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He partners with Public Enemy’s production team The Bomb Squad (as well as Sir Jinx) to create an album version of his thoughts, emotions, insight and experiences and he called it “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”. This is one of the best albums to ever come out of the West Coast and is the reason Ice Cube gained notoriety as a legend and a. Click it and That's it, you're done amigo! Amerikkka s most wanted download will begin. About Tradownload TraDownload lets you anonymously share files online with two simple clicks, download streams, mp3 audio and shared files from worlds most popular Storages.
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted | |||
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Studio album by | |||
Released | May 16, 1990 | ||
Recorded | 1989–90 | ||
Studio | Greene Street Studios (New York City, New York) | ||
Genre |
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Length | 49:36 | ||
Label | Priority | ||
Producer | |||
Ice Cube chronology | |||
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Singles from AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted | |||
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AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted is the debut studio album by American rapperIce Cube, released on May 16, 1990, by Priority Records.[4][5] It was his first solo album, after an acrimonious split from his former group N.W.A. The album was primarily produced by Public Enemy's production team The Bomb Squad. A critical and commercial success, it remains one of the defining hip hop albums of the 1990s.[6][7]
- 1Background
- 4Critical reception
- 9Charts
Background[edit]
Conception[edit]
After departing from Ruthless Records and the West Coast–based group N.W.A, Ice Cube immediately moved to record his own album. Cube maintains that originally, he and N.W.A producer Dr. Dre still wanted to collaborate for Cube's debut solo, but the move was nixed by label powers:
When I went solo, I wanted Dr. Dre to do AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, but Jerry Heller vetoed that..and I'm pretty sure Eazy didn't want Dre to do it. But Dre did want to do it; we gotta put that on record. Dre wanted to do my record, but it was just too crazy with the break-up [of N.W.A].
— Ice Cube, 'Ice Cube, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted Retrospective [20 Years Later]', XXL[8]
Linking up with Sir Jinx, Dr. Dre's cousin, Cube made use of pre-written notebooks of songs meant for N.W.A member/Ruthless co-founder Eazy-E.[9] After relocating to New York,[10] they worked on the songs, which included 'Once Upon a Time in the Projects', 'Get Off My Dick & Tell Yo' Bitch to Come Here' and 'Gangsta's Fairytale', among others. Under fire from his former group with the song '100 Miles and Runnin'', from the EP of the same name, he also recorded the song 'Jackin' for Beats', using beats allegedly planned for use on the next N.W.A album,[11] though he would use this several months later on the Kill at Will EP.
After contacting Public Enemy's production team The Bomb Squad, they completed the album. The album received a fair share of production credited to various Bomb Squad members, with an appearance by Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, despite Jinx's claims that the only Bomb Squad member fully present was Eric Sadler.[10]Hank Shocklee spoke on meeting and working with Ice Cube in a Cool'eh Magazine interview:
Cube contacted me wanting to know if we could do a few tracks for his solo album after the whole NWA thing came to what it was and I was like, I'll do it if I can do the whole album. And he said, that's what I was hoping you would say…y'know…and when we were in the studio he showed up with notebooks and notebooks full of new rhymes, a bag full of rhymebooks.
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Content[edit]
With socio-politicalconscious and gangsta rap content, its songs delve into the issues of ghetto life, drug addiction, racism and poverty. Throughout the album, Ice Cube incessantly attacks institutions for perceived or actual racist tendencies, as well as social norms which directly or indirectly allowed the oppression of those living in the ghettos of Los Angeles to continue. On 'Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside),' he predicts that his neighborhood would become a flash point for violence before 1992's scandal over the beating of Rodney King,[13] and takes police to task for the policies that would later lead to the L.A. riots that resulted.
Throughout the album, Cube takes some controversial stands, referring to certain types of African-Americans as 'oreo cookies', an epithet implying that they appear black on the outside, but have, internally, negative white tendencies. Arsenio Hall is specifically mentioned as being a 'sell-out.' Cube also heavily criticizes R&B and hip hop radio stations for watered-down broadcasting. The title song directly parodies the television show, America's Most Wanted, alleging bias and denouncing the glee the program displays in arresting African-American men.
