Death Certificate Review

07/13/2005 5:33 AM, AMG


Death Certificate is even harder and angrier than AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, which is both a good and a bad thing, depending on your politics. If you're inclined to see Ice Cube as a spokesman and social commentator, Death Certificate will support your claims -- it continues the sharp insights and unflinching looks at contemporary urban lifestyles that his solo debut only hinted at; in short, it's hardcore without any gangsta posturing. If you're inclined to see Ice Cube as a bigoted, misogynist rabble-rouser, Death Certificate will also support your claims -- "No Vaseline" contains explicit anti-Semitic taunts directed at his former manager, there are homophobic slurs scattered throughout the album, and women are frequently either bitches or whores. However, if you look beyond the surface -- no matter what political viewpoint you happen to have -- you will find that Cube's rhymes do promote self-awareness and education. In short, they are some of the most incisive raps about life as a young black man since the advent of Public Enemy. Considering this, it's not surprising that Death Certificate bears the mark of Public Enemy's dense, abrasive soundscapes -- it's a funkier, noisier, and more musically effective album than AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. Ice Cube had never before created a statement of purpose as coherent and incendiary as Death Certificate and, sadly, he never did again. ~ Leo Stanley, All Music Guide