Soul on Ice

Soul on Ice is the debut album by West Coast emcee Ras Kass, released on October 1, 1996, under Priority Records. The album was produced by Ras Kass, 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. Background An avid reader in his youth, Ras Kass adopted his stage name in honor of Ethiopian emperor Ras Kassa. In 1993, with funding from his high school friend and then-Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle Bob Whitfield, Ras Kass recorded his demo. The following year, under Whitfield's label PatchWerk Recordings, Ras Kass released his first single "Remain Anonymous". The success of the single, which garnered critical praise in The Source December 1994 issue, led to him signing a deal with Priority Records. 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. 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". Ras Kass described how he gathered the information to create the track: In a six-month period leading up to the album's release, Ras Kass was featured in The Source "Hip-Hop Quotable" column and twice featured in Rap Pages "Rhyme of the Month" column, earning a reputation as a highly skilled lyricist.