A later skit, 'The Drive By,' returns to the same theme at the end, with newscaster Tom Brokaw reporting on rioting, stating: 'Outside the south central area, few cared about the violence because it didn't affect them.' He also addressed gender relations on 'It's a Man's World', a duet between Cube and rapper Yo-Yo. Cube and Yo-Yo verbally spar and trade sexist barbs back and forth in an exposé of sexism between men and women. Amidst critics' accusing Ice Cube of sexism, Peter Watrous of The New York Times wrote, in review of a live show at New York's Apollo Theater:
“ | ..no one came out ahead; any new sense of cultural violence or sexism promoted by the record had dissolved into a traditional battle of the sexes, no better or no worse.[14] | ” |
Release[edit]
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted initially charted without the support of a lead single or video, although the title track would later receive a pressing, and a rare video for 'Who's the Mack?' eventually surfaced.
Singles[edit]
The title track was the first official single from the album. The B-side for the song was 'Once Upon a Time in the Projects'. The next single released for the album was 'Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside)' featuring Chuck D. of Public Enemy. The title comes from an excerpt in the beginning of the song, in which a reporter talks about the alarming death rate of black males in America, and the song's lyrics focus on this as well.
Critical reception[edit]
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [15] |
The Austin Chronicle | [16] |
Chicago Tribune | [17] |
Entertainment Weekly | B−[18] |
Orlando Sentinel | [19] |
Rolling Stone | [20] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [21] |
The Source | 5/5[22] |
Uncut | [23] |
The Village Voice | B−[24] |
Upon release, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted received critical acclaim, and over the years it has been regarded by many as a hip-hop classic.[25][26] Davis Mills from The Washington Post praised the album for its lyrical dexterity, stating: 'Ice Cube has now proven that he was N.W.A's crucial element. He's an unusually gifted rhymer, and his delivery is even more self-assured.'[27]Greg Sandow from Entertainment Weekly called it 'not necessarily cohesive art', but complimented the album's vivid depictions of urban realities and wrote that Ice Cube 'emerges as a rapper most original for his uncompromising tone. He throws ghetto life in our faces and dares us to draw our own conclusions'.[18]
Rolling Stone originally gave the album 2½ out of 5 stars in 1990, with Alan Light commenting; 'The relentless profanity grows wearisome, the Bomb Squad beats lose steam, and Cube's attitudes toward women are simply despicable.' He also declared the album as 'a disappointment.'[20] (Light wrote the liner notes for the 2003 CD reissue of the album, that also included the Kill at Will EP.) Rolling Stone, however, raised the rating to 3½ stars in 1992 and to 5 stars in 2004, and praised the album for its production, and lyrics.[21] In a retrospective review, David Jeffries from AllMusic stated: 'This street knowledge venom with ultra fast funk works splendidly throughout the album, with every track hitting home [..] AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted is a timeless, riveting exercise in anger, honesty, and the sociopolitical possibilities of hip-hop.'[15]
Accolades[edit]
- The information regarding accolades is adapted from acclaimedMusic.net[6] except for lists that are sourced otherwise.
- (*) signifies unordered lists
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
About.com | United States | 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums[25] | 2008 | 33 |
Best Rap Albums of 1990[28] | 2008 | 2 | ||
Robert Dimery | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die | 2005 | * | |
Ego Trip | Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980–98 | 1999 | 1 | |
The Guardian | United Kingdom | 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die | 2007 | * |
Mixmag | The 100 Best Dance Albums of All Time | 1996 | 24 | |
New Musical Express | Albums of the Year | 1990 | 41 | |
Chris Rock | United States | Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums[29] | 2005 | 17 |
Rock De Lux | Spain | Albums of the Year | 1990 | 46 |
Rolling Stone | United States | The Essential Recordings of the 90s | 1999 | * |
The Source | The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time | 1998 | * | |
Spin | Top 100 (+5) Albums of the Last 20 Years | 2005 | 33 | |
Albums of the Year | 1990 | 1 | ||
Top 90 Albums of the 90s | 1999 | 80 | ||
Tom Moon | 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die | 2008 | * | |
Village Voice | Albums of the Year | 1990 | 6 |
Legacy[edit]
Ice Cube's social, and political commentary, delivered in an incisive manner, has influenced numerous rappers since Amerikkka's Most Wanted, particularly in the gangsta rap and political rap subgenres. Focusing on the hardships of life in South Central, Los Angeles, as well as criticizing the American Justice System and race relations in the United States, Cube became an outspoken voice of U.S. social customs tipped against young Black Americans.
Although Ice Cube's popularity among mainstream listeners has lessened since the 2000s, and his sound may be considered distinctively old school to modern ears, many notable rappers themselves have been influenced by AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. His style of rapping about real life sentiment and socio-political awareness influenced the music of West Coast rappers, including that of Tupac Shakur, Ras Kass, and Xzibit, as well as East Coast rappers Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., and more recently, Saigon and Southern rapper Young Jeezy. East Coast rapperRedman also covered 'Once Upon a Time in the Projects' on his album Doc's Da Name 2000, with the song 'Jersey Yo!'.
