Disco de Ice-T: “Rhyme Pays”

Descripción (en inglés) :

Personnel: Ice-T (vocals), Afrika Islam (programming). Engineers: David Storrs, Jim Lyons, Greg "SSL?" Mann. Recorded at Salty Dog Studios, Los Angeles and Secret Sound, New York City. All songs written by Ice-T except "Intro" (Ice-T/Dave Storrs). RHYME PAYS introduced the world to a man many have dubbed "the father of gansta rap," a former hustler from South Central Los Angeles named Tracy Morrow, who called himself Ice-T. One of the first West Coast rappers to get respect from the New York hip hop scene, Ice-T's hyper-realistic crime stories came straight from the street, and would bring him both fame and controversy. A defining record for West Coast gangsta rap, 1987's RHYME PAYS put Ice-T on the map as one of hip-hop's most charismatic street spokesmen. The character of the ghetto-hardened street thug would later rise to prominence, thanks largely to N.W.A. and Snoop Dogg, but Ice was among the first to drop narratives about the ruthless realities of the California inner cities, and he still stands out as one of rap's sharpest performers. Musically, RHYME PAYS bears the hallmarks of Run-DMC-influenced '80s rap, with colossal beats punctuated by short samples. The sound here is full, and the samples are adventurous (the title track sports the riff from Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," and the funk-oriented samples predate Dr. Dre's G-funk by several years). Lyrically, Ice alternates between accounts of his high-rolling, pimping lifestyle ("Somebody Gotta Do It"), paeans to sex ("I Love Ladies"), and shout-out party anthems ("Make It Funky"). Given the always-evolving sound of rap, RHYME PAYS is something of a period piece, but it remains an important hip-hop album.

This CD put Ice T on the map. Squeeze the Trigger was a personal favorite of mine, this CD doesn't have any fillers. And thats saying something given Ice-T's limited artistic capability.

Note that this CD is an analog to digital recording, given the time frame in which it was produced. Still, the dynamic transfer is very good with very little background noise.

This CD should be in every Ice-T fan collection, and in the collection of a classic West Coast rap fan as well.

this was the first ice t album i heard and for the sheer power, and skill i think it was for its time and even now, way ahead of its time. this was when it was stripped dow, raw, and just awesome. sure there were many before and after this but this was the one album that i will always have. the first time i put the cassette in i was a fan... this is a classic album that you play today and people still remember it...

Although this is not quite up to the level of subsequent Ice-T albums, this is still a classic 5-star album. My favorite cuts were the hardcore ones that previewed Ice-t's later career (6 in the mornin', Pain, Squeeze the Trigger), although the other cuts were also clever and entertaining, especially the title track and 409. No filler, except for the remixes at the end, but I only count the first 9 tracks as the real album. Pick this up, it is a must-have for anyone who enjoys real, intelligent rap and not the stuff that you see on MTV.