This month marks the 29th anniversary of Ice Cube’s second solo album, Death Certificate.
While his first solo album, Amerikkka’s Most Wanted, was produced by Public Enemy’s The Bomb Squad, this one featured a more West-Coast-style production by longtime collaborators Sir Jinx and Boogiemen. Guest appearances include WC and the MAAD Circle, Kam, and the late Nation of Islam spokesman Khalid Muhammad.
Unusual for a rap album at the time, it’s a concept album, with, in Ice Cube’s words, “The Death Side: a mirror image of where we are today; The Life Side: a vision of where we need to go.” The singles were ‘Steady Mobbin’ and ‘True to the Game.’ Notable non-single tracks include ‘Black Korea,’ of which the Korean American Grocers Association (and longtime Chicago newspaperman Mike Royko) was not a fan, the self-critical ‘Us,’ and the scathing NWA dis song ‘No Vaseline,’ of which the Simon Wiesenthal Center was not a fan.
Death Certificate earned its Parental Advisory sticker–Ice Cube set out to offend absolutely everyone. Even the cover was controversial. The Chicago Tribune asked whether he’d gone too far. A too-clever New York Times headline writer asked if he should be chilled (Betteridge’s Law applies). Entertainment Weekly gave it an A-.
It was recorded and released in between the Rodney King beating and the LAPD acquittal. Years later, Rolling Stone would give Death Certificate two entries on their ’15 Songs that Predicted the 1992 LA Riots’ list. Reconsidered in 2011, and rereleased in 2017, it is Ice Cube’s extremely problematic masterpiece.