The Predator

The Predator
Studio album by Ice Cube
Released	November 17, 1992 March 11, 2003 (2003 remaster) July 20, 2010 (2010 remaster)
Recorded	1991-1992 Echo Sound (Glendale, California) The Hit Factory (New York City)
Genre	West Coast hip hop, gangsta rap
Length	56:27
Label	Priority/EMI 0499 2 57155 2 1 P2-57155 (original release) 7243 5 43339 2 7 P2-43339 (2003 remaster)
Producer	Ice Cube (also exec.), DJ Pooh, Sir Jinx, Torcha Chamba, DJ Muggs
Ice Cube chronology
Death Certificate (1991) The Predator (1992) Lethal Injection (1993)
Singles from The Predator
"Wicked" Released: October 21, 1992 "It Was a Good Day" Released: February 23, 1993 "Check Yo Self" Released: August 17, 1993

The Predator is the third studio album by Ice Cube. Released within months of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, many songs comment on the racial tensions. The title is in part reference to the movie Predator 2, and the album itself includes samples from the film.^[1] Though not his most critically successful album, commercially The Predator is Ice Cube's most successful album, reaching 5x platinum status in the United States, and it contains his most well-known single, "It Was a Good Day." The Predator is his only number one album on the Billboard 200 to date, selling 193,000 copies in its first week.^[2] As of 2010 it has sold over 5 million copies in the USA, according to Nielsen Soundscan.^[3] The album sold worldwide more than 7 million copies which makes Ice Cube's highest selling album.

Overview

In the opening song, "When Will They Shoot," Ice Cube addressed criticisms of anti-Semitism 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

Elsewhere "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up" is directed at the LA Police officers acquitted in the Rodney King trial; an event that ignited the 1992 LA Riots. The similarly themed "Who Got the Camera?" imagines a scenario in which 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 or talk-show audience.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[5]
Q Magazine	[6]
Robert Christgau	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Rolling Stone (2003)	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
Spin	(favorable)[6]
Washington Post	(favorable)[11]

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

Retrospectively, however, the album has been praised and is now considered a classic by many for its groundbreaking production, subject matter and controversial themes, and lyricism.

It spawned three hit singles: "It Was A Good Day," which was a hit in March 1993; "Check Yo Self"; and "Wicked" (which was later covered by the band Korn). Both the album and single version of "Check Yo Self" include an appearance from Das EFX, with the latter's single featuring a remix utilizing a sample of Grandmaster Flash's "The Message". The song also received continuous radio and MTV play.

Track listing

Chart positions

Album

Singles

Year-end charts

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1992 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1992 (U.S.)

References