AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Studio album by Ice Cube
Released	May 16, 1990
Recorded	1989-1990
Genre	Gangsta rap West Coast rap Golden age hip hop Political hip hop
Length	49:36
Label	Priority
Producer	Chuck D, Eric Sadler, Hank Shocklee, Keith Shocklee, Ice Cube, Sir Jinx
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Entertainment Weekly (B-) link Hip Hop Connection (Favorable) link RapReviews (10/10) link Robert Christgau (B-) link Rolling Stone 2004 The Source link
Ice Cube chronology
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990) Kill at Will (1990) Singles from AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted "Who's the Mack?" Released: 1990 "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" Released: April 17, 1990 "Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside)" Released: 1990

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted is rapper Ice Cube's influential^[1] debut solo album, released after his acrimonious split from his former group N.W.A. It was originally released on May 16, 1990. Primarily produced by The Bomb Squad (Public Enemy's production team), the album was an unexpectedly large critical^[2] and commercial^[3] success, and remains one of the defining hip hop albums of the 1990s.

Background

Conception

After departing from Ruthless Records and the west coast-based group N.W.A., Ice Cube immediately moved to record his own album. Linking up with Sir Jinx, the cousin of N.W.A. producer Dr. Dre, Cube made use of pre-written notebooks comprised of songs meant for N.W.A. member/Ruthless co-founder Eazy-E^[4]. After relocating to New York^[5] they worked on the songs, which included "Once Upon a Time in the Projects," "Get Off My Dick and Tell Yo Bitch to Come Here" and "Gangsta's Fairytale," among others. After contacting Public Enemy's production team The Bomb Squad, they completed the album. The album received a fair share of production credited to various Bomb Squad members, with an appearance by Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, despite Jinx's claims that the only Bomb Squad member fully present was Eric Sadler^[5]. Hank Shocklee spoke on meeting and working with Ice Cube in a Cooleh Magazine interview:

Cube contacted me wanting to know if we could do a few tracks for his solo album after the whole NWA thing came to what it was and I was like, I’ll do it if I can do the whole album. And he said, "that’s what I was hoping you would say." And when we were in the studio he showed up with notebooks and notebooks full of new rhymes, a bag full of rhymebooks.^[6]

Content

Ice Cube's social, and political commentary, delivered in an incisive manner, has influenced numerous rappers since Amerikka's Most Wanted, particularly in the gangsta rap and political rap subgenres. Focusing on the hardships of life in South Central, Los Angeles, as well as criticizing the American Justice System and race relations in the United States, Cube became an outspoken voice of U.S. social customs tipped against young Black Americans. Under fire from his former group with the diss song "100 Miles and Runnin'," from the EP of the same name, he also recorded the song "Jackin' For Beats," using beats allegedly meant for the next N.W.A. album^[7], which he released on the Kill at Will EP.

With socio-political conscious and gangsta rap content, its songs delve into the issues of ghetto life, drug addiction, racism and poverty. Throughout the album, Ice Cube incessantly attacks institutions for perceived or actual racist tendencies, as well as social norms which directly or indirectly allowed the oppression of those living in the ghettos of Los Angeles to continue. On "Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside)," he predicts that his neighborhood would become a flash point for violence before 1992's scandal over the beating of Rodney King^[8]." and takes police to task for the policies that would later lead to the L.A. riots that resulted.

Throughout the album, Cube takes some controversial stands, referring to certain types of African-Americans as "oreo cookies", an epithet implying that they appear black on the outside, but have, internally, negative white tendencies. Arsenio Hall is specifically mentioned as being a "sell-out." Cube also heavily criticizes R&B and hip hop radio stations for watered-down broadcasting. The title song directly parodies the television show, America's Most Wanted, alleging bias and glee the program displays in arresting Afro-American men.