Commercial performance[edit]
AmeriKKKas Most Wanted debuted at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) two weeks after it was released for sales of over 500,000 copies. The album was eventually certified platinum two months later on September 16, 1991. As of June 2015, the album has sold over 3.1 million copies in the United States.
Track listing[edit]
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Samples[30] | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 'Better Off Dead' | Ice Cube, Sir Jinx | – | 1:03 |
2 | 'The Nigga Ya Love to Hate' | The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube (co.), Sir Jinx (co.) |
| 3:13 |
3 | 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' | The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube (co.), Sir Jinx (co.) |
| 4:08 |
4 | 'What They Hittin' Foe?' | The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube (co.), Sir Jinx (co.) |
| 1:22 |
5 | 'You Can't Fade Me / JD's Gaffilin' | The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube (co.), Sir Jinx (co.) |
| 5:12 |
6 | 'Once Upon a Time in the Projects' | Sir Jinx, The Bomb Squad (co.) |
| 3:41 |
7 | 'Turn Off the Radio' | The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube (co.), Sir Jinx (co.) |
| 2:37 |
8 | 'Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside)' (featuring Chuck D) | The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube (co.), Sir Jinx (co.) |
| 3:21 |
9 | 'A Gangsta's Fairytale' (featuring Lil Russ) | Ice Cube, Sir Jinx, The Bomb Squad (co.) |
| 3:16 |
10 | 'I'm Only Out for One Thang' (featuring Flavor Flav) | Ice Cube, Sir Jinx, The Bomb Squad (co.) | – | 2:10 |
11 | 'Get Off My Dick and Tell Yo Bitch to Come Here' | The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube (co.), Sir Jinx (co.) |
| 0:56 |
12 | 'The Drive-By' | Sir Jinx |
| 1:01 |
13 | 'Rollin' Wit the Lench Mob' | The Bomb Squad, Ice Cube (co.), Sir Jinx (co.) |
| 3:43 |
14 | 'Who's the Mack?' | Sir Jinx, The Bomb Squad |
| 4:35 |
15 | 'It's a Man's World' (featuring Yo-Yo) | Sir Jinx, Ice Cube |
| 5:26 |
16 | 'The Bomb' | Sir Jinx, The Bomb Squad (co.) |
| 3:25 |
Personnel[edit]
|
|
Charts[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications[edit]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[37] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone |
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Wang, Oliver (2003). Classic Material: The Hip-hop Album Guide. ECW Press. p. 87. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^Rabin, Nathan. 'In 1990, Hammer, Vanilla Ice, A Tribe Called Quest, and Ice Cube reflected the splintering of the hip-hop nation'. AV Club. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^Harling, Danielle. 'Ice Cube Speaks On 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted's' Social & Political Relevance'. Hip Hop DX. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
- ^Rys, Dan (May 15, 2015). 'Street Knowledge: Ice Cube on 25 Years of 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted''. XXL. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ^Ice Cube biography. enotes. Accessed December 5, 2007.
- ^ abColumnist. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted AccoladesArchived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
- ^AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted certification. RIAA. Accessed November 28, 2007.
- ^XXL Staff (May 16, 2010). 'Ice Cube, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted Retrospective [20 Years Later]'. XXL. Archived from the original on July 22, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2015.Cite uses deprecated parameter
|dead-url=
(help) - ^Ketchum, William, III (April 24, 2009). 'Producer's Corner: Sir Jinx'. HipHopDX. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ abKiser, Chad (May 2008). 'Sir Jinx Part 2'. DubCNN.com. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^Ro 2007, p. 17
- ^Tsomondo, Dzana (July 10, 2007). 'Bum Rush The Show'. Cool'eh Magazine. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^'Rap After the Riot: Smoldering Rage And No Apologies'. The New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
- ^Watrous, Peter (September 16, 1990), 'Review/Pop; Ice Cube's Hip-Hop Warms up the Apollo – New York Times', The New York Times, retrieved April 23, 2010
- ^ abJeffries, David. 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted – Ice Cube'. AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^Coletti, Christopher (April 4, 2003). 'Ice Cube'. The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^Tanzilo, Robert (May 24, 1990). 'Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (Priority 12)'. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
- ^ abSandow, Greg (May 25, 1990). 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^Fields, Curt (July 27, 1990). 'Ice Cube'. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
- ^ abLight, Alan (July 12, 1990). 'Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ abRelic, Peter (2004). 'Ice Cube'. In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 400–01. ISBN0-7432-0169-8.
