Lethal Injection (album)

Lethal Injection
Studio album by Ice Cube
Released	December 7, 1993
Studio	Echo Sound Skip Saylor Recordings Westlake Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	West Coast hip-hop gangsta rap G-funk
Length	56:20
Label	Priority
Producer	QDIII Madness 4 Real Sir Jinx Laylaw Ice Cube D'Maq
Ice Cube chronology
The Predator (1992) Lethal Injection (1993) Bootlegs & B-Sides (1994)
Singles from Lethal Injection
"Really Doe" Released: October 12, 1993 "You Know How We Do It" Released: February 2, 1994 "Bop Gun (One Nation)" Released: July 12, 1994

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Austin Chronicle	[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B [4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
Music Week	[6]
RapReviews	7.5/10 [7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
The Source	[10]

Lethal Injection is the fourth studio album by American rapper Ice Cube. It was released on December 7, 1993, through Priority Records. The album was produced by QDIII, Madness 4 Real, Sir Jinx, Laylaw, D'Mag, and Ice Cube.

Lethal Injection was supported by three singles: "Really Doe", "You Know How We Do It", and the Funkadelic-sampling "Bop Gun (One Nation)", which became a staple on MTV. The track "Down for Whatever" also gained popularity after featuring in the 1999 film Office Space . The album received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success similar to the rapper's previous albums. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling 215,000 copies in its first week. ^[11]

Criticism

The album was heavily criticized for what many saw as Ice Cube's pandering to gangsta rap, and for lyrics which were considered to be anti-police, racist and misogynistic, as well as the toning down of socio-political content found on his earlier efforts. The album's standing has increased over time. ^[12]

Commercial performance

Lethal Injection debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 215,000 copies in its first week. ^[13] This became Ice Cube's third US top-ten album. ^[13] The album also debuted at number one on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. ^[14] On February 1, 1994, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies in the United States. ^[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Shot (Intro)"	Sir Jinx	0:55
2.	"Really Doe"	Derrick McDowell Laylaw	4:28
3.	"Ghetto Bird"	QDIII	3:50
4.	"You Know How We Do It"	QDIII	3:52
5.	"Cave Bitch"	Brian G	4:18
6.	"Bop Gun (One Nation)" (featuring George Clinton)	Ice Cube QDIII	11:17
7.	"What Can I Do?"	88 X Unit	4:39
8.	"Lil Ass Gee"	Sir Jinx	4:04
9.	"Make It Ruff, Make It Smooth" (featuring K-Dee)	QDIII	4:23
10.	"Down for Whatever"	Madness 4 Real	4:40
11.	"Enemy"	Madness 4 Real	4:50
12.	"When I Get to Heaven"	Brian G	5:04

2003 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"What Can I Do? (Westside remix)" (featuring Mack 10)	D'Maq Lay Law	4:27
14.	"What Can I Do? (Eastside remix)"	Ali Shaheed Muhammad	4:46
15.	"You Know How We Do It (remix)"	Ice Cube	4:23
16.	"Lil Ass Gee (Eerie Gumbo remix)"	N.O. Joe	5:21

Singles

"Really Doe"

• Released: 1993
• B-side: "My Skin Is My Sin"

"You Know How We Do It"

• Released: February 1994
• B-side: "2 'n the Morning"

"Bop Gun (One Nation)"

• Released: August 1994
• B-side: "Down for Whatever"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1993–1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [16]	49
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [17]	34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [18]	89
UK Albums (OCC) [19]	52
US Billboard 200 [20]	5
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [21]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1994)	Position
US Billboard 200 [22]	43
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [23]	7

Certifications

Certifications for "Lethal Injection"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ) [24]	Gold	7,500‡
United States (RIAA) [15]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1993 (U.S.)

References

1. AllMusic review
2. The Austin Chronicle review
3. Robert Christgau review
4. Entertainment Weekly review
5. Los Angeles review
6. Jones, Alan (December 11, 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week . p. 13. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
7. Juon, Steve (October 8, 2019). "ICE CUBE - LETHAL INJECTION". RapReviews. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
8. Touré (January 27, 1994). "Snoop & Cube". Rolling Stone . No. 674. p. 51. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
9. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide , p. 281, at Google Books
10. Shortie (February 1994). "Record Report: Ice Cube – Lethal Injection". The Source . No. 53. New York. p. 68.
11. Billboard 5 dec. 1998 , p. RA1-PA128, at Google Books
12. Juon, Steve 'Flash'. "Ice Cube :: Lethal Injection – RapReviews" . Retrieved March 30, 2022.
13. Billboard 5 dec. 1998 , p. RA1-PA128, at Google Books
14. "TRBHH - 1993-12-25" . Retrieved March 1, 2020.
15. "American album certifications – Ice Cube – Lethal Injection". Recording Industry Association of America.
16. "Australiancharts.com – Ice Cube – Lethal Injection". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
17. "Ice Cube Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Ice Cube – Lethal Injection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
19. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
20. "Ice Cube Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
21. "Ice Cube Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
22. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
23. "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
24. "New Zealand album certifications – Ice Cube – Lethal Injection". Radioscope. Retrieved July 25, 2025.Type Lethal Injection in the "Search:" field.