#28: Ice-T — O.G. Original Gangster (1991)
Los Angeles, CA — Sire Records
What we got today, my good people, is perhaps the greatest project by one of the west coast’s, and maybe overall, greatest rappers of all time: of course I’m talking about mister Tracy Lauren Marrow, or Ice-T, an absolute all-timer if there’s ever been one. Hands down one of the hip-hop artists with the longest lived career, this is already his fourth album, after an early run that started with a foray into electro way back in the mid 80s before taking the way of hardcore gangsta rap, which would eventually set him in his path to stardom.
Now fellas, Ice-T is a face I’m pretty familiar with, from the days when I watched Law & Order: Special Victims Unit with my mom at the age of like 11 or 12; which, besides raising concerns about her understanding of content rating systems, makes him by far the non-brazilian rapper I’ve been acquainted with for the longest time. It’s no secret to anyone that, between his many prolific forays into music from electro to gangsta rap to hardcore-trash and his terrific and long-lived interpretation of detective Odafin Tutuola in SVU, I’ve grown to see Ice-T as quite simply one of the coolest human beings alive; does, however, my memory serve me right when it comes to his fourth and highest regarded album?
Clocking in at almost one hour and fifteen minutes, the length here is comparable to some of the stuff we’ve seen before in this cycle such as Brand Nubian’s One For All; differently than that album, though, this one is skillfully put together with many sorts of different aesthetics and vibes all throughout, which consistently keeps it fresh and interesting. Handled by T himself along with a team of musicians, the production here is consistent but varied, with but a couple of subpar moments here and there, showcasing an interesting blend of old school and new school production techniques. Something that does some heavy lifting when it comes to keeping it new is the fact that this isn’t composed of a slew of four-to-five minute songs with little care to coherent structuring, but rather a well thought out ensemble of full tracks, skits, intros and interludes, all of which are fairly creative and fun in their own right.
For an example we can look for the album’s opening section. The intro track, Home Of The Bodybag, consists of menacing, repeating vocal samples over an ominous beat, which sets a solid tone for what’s to come. It’s then followed by First Impression, a hilarious skit where a british journalist of sorts declares Ice to be the the “epitome of antidisestablishmentarianism who embodies the entire spectrum of the urban experience and struggle […] the dopest, flyest, O.G., pimp, hustler, gangster, player, hardcore motherfucker living today. To be honest, I’m totally and completely on his dick”, and Ziplock, a short, frenetic, aggressive rap that sounds more like a little warning than a proper track. At this point we’re four minutes and twenty seconds in and the first proper song, Mic Contract, is yet to begin. This gist is repeated all throughout, with content ranging from straight-up skits and intermissions, such as What About Sex, Fried Chicken and Street Killer, to short songs composed of a single verse that aren’t really interludes yet play that role in a way, with a fast little rap inbetween two full tracks just to keep you on your toes, such as Ed, The House and Prepared To Die, as well as the aforementioned Ziplock. I must say I’m a big skit guy, who finds them usually very important in the making or breaking of an album, and O.G. Original Gangster explores their potential to the max.
What about the raps, though? Well, Ice-T isn’t considered one of the greatest for no reason. His style is not too technical, nor too free, nor too old-school or new-school: it’s a harmonious, imaginative balance between them, with his characteristic voice and delivery doing a lot to compliment it. He can solidly tie all sorts of different types of raps within his style, from long-winded stories with moral lessons at the end, to deep ponderous reflections about the current state of affairs in modern ‘murica, to flexing on fools, to just some good old straight up shit-talking. His style here is not overwhelming in complexity like some artists often are and sometimes you do kinda yearn for some unnecessarily flexy bars like those found in Step In The Arena and The Devil Made Me Do It, to name a few recent examples, but overall it works almost to perfection at almost all times.
The beats don’t lag behind too. Most of them are very good, if not excellent, and something that consistently stands out about them is how busy and dense they are: it sounds like the production team refuses to leave one single unnoccupied space in the tracks, filling them all up with little samples and stabs and rolls and vocals. They aren’t that incredibly creative and original when compared to what was going on at the time, but work adequately with what Ice’s trying to do here, and seldom feel jarring or out of place. Noteworthy, too, is the inclusion of the first ever track by Body Count, his hardcore/thrash band; the track is called, guess what, Body Count. Not that I’m an expert on the matter but I think it’s kinda goofy for a metal track, although it works as a rap-metal fusion track way better than most of such stuff we’ve seen to far.
All in all it’s a great album, definitely deserving of its post as the best from one of the best. Ice-T confirms that he is indeed a very cool guy, open-minded and attentive to the troubles of the world, and very charismatic most of all. Being a long and diverse album, it’s hard to really go into detail about it without spending too much time going on about individual tracks, which I’d rather not do, so instead I will leave with a strong reccomendation and a certainty that at least some, if not all of this, is sure to get your full attention and appreciation.
Favorite tracks:
New Jack Hustler: Relentless, somewhat old-schooly but remarkably dynamic beat provides an adequate basis for perhaps the most technical and complex rhyming in this. “Is this a nightmare? Or the American dream?”. The content of this hyped-up party anthem is sometimes light-hearted but eventually shifts into a more somber, gloomy tone as Ice reflects on the contradictory nature of the ideals of fame and success. “Sleep on silk, lie like a politician/ My Uzi’s my best friend, cold as a mortician/ Lock me up, it’s genocidal catastrophe/ There’ll be another one after me, a hustler”
Bitches 2: This one would have won me over even if it wasn’t for the incredible beat, which samples the same song as Racionais MCs’ Capítulo 4 Versículo 3, one of the single greatest hip-hop tracks of all time in my opinion. Flowing and lyricism are outstanding too, weaving together a series of moralistic stories that really do pull you in and get you involved in Ice’s preaching.
The Tower: Remarkably gloomy, grim song about life as an inmate. The sci-fi/horror sound effects toe the line of corniness at times, but the somber lyrics and bone-chilling storytelling bring it back to a plane of seriousness, and you just can’t help but finish this one with a distinct sense of dread looming about you. It’s also maybe the first track so far to firmly denounce homophobia, which again attests to Ice’s unfathomable coolness.
