Death Certificate

Death Certificate is the second studio album by American rapper Ice Cube. It was released on October 29, 1991, through Lench Mob Records and Priority Records. The production on the album was primarily handled by Sir Jinx, DJ Pooh and Ice Cube. The album was supported by two singles: "Steady Mobbin'" and "True to the Game". Due to some of its racially and politically charged content, and Ice Cube's acerbic statements on drug dealing, racial profiling, and the right to keep and bear arms, the album was the source of both critical acclaim and much controversy upon its release. Death Certificate was a commercial success, debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 105,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in December 1991. Background The writing and recording of Death Certificate began in late 1990 and carried on throughout most of 1991. While making the album, Ice Cube was also heavily involved in several other projects, including Yo-Yo's debut album Make Way for the Motherlode, his younger cousin Del tha Funkee Homosapien's I Wish My Brother George Was Here, and perhaps more importantly, his film debut, Boyz n the Hood, in which he co-starred with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Laurence Fishburne. Similar to AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Ice Cube was very active in the album's production, though the overall sound differed. Unlike AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, which featured the Bomb Squad's hard edged beats, Death Certificate featured a slightly more West Coast-oriented sound in comparison, with heavy use of 70's Funk and Soul samples. A number of the tracks also use samples taken from acts such as Zapp (Ohio) and Fishbone (California). Content Death Certificate was roughly organized as two thematic elements of a larger whole, and opens with Cube's explanation: "The Death Side: a mirror image of where we are today; The Life Side: a vision of where we need to go." The first half, therefore, is replete with the tales of drug dealing, whore-mongering and violence expected of a gangsta rap album in 1991. The sleeve booklet also included the following quote from Ice Cube, which showed the influence of the Nation of Islam on his work. The reason I say nigga is because we are mentally dead even in 1991. We have limited knowledge of self, so it leads to a nigga mentality. The best place for a young Black male or female is the Nation of Islam.