshit everybody talkin’ ’bout, [sic] it come from here, there, that’s where it come from. And whoever don’t like it, fuck it, come holla at me." A retaliatory diss-song would be released by the Eastside Chedda Boyz titled "Boss Up and Take They Money" (an allusion to a notable Icewood song, "Boy Would You").

Shooting and paralysis

On September 20, 2004, Blade Icewood was shot in his house in Oak Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He was hit with 7 rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle after gunmen broke into his house. Following the shooting, an officer stated that Icewood had refused to assist investigators in his shooting. He was left paralyzed from the chest down, and using a wheelchair. Two days prior to his own shooting, a shooting outside of Candy Bar, a Woodward Avenue nightclub, left Wipeout, a rival Eastside Detroit rapper, dead. Many speculated the shootings were related. A diss song called "Ride On Me", which became an underground Detroit classic, suggests that Icewood knew the assailants.^[3]

Death & Aftermath

On April 19, 2005, Icewood was shot while at a car wash on 7 Mile Road and Faust on the west side of Detroit. A gunman pulled up alongside Icewood's Range Rover and fired 17 rounds into the passenger's side killing Icewood. ^[4] The location he was shot at was nearly a mile away from where he had hosted a nonviolence rally a year prior to his death. After Blade's death, the family of the rapper founded 'Icewood Entertainment', a record label in honor of the fallen Detroit artist.

Discography

Albums (with Street Lord'z)

• Street Lord'z: Platinum Rolee's Dont Tic Toc (1999)
• Street Lord'z: Platinum Masterpiece (2001)

Solo Releases

• Still Spinnin' Vol 1 (2003)
• Stackmaster (CD/DVD) (2004)
• Blood, Sweat, + Tears (2005)

References