So I finally listened to Ice Cube's Death Certificate front to back!

[Crumple]

as for the vibe...during the late 80s/very early 90s...there was a lot of consciousness in hip hop...cube somewhat moved from the gangster shyt to being more “woke” (the term is cliched but I’m using it for lack of a better phrase)...I want to say he even had ties w/ the nation back then if memory serves me correct...it was in the music...in the attire (african medallions etc.) and in a lot of movies that dropped during the early 90s as well...the music/culture took a major shift tho toward gangster music en masse...especially on the east coast (it was already prevalent on the west)

To reply to the next part you wrote.

It's interesting because it's like Ice Cube was actually affiliated with Nation of Islam - but while others wore the symbols - he stayed hip hop in his attire. I mean the classic, black gear, sweaters, and Raiders gear.

So what I'm getting from this is that on top of the album being great music wise - it actually shifted Hip Hop culture at that time.

 

[get these nets]

Threat's verse...

"Say the wrong word, then
WHISTLE down the street to your homies like a bird
bust a U-turn, come back and get SERVED, nikka..."

line that I always remembered was King Tee

things in the hood ain't changed/
and I finally realized we're NOT all in the same gang/




he snapped with that shyt, he was the VERY first rapper on

 

[Amestafuu (Emeritus)]

My personal goat album honestly

no argument.

It's a top 3 for me. That album and Cube was the first rapper to heavily influence me. I'm so glad I came up on that era of music.

 

[Crumple]

I was in high school when this came out, so yeah I remember it. Paseo down on 19th and Summit in Kansas City, Missouri.

It was heavily anticipated #1 because it was Cube, and #2 it was rumored to have his response to NWA.

As far as the "vibe" of that era....nobody sat around like "look at all this classic shyt". It was considered normal. It was all we knew. But if you look back at 1991 alone....this album, Cypress Hill, Digital Underground, Ice-T, De La Soul, Black Sheep, AMG, DJ Quik, Geto Boys....and that's just off the top of my head....it's insane how much shyt came out in a relatively short time span. And not just that year, year after year all through out the 90's. And if I sat here and thought about it there's probably 10+ more albums that came out, that I can't remember right now.

Fred.

Crazy! Thanks for your insight!

Everyone goes off on 1994 being the golden era but I'm far more interested in 1987 - to 1992.

Because while 1993 - 1999 was dope and pure.

1987 - 1992 was uncut pure.

 

[Robbie3000]

Breh, a bird in hand is better than two in the bush is an old idiom. Ice Cube didn't make that up.

It means its better to focus on what you actually have vs what you MIGHT have.

It was also a dig at George H.W Bush.

'Or should I just wait for help from Bush Or Jesse Jackson, and operation Push If you ask me the whole thing needs a douche of massingail....Crack l'll sell in the neighborhood."

That nikka Cube was nice.

 

[Robbie3000]

My personal goat album honestly

Me too. Nas also said this was one of the best albums made in any genre.

 

[Crumple]

It was also a dig at George H.W Bush.

'Or should I just wait for help from Bush Or Jesse Jackson, and operation Push If you ask me the whole thing needs a douche of massingail....Crack l'll sell in the neighborhood."

That nikka Cube was nice.

"banderas"

Ice Cube also influenced Redman.

This is serious top tier rap.

It's not normal. These are the elite.

 

[LJLYDK!]

I forget the name now but it’s a Cube movie about apartheid in I think 97, You seen it?
they end up going from the hood back to South Africa

 

[Crumple]

This thread is great! I just tweeted Ice Cube for him to check it out. If he does, and RT or even likes my tweet that'll add to this!

Ice T once liked my tweet of respect to him and he's active on Twitter.

 

[zayk35]

COLOR BLIND is an under rated posse song

went over my head when i heard it, but now that west coast gangs have spread, I get the lyrics

I always loved DJ Pooh repeating "Yeah" throughout that song ... at least I think that was Pooh. And yeah I didn't really grasp that song at first but it didn't take long. Especially as gangs were becoming a big thing in Texas at that time....a top five album for me personally and Cube is in my top 3 right behind Face and Snoop

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

My personal goat album honestly

it's a matter of fact

 

[hex]

Crazy! Thanks for your insight!

Everyone goes off on 1994 being the golden era but I'm far more interested in 1987 - to 1992.

Because while 1993 - 1999 was dope and pure.

1987 - 1992 was uncut pure.

I don't know what the golden age is. I mean, I know what people classify it as but we never got into all that back then either. That's more a discussion that took place well after both of those eras (80's and 90's) were over.

I dunno, I try not to use terms like that. Because it makes it seem like some kind of mythical thing. Music came out, people bought it. Listened to it and discussed it. Initially not everyone liked everything. I wasn't a big fan of BIG, Gangstarr, Snoop, etc. at first. Which would be considered hip-hop sacrilege but they were new artists at the time and nobody felt obligated to like their shyt off GP. After a while it grew on me. So it was like any other era in history.

Obviously in retrospect the quantity and quality of hip-hop was insane, but you don't really think about that as it's happening. Very rarely do people sit around during something historic and think "this is historic". It's just a Tuesday for them. I think hip-hop is in a fine place in 2020. But in the 80's and 90's I assumed things would always be like that, as far as the sheer amount of music coming out, and the quality level. And obviously they aren't.

Fred.

 

[Crumple]

I don't know what the golden age is. I mean, I know what people classify it as but we never got into all that back then either. That's more a discussion that took place well after both of those eras (80's and 90's) were over.

I dunno, I try not to use terms like that. Because it makes it seem like some kind of mythical thing. Music came out, people bought it. Listened to it and discussed it. Initially not everyone liked everything. I wasn't a big fan of BIG, Gangstarr, Snoop, etc. at first. Which would be considered hip-hop sacrilege but they were new artists at the time and nobody felt obligated to like their shyt off GP. After a while both grew on me. So it was like any other era in history.

Obviously in retrospect the quantity and quality of hip-hop was insane, but you don't really think about that as it's happening. Very rarely do people sit around during something historic and think "this is historic". It's just a Tuesday for them. I think hip-hop is in a fine place in 2020. But in the 80's and 90's I assumed things would always be like that, as far as the sheer amount of music coming out, and the quality level. And obviously they aren't.

Fred.

Incredibly said, Fred! Lol

I'm going to copy, paste and save your reply to a notepad file.

I never took to Biggie or Pac when they came out - which like you said would be considered sacrilidge.

Instead I was a fan of Redman, Krs One, and Wu. Even shyt like Diddy by Paperboy.

 

[Crumple]

I added the album cover to the main post. Found a dope image of the cassette online!

 

[Smitty Belafonte]

Did anybody here buy Death Certificate when it dropped?

How was the vibe of that era?

Also same question for anyone in LA at the time.

Thank you.

Skipped school to go purchase and it was about 15 other people with me. Couldn’t go to any party or club without hearing it. Told the future in several tracks and to this day is my favorite hip hop album of all time period.