The Predator

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This article is about the album. For the professional wrestler named "The Predator", see Sylvester Terkay.

The Predator
Image:Ice Cube-The Predator (album cover).jpg
Studio album by Ice Cube
Released	November 17, 1992
Recorded	1992
Genre	Gangsta Rap, Conscious hip hop
Length	56:27
Label	Priority
Producer(s)	Ice Cube, DJ Pooh, Sir Jinx, Torcha Chamba, DJ Muggs
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link
Ice Cube chronology
Death Certificate (1991)	The Predator (1992)	Lethal Injection (1993)

The Predator is a 1992 album by Ice Cube. Released within months after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, many of the songs comment on the racial tensions during that period. The title is a partial reference to the movie Predator 2, and the album itself includes samples from the film. It's the most successful of all of Ice Cube's albums, selling 2 million copies and going double platinum. The success of The Predator is due in part to the major success of the single It Was A Good Day.

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Reception 2 Track listing 3 Partial list of Samples 4 Album singles 5 Trivia 6 Album Chart Positions 7 Singles Chart Positions 8 References

Overview

In the opening song, "When Will They Shoot", Ice Cube addresses criticisms of antisemitism he received for his last effort, Death Certificate:

White man is something I tried to study

But I got my hands bloody, yeah.

They say I can sing like a jaybird

But nigga, don’t say the j-word ^[1]

Elsewhere "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up" is directed at the LA Police officers acquitted in the Rodney King trial; an event which ignited the 1992 LA Riots. The similarly-themed "Who Got the Camera?" imagines a scenario where a black man is subjected to police brutality. The songs are broken up by interludes involving interviews with Ice Cube, and what appears to be a debate between members of a congregation.

Although it is sometimes mistakenly classified as a G-Funk album, the album derives its sound from the Public Enemy/Bomb Squad production template, in contrast to Dr. Dre's definitive G-Funk album The Chronic which is largely based upon Parliament/Funkadelic-derived rhythms, slow-rolling basslines, and layers of whiny synthesizers, mixed with snips of live guitar and flutes.

Reception

Although not as lauded as his previous efforts, The Predator was a well-received album. Entertainment Weekly called it "...Ice Cube's strongest, most cohesive work yet..." (11/20/92, p.88)^[2]. Q Magazine included it in their "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s" (12/99, p.74)^[3]. Spin Magazine called it a record that "demands to be heard" (1/93, p.61)^[4].

It spawned three hit singles: the famous "It Was A Good Day", which was a big hit in March 1993, "Check Yo Self" and "Wicked". Both the album and single version of "Check Yo Self" include an appearance from Das EFX, with the latter utilising a sample of Grandmaster Flash's "The Message". "Check Yo Self" received continious radio and MTV play. The song certainly got a boost from the old school resurgence that was happening at the time and it also further popularized the trend.

Track listing

Original release

1. "The First Day of School (Intro)" – 1:20
2. "When Will They Shoot?" – 4:36
3. "I'm Scared (Insert)" – 1:32
4. "Wicked" – 3:55
5. "Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha" – 4:03
6. "The Predator" – 4:03
7. "It Was a Good Day" – 4:19
8. "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up" – 4:23
9. "Fuck 'Em [Insert]" – 2:02
10. "Dirty Mack" – 4:34
11. "Don't Trust 'Em" – 4:06
12. "Gangsta's Fairytale, Pt. 2" – 3:19
13. "Check Yo Self" (feat. Das EFX) – 3:42
14. "Who Got the Camera?" – 4:37
15. "Integration (Insert)" – 2:32
16. "Say Hi to the Bad Guy" – 3:19