- ^'Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. The Source. 1990.
- ^'Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. Uncut (73): 113. June 2003.
- ^Christgau, Robert (July 3, 1990). 'Consumer Guide'. The Village Voice. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
- ^ abAdaso, henry. About.com's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums. About.com. Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
- ^Columnist. The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums. The Source. Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
- ^Mills, David. Review: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
- ^Adaso, Henry. About.com's Best Rap Albums of 1990. About.com. Retrieved on 2010-04-01.
- ^Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums Ever. Rock, Chris
- ^'Ice Cube on WhoSampled'. WhoSampled. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
- ^allmusic ((( AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums ))). Allmusic. Accessed May 24, 2008.
- ^Ryan, Gavin (September 12, 2015). 'ARIA Albums: Troye Sivan 'Wild' EP Debuts At No 1'. Noise11. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^'Official Albums Chart Top 75 – July 29, 1990 – August 04, 1990'. The Official Charts.
- ^'Billboard 200 July 14, 1990'. Billboard.
- ^'Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums July 14, 1990'. Billboard.
- ^'British album certifications – Ice Cube – AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field.Select Silver in the Certification field.Type AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
- ^'American album certifications – Ice Cube – AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. Recording Industry Association of America.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.
References[edit]
Amerikkka's Most Wanted Album
- Ro, Ronin (2007), Dr. Dre: The Biography, New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, ISBN1-56025-921-3
- Nathan Brackett, Christian Hoard (2004), The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition, New York: Simon and Schuster, ISBN0-7432-0169-8
External links[edit]
- AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted at Discogs
- Album Review at Hip Hop Connection
- Album Review at RapReviews.com
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AmeriKKKa%27s_Most_Wanted&oldid=910985310'
When Ice Cube split from N.W.A after the group's seminal Straight Outta Compton album changed the world forever, expectations were high, too high to ever be met by anyone but the most talented of artists, and at his most inspired. At the time Cube was just that. With AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted the rapper expanded upon Compton, making a more full-bodied album that helped boost the role of the individual in hip-hop. Save the dramatic intro where a mythical Ice Cube is fried in the electric chair, his debut is filled with eye-level views of the inner city that are always vivid, generally frightening, generally personal, and sometimes humorous in the gallows style. Ripping it quickly over a loop from George Clinton's 'Atomic Dog,' Cube asks the question that would be central to his early career, 'Why there more niggas in the pen than in college?,' while sticking with the mutual distrust and scare tactics N.W.A used to wipe away any hopes of reconciliation ('They all scared of the Ice Cube/And what I say what I portray and all that/And ain't even seen the gat'). 'What I'm kicking to you won't get rotation/Nowhere in the nation' he spits on the classic 'Turn Off the Radio,' which when coupled with the intoxicating Bomb Squad production and Cube's cocksure delivery that's just below a shout, makes one think he's the only radio the inner city needs. The Bomb Squad's amazing work on the album proves they've been overly associated with Public Enemy, since their ability to adapt to AmeriKKKa's more violent and quick revolution is underappreciated. Their high point is the intense 'Endangered Species,' a 'live by the trigger' song that offers 'It's a shame, that niggas die young/But to the light side it don't matter none.' This street knowledge venom with ultra fast funk works splendidly throughout the album, with every track hitting home, although the joyless 'You Can't Fade Me' has alienated many a listener since kicking a possibly pregnant woman in the stomach is a very hard one to take. Just to be as confusing as the world he lives in, the supposedly misogynistic Cube introduces female protégé Yo-Yo with 'It's a Man's World' before exiting with 'The Bomb,' a perfectly unforgiving and visceral closer. Save a couple Arsenio Hall disses, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted is a timeless, riveting exercise in anger, honesty, and the sociopolitical possibilities of hip-hop.
Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 03:15 | |||
2 | Ice Cube / Eric Sadler / Keith Shocklee | 04:05 | ||
3 | 01:20 | |||
4 | Ice Cube / Eric Sadler | 04:44 | ||
5 | 04:07 | |||
6 | Ice Cube / Chuck D / Sir Jinx / Eric Sadler | feat: Chuck D | 03:28 | |
7 | 03:26 | |||
8 | 03:52 | |||
9 | 04:30 | |||
10 | 04:46 | |||
11 | 03:24 |