Ice Cube, "The Predator" Poll

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http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000003B8F.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

way back when, i would've picked either ameriKKKa's most wanted or death certificate as better records than the predator -- shit, i still may. but the more that i think of it -- and more importantly, the more that i decide which ice cube record to listen to these days -- i find myself turning to the predator. perhaps it was the 1992 LA riots that made him Ice Cube his theretofore rather wide-ranging rage and -- just as importantly for ILM purposes -- made him concentrate his songwriting strengths and churn out some banging tunes (the summer of 1993 i definitely remember driving around to both "it was a good day" AND the message remix of "check yourself" both of which were unthinkable back in the day of "you can't fade me" or "black korea" -- good times indeed). and, for those of us who were willing to check out the CD tracks not played on the radio, you also had the gonzo/morally ambiguous humor of tracks like "now i gotta wet 'cha." all told, an interesting interlude before g-funk and wu-tang (not to mention grunge) overran just about everything.

whatevah, choose!

Poll Results

OptionVotes
When Will They Shoot? 11
It Was a Good Day 6
Wicked 3
We Had to Tear This Motherfucker Up 2
Gangsta's Fairytale, Pt. 2 2
The Predator 2
Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha 1
Check Yo Self 1
Check Yo Self (The Message Remix) 1
Say Hi to the Bad Guy 0
It Was a Good Day (Remix) 0
The First Day of School (Intro) 0
24 wit an L 0
Integration (Insert) 0
Who Got the Camera? 0
Don't Trust 'Em 0
Dirty Mack 0
Fuck 'Em 0
I'm Scared (Insert) 0
U Ain't Gonna Take My Life0


Eisbaer, Monday, 15 October 2007 04:14 (eighteen years ago)

"When Will They Shoot?" was played on repeat many a day after I bought this.

HI DERE, Monday, 15 October 2007 04:38 (eighteen years ago)

^^^

omar little, Monday, 15 October 2007 04:49 (eighteen years ago)

"We Had to Tear this Motherfucker Up", but it's tough to single one track out on such a cohesive album.

Noodle Vague, Monday, 15 October 2007 06:42 (eighteen years ago)

"wicked" for that post-PE squealy, noisy production, even with the bog-standard reggae bit.

GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 15 October 2007 07:04 (eighteen years ago)

WALKIN, WALKIN IN MY BIG BLACK BOOTS

energy flash gordon, Monday, 15 October 2007 08:20 (eighteen years ago)

also, FFS:

Check Yo Self (The Message Remix)
It Was a Good Day (Remix)
24 wit an L
U Ain't Gonna Take My Life

These are not tracks on The Predator. (not saying anything about their quality - I paid $20 for the Wicked 12" on import just to get U Ain't Gonna after hearing it ONCE on the radio.)

energy flash gordon, Monday, 15 October 2007 08:22 (eighteen years ago)

CUZ I GET WICKED

deej, Monday, 15 October 2007 14:50 (eighteen years ago)

tremendoid and i were talking about this awhile ago, we both like this one best

deej, Monday, 15 October 2007 14:51 (eighteen years ago)

I went with "It Was A Good Day" which is an obvious choice but to me the most memorable of an album I listened the hell out of when it came out.

Euler, Monday, 15 October 2007 15:06 (eighteen years ago)

I hate being Mr. Obvious, but have to go with "It Was a Good Day". "When Will They Shoot?" and "We Had to Tear This Motherfucker Up" are perfectly acceptable answers, too.

xp, yeah

The Reverend, Monday, 15 October 2007 15:07 (eighteen years ago)

tremendoid and i were talking about this awhile ago, we both like this one best

-- deej, Monday, October 15, 2007 9:51 AM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

this one being predator, not 'wicked'

deej, Monday, 15 October 2007 15:16 (eighteen years ago)

you know you just won, g
won what?
the wet t-shirt contest, motherfucker
*brraapratatattat*

am0n, Monday, 15 October 2007 16:12 (eighteen years ago)

We Had to Tear This Motherfucker Up

and what, Monday, 15 October 2007 16:16 (eighteen years ago)

won g? lulz (xp)

The Reverend, Monday, 15 October 2007 16:17 (eighteen years ago)

When Will They Shoot if we're talking strictly album tracks. The It Was A Good Day remix with the Staples Singers/Curtis Mayfield sample is just as good if not better tho - I think that was the first hip-hop song without a drum track (or beatboxing) that I ever heard.

Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, 15 October 2007 16:19 (eighteen years ago)

Side One was perfect (my favourite non-compilation half-LP of hip-hop ever, probably) and "When Will They Shoot" just crushes.

Myonga Vön Bontee, Monday, 15 October 2007 19:04 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

ILX System, Friday, 19 October 2007 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ILX System, Saturday, 20 October 2007 23:01 (eighteen years ago)

Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha 1

LOL -- "the wet t-shirt contest, motherfucker!"

Eisbaer, Saturday, 20 October 2007 23:16 (eighteen years ago)

"Who Got the Camera?" deserved some love. As did "U Ain't Gonna Take My Life" altho it isn't a proper album track.

Noodle Vague, Saturday, 20 October 2007 23:17 (eighteen years ago)

three years pass...

This poll OTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1lUhfsdeyo

low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy (DJP), Friday, 3 June 2011 16:49 (fifteen years ago)

although this is also OTM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCijgm8xNuQ&feature=related

low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy (DJP), Friday, 3 June 2011 16:54 (fifteen years ago)

whole fukkin album is OTM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgd2L4U8WtM

low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy (DJP), Friday, 3 June 2011 16:58 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVcD1RydY4

^^^better than the album version imho

metally ill (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 3 June 2011 17:12 (fifteen years ago)

3 good songs out of like 20. The beginning of his decline, IMO. AMW and DC were both way better.

If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Friday, 3 June 2011 18:47 (fifteen years ago)

I think the only way in which we are similar is that we both need to breathe oxygen to survive

low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy (DJP), Friday, 3 June 2011 18:48 (fifteen years ago)

I don't mind someone thinking the other two are better, but this is an incredible album, Assport ought to check himself

all cats are gay (sic), Saturday, 4 June 2011 01:46 (fifteen years ago)

lol djp

you're nobody til somebody SBs you (symsymsym), Saturday, 4 June 2011 03:23 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, but...the poll speaks for itself, guys. Look at all those songs with one and zero votes. Three songs does not a classis album make. "When Will they Shoot" is a great song, an amazing opener, no arguments. "It Was A Good Day" was never one of my favorites, but as far as hip hop 'hits' go, it's up there with "Nuthin' But A G Thang" and worthy of praise for its surreal ubiquity alone. "Wicked" is sorta terrible - I'm so glad that period of random dancehall dudes 'toasting' over rap choruses was so short-lived. Death Certificate is full of great songs (and sure, a few bad ones - but show me a rap album from this era that isn't Illmatic that didn't have filler). AMW is spottier, but also better than The Predator.

If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Saturday, 4 June 2011 14:34 (fifteen years ago)

Um the poll isn't "vote for songs you like", it's vote for your favorite, and this album has a very clear frontrunner

red dead prez redemption (Neanderthal), Saturday, 4 June 2011 16:16 (fifteen years ago)

I mean like there are a buncha solid jams on this but none beat When Will They Shoot?

red dead prez redemption (Neanderthal), Saturday, 4 June 2011 17:26 (fifteen years ago)

i agree that the 3 skits on this album are not as good as all the other fucking awesome tracks. also i require oxygen too.

banter panchali (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 5 June 2011 12:54 (fifteen years ago)

also "toasting"

banter panchali (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 5 June 2011 12:55 (fifteen years ago)

this album is so good that U Ain't Gonna Take My Life, a song I heard once on the radio and went into the city to pay $18 for an import 12" to hear again, was a B-SIDE

all cats are gay (sic), Sunday, 5 June 2011 12:57 (fifteen years ago)

it wasn't even on the original album, i got it on a free tape from some terrible lol indie magazine. it's fucking tremendous nest pas?

banter panchali (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 5 June 2011 13:02 (fifteen years ago)

that's what I mean, schoolboy me had to catch a train for an hour each way to buy the Wicked 12" to get it

he does sound a lot more casual and cheery than on most of the album I guess, so perhaps it just didn't fit for that reason

all cats are gay (sic), Sunday, 5 June 2011 13:09 (fifteen years ago)

also the En Vogue chorus may have felt too pop/G-funk to include at the time

all cats are gay (sic), Sunday, 5 June 2011 13:14 (fifteen years ago)

lol I just read the pre-revive and saw me going on about buying it

all cats are gay (sic), Sunday, 5 June 2011 13:15 (fifteen years ago)

five months pass...

