Soul on Ice | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1, 1996 | |||
Recorded | 1994-96 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 63:05 | |||
Label | Patchwerk/Priority 0499 2 50529 2 3 P2-50529 | |||
Producer | ||||
Ras Kass chronology | ||||
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Singles from Soul on Ice | ||||
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Soul on Ice is the debut album by West Coast emcee Ras Kass, released on September 17, 1996, under Priority Records. [1] [2] The album was produced by Ras Kass, [3] as well as Battlecat, Vooodu, Lamont "Bird" Holdby, Michael "Flip" Barber, Michael Schlesinger, and Reno Delajuan. Fellow West Coast rapper Coolio makes the only guest appearance on the album on the song "Drama". The album's title is a reference to Black Panther member Eldridge Cleaver's 1968 book Soul on Ice . Two charting singles were released from the album, "Anything Goes" and "Soul on Ice". It received minimal commercial attention at the time of its release, but has since garnered retrospective critical praise for Ras Kass' complex, historically-aware lyricism.
An avid reader in his youth, Ras Kass adopted his stage name in honor of Ethiopian emperor Ras Kassa. [1] In 1993, with funding from his high school friend and then-Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Bob Whitfield, Ras Kass recorded his demo. [4] The following year, under Whitfield's label PatchWerk Recordings, Ras Kass released his first single "Remain Anonymous". [5] The success of the single, which garnered critical praise in The Source 's December 1994 issue, led to him signing a deal with Priority Records. [6]
The album's title was inspired by Black Panther member Eldridge Cleaver's 1968 book Soul on Ice , from which Ras Kass formed many of his lyrical themes. [7] The album's seven-minute long track, "Nature of the Threat", has been described as "an exploration of racism throughout history" and a "history lesson". [7] [1] Ras Kass described how he gathered the information to create the track:
I always tell people that "Nature of the Threat" — I wrote it for myself; it's an extremely selfish song. But I did the footwork ... I went to a community college and I took the classes that would help me get a better understanding. Physical Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Ancient History, World History, Black History, American History, whatever — just history. I wanted to soak it in. And studying outside of that, they all corroborated each other. There's very little that I learned in one book that wasn't corroborated in the other books — no matter who was writing them. So I found that very interesting. [8]
In a six-month period leading up to the album's release, Ras Kass was featured in The Source's "Hip-Hop Quotable" column and twice featured in Rap Pages' "Rhyme of the Month" column, earning a reputation as a highly skilled lyricist. [1] [9]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Muzik | [10] |
RapReviews | 8.5/10 [11] |
The Source | 3/5 [12] |
Will Ashon of Muzik praised Soul on Ice as "a powerful journey through Ras' life, grounded in a historical-political-theological analysis of the plight of the black race", concluding that it was "post-encyclopedia-black-power-lyricism". [10] Carlito Rodriguez of The Source commended Ras Kass' lyricism, stating that he "drops material that'll have history buffs, religious theorists and English majors alike either reaching for their reference books or bustin' off in their Fruit of the Looms". [12]
In a retrospective piece, Stylus Magazine critic Brett Berliner noted that several years into Ras Kass' career, "he still hasn't matched the awe and skill of Soul on Ice", hailing it as "one of the most next level albums of all time, lyrically". [7] Steve Juon of RapReviews.com commented that the album "still stands as a testament to what an MC with unlimited potential and the free reign [sic] to say it can truly do". [11]
No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "On Earth as It Is..." | Lamont "Bird" Holdby and Ras Kass | 4:43 |
2. | "Anything Goes" | Lamont "Bird" Holdby and Ras Kass | 5:49 |
3. | "Marinatin'" | Battlecat | 4:05 |
4. | "Reelishymn" | Lamont "Bird" Holdby and Ras Kass | 4:27 |
5. | "Nature of the Threat" | Vooodu | 7:43 |
6. | "Etc." | Lamont "Bird" Holdby and Ras Kass | 3:12 |
7. | "Sonset" | Michael "Flip" Barber, Michael Schlesinger, Ras Kass and Reno Delajuan | 6:00 |
8. | "Drama" (featuring Coolio) | Lamont "Bird" Holdby and Ras Kass | 3:46 |
9. | "The Evil That Men Do" | Vooodu | 6:10 |
10. | "If/Then" | Michael "Flip" Barber and Ras Kass | 4:50 |
11. | "Miami Life" | Michael "Flip" Barber and Ras Kass | 4:06 |
12. | "Soul on Ice" | Lamont "Bird" Holdby | 3:42 |
13. | "Ordo Abchao (Order Out of Chaos)" | Vooodu | 4:30 |
Anything Goes
Reelishymn
Drama
Etc.
If/Then
Marinatin'
On Earth as It Is...
Sonset
Soul on Ice
The Evil That Men Do
Ordo Abchao (Order Out of Choas)
Chart (1996) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [13] | 169 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [14] | 35 |
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver was an American writer, political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party.
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Soul on Ice can refer to:
"Anything Goes" is the first single released from Ras Kass' debut album, Soul on Ice. Produced and written by Ras Kass himself, "Anything Goes" peaked at 20 on the Hot Rap Singles and #1 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"Soul on Ice" is the second single released from Ras Kass' debut album, Soul on Ice. Produced by Bird, "Soul on Ice" became Ras Kass' most successful single chartwise, gaining the most success on the Hot Rap Singles chart, where it peaked at 22. Diamond D of D.I.T.C. remixed the song.
"Ghetto Fabulous" is the lead single released from Ras Kass second album, Rasassination. Produced by Stu-B-Doo, the song featured a verse from Dr. Dre and a chorus by Mack 10. Though "Ghetto Fabulous" had a more commercial sound to it than his previous singles, it was not a commercial success, only making it to 56 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The video also features Ice-T.
Soul on Ice is a memoir and collection of essays by Eldridge Cleaver. Originally written in Folsom State Prison in 1965, and published three years later in 1968, it is Cleaver's best known writing and remains a seminal work in African-American literature. The treatises were first printed in the nationally-circulated monthly Ramparts and became widely read for their illustration and commentary on Black America. Throughout his narrative, Cleaver describes not only his transformation from a marijuana dealer and serial rapist into a convinced Malcolm X adherent and Marxist revolutionary, but also his analogous relationship to the politics of America.
Rip the Jacker is the fifth studio album by American rapper Canibus. Produced by Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind of the group Jedi Mind Tricks, the album was released on July 22, 2003, through Babygrande Records.
Patchwerk Recording Studios is a recording studio located at 1094 Hemphill Avenue, West Midtown in Atlanta, GA. It was established in 1993 by former NFL offensive tackle Bob Whitfield of the Atlanta Falcons, and is currently owned and operated by Curtis Daniel III and Mike Wilson. The facility features two totally isolated recording studios, namely Studio 995 and Studio 9000, along with Studio 1019, a vocal tracking and editing studio in the 9000 wing of the building. Apart from the facility's use as a recording studio, the premises are also used for audio mastering in the Mastering Studio, a Production Studio for beatmakers, as well as offering Paperwerk Registration, Video and Photography, and Graphic Design services.