A later song, "Get Off My Dick, and Tell Yo Bitch to Come Here," returns to the same theme at the end, with newscaster Tom Brokaw reporting on rioting: "Outside the south central area, few cared about the violence because it didn't affect them." He also addressed gender relations on "It's a Man's World", a duet between Cube and female rapper Yo-Yo. Cube and Yo-Yo verbally spar and trade sexist barbs back and forth in an expose of sexism between men and women. Amidst critics' accusing Ice Cube of sexism, Peter Watrous of the The New York Times wrote, in review of a live show at New York's Apollo Theater:

Nevertheless, critics focused on the song "You Can't Fade Me," in which Cube fantasizes about kicking a pregnant former one-night stand in the stomach in order to cause a miscarriage, and avoid having to pay child support.

Album Title

The title of the album is an allusion to a television show America's Most Wanted, wherein real-life crimes are reenacted and viewers are asked to call in with any information about the alleged perpetrators. The show has taken criticism for its reenactments. They are believed to perpetuate stereotypes regarding the criminality of African-American men and other minorities, such as Latinos. The intentional misspelling of "America" with three K's equates the show and status quo society with the Ku Klux Klan.

Reception

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted initially charted without the support of a lead single or video, although the title song would later receive a pressing, and a rare video for "Who's the Mack?" did eventually surface^{[citation needed]}. Regardless, the album shipped 500,000 copies in its first week out, and was certified Platinum two months later.

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted received The Source's 'five mics' award, out of five, a rating reserved for very few albums at the time. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. In 2005, comedian Chris Rock ranked it 17th on his list of the Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums ever.^[10]

Single

The title track was the first official single from the album. The song contains samples from "Humpin'" by the Bar-Kays, "There It Is" by James Brown, "Let the Music Take Your Mind" by Kool and the Gang and "Advice" by Sly and the Family Stone. The B-side for the song was "Once Upon a Time in the Projects".

Impact

Produced largely by the Bomb Squad during the height of Public Enemy's success, West Coast rap has largely taken a separate direction from the sound present on AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, despite its initial success. The scene has instead adopted the glossy beats and smooth drawls popularized by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

Although Ice Cube's popularity among mainstream listeners has lessened since the 2000s, and his sound may be considered distinctively old school to modern ears, many rappers themselves have been influenced by his innovative lyrical techniques. His style of rapping about real life sentiment and socio-political awareness influenced the music of West Coast rappers, including that of Tupac, Ras Kass, and Xzibit, as well as East Coast rappers Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., and more recently, Saigon and Southern rapper Young Jeezy. East Coast rapper Redman also covered "Once Upon a Time in the Projects" on his album Doc's Da Name 2000, with the song "Jersey Yo!."

Track listing

• * co-producer
• Note: In the 2003 re-release the album included all the songs from his EP also released in 1990, Kill at Will.

Charts

Album

Singles

Personnel

• The Bomb Squad - Record producer
• Mario Castellanos - Photography
• Chris Champion - Assistant engineer
• Chuck D. - Performer
• Da Lench Mob - Vocals (bckgr), producer
• (Ex) Cat Heads - Vocals (bckgr)
• Flavor Flav - Vocals, performer
• Ricky Harris - Vocals (bckgr)
• Al Hayes - Bass Guitar, guitar
• Vincent Henry - Flute, saxophone
• Brian Holt - Vocals
• Kevin Hosmann - Art direction
• Ice Cube - Vocals, producer
• Jay Dee - Vocals (bckgr)
• Tim Rollins - Piano
• Eric Sadler - Producer
• Nick Sansano - Engineer
• Shannon - Vocals (bckgr)
• Christopher Shaw - Engineer
• Keith Shocklee - Scratching
• Sir Jinx- Vocals (bckgr), producer
• Howie Weinberg - Mastering
• Dan Wood - Vocals (bckgr), Engineer
• Yo-Yo - Vocals, performer

References

• Ro, Ronin (2007), Dr. Dre: The Biography, New York, New York, United States: Thunder's Mouth Press, ISBN 1560259213