"In all the controversy that's surrounded his career since he wrote a tune called "Boyz N The Hood" for his homeboy Eazy-E five years ago, there's one thing that journalists sometimes forget to mention about Ice Cube: he's one of the most mesmerizing MCs in hip-hop. Well, that's an issue quickly put to rest on "Wicked," the first single off his new album, The Predator. What's the song about? "I just wanted to get loose," he says, laughing. "I entertain, too. I make records and I can bust. That song describes the way I feel when I'm doing a show and the crowd's going crazy: I feel wicked." A bouncy, noisy jam, "Wicked" typifies Ice Cube's approach to music-making. "I don't stick to one producer. That's why my records sound so different," he explains. "Otherwise it'll sound stale." Cube hooked up with Torcha Chamber, who laid thee tracks for "Wicked," in an unconventional way."
"In addition to longtime Lench Mob crew members Pooh and Jinx, Cube was joined in the studio by Mixmaster Muggs of Cypress Hill who injected his gangsta swagger in three tracks: "Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha," an ominous warning to cowards and punks, "We Had To Tear This M.F. Up," a look back at the Rodney King uprising which is full of horns and a furious acoustic bass, and "Check Yo Self," featuring back-up by Das EFX on its chorus. "Muggs is the kind of guy who'll work all night if he has to. The trip about him is that he'll create a whole song and will stop and say, 'Fuck it, I don't like it.' He'll erase the loop that he worked ten hours on and replace it with a better one. Most people can't criticize themselves enough to do that ... their ego is too big to start all over."
"The Predator differs from Death Certificate in that last year's flavor was more of a concept album, with it's "Death Side" and "Life Side." "I didn't want to go with a format on this record. I just wanted to do the tracks that I wanted to do." Did you find that is limiting in a way? "No, I didn't find it limiting. I just felt as if it's already been done and I'm not into doing records that's already been done or trying to recreate any old records..." Between the enthusiasm of newcomers like Torcha Chamber and the professionalism of vets like Muggs, Jinx and Pooh, The Predator's sound is anything but boring." - Press Kit. The Predator was released on November 17th, 1992.