WE WALK THRU BENSONHURST, WE GET KILLED, SO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Bond 23: Skyrim (Noodle Vague), Friday, 11 November 2011 14:40 (fourteen years ago)

When Will They Shoot if we're talking strictly album tracks. The It Was A Good Day remix with the Staples Singers/Curtis Mayfield sample is just as good if not better tho - I think that was the first hip-hop song without a drum track (or beatboxing) that I ever heard.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, October 15, 2007 4:19 PM (4 years ago)


shakey mo OTM

bernard snowy, Friday, 11 November 2011 17:58 (fourteen years ago)

Ain't no one talkin' when I'm talkin' fellas, so shut the fuck up

no jesus, no piece (Neanderthal), Friday, 11 November 2011 20:13 (fourteen years ago)

two years pass...

'when will they shoot?' is great music for any occasion both social and private, especially if it involves walking with purpose

christmas candy bar (al leong), Friday, 10 January 2014 00:56 (twelve years ago)

walking in my big black boots has been scarred into my brain since day 1

Emilia Fabbo (Noodle Vague), Friday, 10 January 2014 00:58 (twelve years ago)

^^^ OTM, both of you

SHAUN (DJP), Friday, 10 January 2014 01:17 (twelve years ago)

yes, yes and yes

g simmel, Friday, 10 January 2014 01:22 (twelve years ago)

I have always got "Fuck Billboard and the editor here comes the predator" in my mind, as erroneous as it might be!

Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Friday, 10 January 2014 01:27 (twelve years ago)

that's a truth bomb

Jargon Kinsman (Noodle Vague), Friday, 10 January 2014 01:29 (twelve years ago)

to get some respect we had to

Jargon Kinsman (Noodle Vague), Friday, 10 January 2014 01:31 (twelve years ago)

it is hard to explain how anti-estab Ice Cube was back then. I won't bother trying!

Damo Suzuki's Parrot, Friday, 10 January 2014 01:44 (twelve years ago)

This one is my favorite Ice Cube record, mainly because I think it's his best sounding record. The production is fantastic all the way through.

Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Friday, 10 January 2014 09:00 (twelve years ago)

eleven months pass...

what's in that box back there??

would it happen to be DONUTS???

j., Tuesday, 23 December 2014 21:47 (eleven years ago)

duck yr head in there

Οὖτις, Tuesday, 23 December 2014 22:34 (eleven years ago)

five years pass...

You missed, and didn't hit Da Lench Mob either
"Guerillas in the Mist" without Jungle Fever
But I got the fever for the flava of a cracker
Not a Pringle, bust the single, here's my new jingle

"Stalkin, walkin in my big black boots"
The KKK has got three-piece suits
Using n****s like turkey shoots
My motto is Treat 'Em Like a Prostitute

Now if I say no violence, devil, you won't respect mine
Fuck the dumb shit and get my Tec-9
And if they approach us
Aight, aight I bury those cockroaches

ill fuckin put a paste on those (Neanderthal), Friday, 7 February 2020 00:52 (six years ago)

Dude was on another level in his prime.

This isn't even the one i quote lyrix from the most but sentimental value for being the first.

"Motherfuck Billboard and the editor
Here comes the Predator"

ill fuckin put a paste on those (Neanderthal), Friday, 7 February 2020 00:53 (six years ago)

What’s he holding on the cover? I always wondered.

piscesx, Friday, 7 February 2020 02:12 (six years ago)

the pipe that he's smoking

Fantastic. Great move. Well done (sic), Friday, 7 February 2020 02:17 (six years ago)

two years pass...

April 29th was power to the people
and there might just be a sequel

We were clothed, except for Caan, who was naked. Don't know why. (Neanderthal), Monday, 1 August 2022 01:42 (three years ago)


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