Ice Cube has unleashed his second solo album and it ain't no gangsta's fairytale. Death Certificate begins with "The Death Side, a mirrored image of where we are today" and continues with "The Life Side, a vision of where we need to go." The catalyst in this vision is the Nation of Islam (Cube is now a member). Cube's lyrics draw on the Nation's messages of knowledge of self, economic self-sufficiency, and self-determination. The "Death Side," begins with "The Wrong N!@@a To F#ck With," an all out attack similar to "The N!@@a You Love To Hate." "My Summer Vacation" tells the tale of gang-banging LA drug dealers who start scramblin' in East St. Louis over a funky "Atomic Dog" loop. "Givin' Up The Nappy Dug Out," exposes a father's supposedly immaculate Catholic school daughter as the tramp of the neighborhood over a fat "Hip Hugger" loop. "A Bird In The Hand" is the story of a young Black male who must sell drugs to support his family. The track uses the slamming loop from recent Cube/EPMD St. Ide's commercial... On the "Life Side" Cube assaults white supremacy on "I Wanna Kill Sam" and "Horny Little Devil," while "Black Korea" takes aim at Korean merchants with businesses in Black communities who Cube sees as being insensitive to Black people. Cont'd below...
"Be True To The Game," loops the Gap Band's "Outstanding," while Cuba blasts the "sellouts," for forgetting their roots after making some money. "Us," is Cube's call for the Black community to stop destroying itself and unite in order to become self-sufficient. Using the old "Dazz" sample, Cube saves the final deathblow for a blistering rebuttal to NWA entitled "No Vaseline." After Boyz N The Hood, people may have been expecting to hear a "politically correct" Ice Cube record. The sometimes harsh rhetoric is part of his mission to help the Black community and that may be hard for some to swallow. Death Certificate's production is good and will keep your ear, but it doesn't really break new ground like Amerikkka's Most Wanted. Many of the samples are recognizable and the overall sound has a funk vibe... Ice Cube's lyrical styles and concepts carry the album and make it something hip-hop fans must have." - The Source, Record Report (1991) Full review is below...
