Ice Cube – The Predator Review

The relationship between O’Shea (Ice Cube) Jackson and his longtime label Priority Records came to an end a few years ago. During his 10-plus years with Priority, Cube released some of the most important, provocative and venomous albums in history. With far too little fanfare, Priority Records has re-released Ice Cube’s first five solo albums.

The Predator was originally released in the fall of 1992. It was crafted in the months following the controversial Rodney King verdicts and subsequent riots here in Southern California. In addition, this album was also heavily influenced by the all-too-brief renaissance of African-American awareness and consciousness in many teens and young adults in the early ’90s. The result was an album that grabs the listener by the soul and doesn’t let go.

The “intro” track is wonderfully done and sets the mood for the entire album. It’s check-in time at the state pen as C.O.s can be heard giving instructions to the new crop of inmates. From there, Cube hits the ground running (or, in this case, stomping) on When Will They Shoot? It’s hard to believe the watered-down Ice Cube of today is the same cat who could spit science like, “I thought they wuz buggin/Cuz to us Uncle Sam is Hitler without the oven” and “They killed JFK in ’63/ so what the f*** do you think they’ll do to me?” DJ Pooh (and others) bring an insane beat that people will feel five blocks away. Everyone involved manages to perfectly capture the anger and cynicism of many people during this time.

Cube doesn’t let up on Wicked. It’s more of his raging bravado (against a terrific reggae/rock hook) that offers up a haunting harbinger (“April 29 was power to the people/And we just might see a sequel”) mixed with Cube’s usual sarcastic humor (“Cuz I’m the one with the phat mad skillz/And I won’t choke like the Buffalo Bills”).

By and large, humor is in short supply on this album as The Predator devotes large chunks of time to Cube raging against everyone in “the system”. On the title track, Cube and DJ Pooh sample some old school classics, as well as some odd dialogue from 1990’s Predator 2 movie. This is the background for Cube’s overt attacks on the LAPD Four, Billboard Magazine and a certain National Landmark (“Comin’ with a crazy pitch/And the Statue of Liberty ain’t nothin’ but a lazy bitch”).

It’s more of the old-school goodness as the funked-out Aqua Boogie is sampled for Now I Gotta Wet’cha. This track stumbles into self-parody for Cube, but he does come up with a means of discussing his displeasure with the Simi Valley jury that acquitted the LAPD Four that would make Hannibal Lecter proud.

Hell, even the bumpers and skits are good and that should be worth a few points in itself. On I’m Scared, there are “rebuttals” to Cube and his viewpoints made by what sounds like audience members on a talk show. This skit also contains some excellent dialogue regarding modern-day segregation. Another insert serves as something of an “I told you so”, but it’s still effective given the context. Finally, there’s a bumper towards the end that ties many of themes of this album (and period) together.

The word “classic” is thrown around far too often in the game today, but on this re-release, there are some pure hip hop gems. It Was a Good Day (and its even better remix) capture the best day a thug could possibly have. Both the original and the remix of Check Yo Self are here, too. The latter samples the rap anthem, The Message. The remixes were originally a part of 1994’s Bootlegs and B-Sides. Two more entries from that album are here: the defiant U Ain’t Gonna Take My Life and the so-so 24 Wit an L.

There aren’t many flaws with this album, but there are enough to keep it from being Cube’s best effort. There are a few tracks that could’ve been dropped without hurting the integrity of Cube’s message. The most obvious targets are Say Hi to the Bad Guy and the out-of-place Gangsta’s Fairytale 2. An even bigger drawback is that Cube does go a little overboard with his “us-against-the-world” stance. It’s not so much the content or the quality of the lyrics, but rather the quantity. Most of his angst is not without substance, but on a few slapped together tracks it’s no more than “Cube Hates Me, Cube Hates You”.