Death Certificate [EXPLICIT LYRICS]

Ice Cube

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 6, 1991)
• Original Release Date: November 5, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Priority Records
• ASIN: B000003B7W
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #82,207 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
With benefit of hindsight, we now understand that most rappers are indeed earnest, but few intend their words to be taken with the same weight as a heartfelt proclamation by a guitar-strumming folkie. Ice Cube's third solo release, taken the wrong way, is a hateful tract full of misogyny, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and violently prejudicial remarks toward just about every other ethnic group; anyone missed in this skein was an oversight. However, with the exception of some choice words for NWA's former manager, Cube's remarks are best seen as caricatures--well, OK, grotesques--rather than perspectives. His spoken intros and the way in which the songs broke into episodes broadly hinted at Ice Cube's move into film. Years later, it's easier to ignore the hateful spew and admire the formal innovations featured on this recording, which helped make Ice Cube into a multimedia star. --Martin Johnson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the ultimate test?, March 23, 2005

By	eric b (rush town management) - See all my reviews

this album is pretty hard to listen to. neither cube's unflinching examinations of early 90s young black male attitudes or his personal venom directed at critics, sellouts, uncle toms and at nwa pulls any punches (though the accusations of anti-semitism on this album are greatly exaggerated). it is a brutal listen at times and not for the close-minded, the timid or the ignorant.

but there is no way anyone can deny the absolutely incredible musicality at work here. the massively underrated sir jinx as well as cube himself craft unbelievable beats obviously heavily influenced by the bomb squad production on the first ice cube record. the amount of texture and depth to these beats, and the inventiveness and precision of the sample use, results in some of the finest beats ever heard in hip hop. some of the best bits include the muffled drunken wail of the horns and the funky breakdown on "black korea", the huge snare on "man's best friend", the ridiculous vocal sample on "my summer vacation", the bird call scratches on "a bird in the hand". and ice cube as a rapper - his turn of phrase, his rhythm and his immense voice - was never and has not been better. every syllable is ferociously slammed onto the beat like one of those licence plate machines and enunciated with such unbelievable clarity and power.

not for the weak of heart or mind. but a infinitely rewarding musical experience

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This cd is bumpin from the begging 2 the end, April 25, 2000

By	John (oaktown) - See all my reviews

If you know what real hip-hop music is then this cd is a classic. This is one of the few cds i can listen 2 all the way thru. The lyrics are crips and easily understood. RIP Eazy

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Here's a new gift to give, try my Death Certificate", June 21, 2001

By	aL (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This album is arguably 'Cube's finest (AMW afficionado's will digress), being conceptually, lyrically, and musically even tighter than his solo debut (hard to believe but true). This album was the first 'gangsta' rap album I purchased serving as an introduction to the genre as a whole (a good choice as it turned out, Cube is a lyrical giant). As vulgar as Cube's lyrics often become, they are almost always insightful, making the sentiments expressed in this album complex: neither entirely commendable or condemnable. That said, I believe 'Death Certificate' to be one of the great hip-hop albums with some of the best music (courtesy of Sir Jinx) and lyrics (A Bird in the Hand, Us, Color Blind) ever put on wax. Sadly, 'Cube would never make a statement this forceful again.