2003 Re-release with bonus tracks(*)

1. "The First Day of School (Intro)" – 1:20
2. "When Will They Shoot?" – 4:36
3. "I'm Scared (Insert)" – 1:32
4. "Wicked" – 3:55
5. "Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha" – 4:03
6. "The Predator" – 4:03
7. "It Was A Good Day" – 4:19
8. "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up" – 4:23
9. "Fuck 'Em [Insert]" – 2:02
10. "Dirty Mack" – 4:34
11. "Don't Trust 'Em" – 4:06
12. "Gangsta's Fairytale, Pt. 2" – 3:19
13. "Check Yo Self" (feat. Das EFX) – 3:42
14. "Who Got the Camera?" – 4:37
15. "Integration (Insert)" – 2:32
16. "Say Hi to the Bad Guy" – 3:19
17. "Check Yo Self (The Message Remix)" - 3.54*
18. "It Was A Good Day (Remix)" - 4.28*
19. "24 Wit An L" - 3.25*
20. "U Aint Gonna Take My Life" - 4.09*

Partial list of Samples

The following lists some of the songs and sounds sampled on The Predator.

The First Day of School (Intro)

• Contains a sample from the motion picture "American Me"

When Will They Shoot?

• "Oh Honey" by Delegation
• "No Vaseline" by Ice Cube
• "We Will Rock You" by Queen
• "Treat Her Like a Prostitute" by Slick Rick
• "Take Me to the Mardis Gras" by Bob James
• "Grand Verbalizer, What Time is It" by X-Clan
• "Giggin' Down 103rd" by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

Wicked

• "Looseys" by Das EFX
• "Funky Worm" by The Ohio Players
• "You Can Make It If You Try" by Sly & The Family Stone
• "Can't Truss It", & "Welcome to the Terrordome" by Public Enemy

Now I Gotta Wet'Cha

• "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by Solomon Burke
• "Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)" by Parliament
• Song playing during the intro is "Guerillas in tha Mist" by Da Lench Mob

The Predator

• "East Coast" by Das EFX
• "Superman Lover" by Johnny "Guitar" Watson

It Was a Good Day

• "Let's Do It Again" by Staple Singers
• "Come On Sexy Mama" by The Moments
• "Footsteps In the Dark" by The Isley Brothers
• "Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk (Pay Attention- B3M)" by Parliament

We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up

• "The Funeral" by Ice Cube
• "Get Down" by Gene Russel
• "Subway Inn" by Duke Jordan
• "Blind Alley" by The Emotions

Dirty Mack

• "Aqua Boogie", "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)", & "Unfunky UFO" by Parliament

Don't Trust 'Em"

• Scarface
• "Poison" by Bel Biv Devoe
• "A Bitch Iz A Bitch" by N.W.A
• "Green Earrings" by Steely Dan
• "Don't Believe the Hype" by Public Enemy

Gangsta's Fairytale Pt. 2

• "Distant" by A Taste of Honey
• "Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk" by Parliament
• "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers
• "Sing A Simple Song" by Sly & The Family Stone

Check Yo Self

• "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett
• "The New Style" by The Beastie Boys
• "Memphis Underground" by Herbie Mann

Who Got the Camera?

• "All We Need is Another Chance" by The Escorts
• "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball" by Main Source
• "I Gotta Thang, You Gotta Thang, Everybody Gotta Thang" by Funkadelic

Say Hi to the Bad Guy

• "P-Funk" by Parliament
• "I Ain't Got Nobody" by Sly Stone

U Aint Gonna Take My Life

• "Sir Psycho Sexy" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Album singles

Single cover	Single information
Image:WickedIceCube.jpg	"Wicked" Released: December 9, 1992 B-side: "U Ain't Gonna Take My Life"
Image:114002067m.jpg	"It Was A Good Day" Released: February 23, 1993 B-side:
Image:Check Yo Self.jpg	"Check Yo Self" ["The Message" Remix Version] Released: 1993 B-side: "It Was A Good Day (Remix)", "24 With A L"

Trivia

• The songs "It Was A Good Day" and "Check Yo Self" were used in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
• Nu-metal band KoRn covered the song Wicked on their album Life Is Peachy.
• In late 1993, Ice Cube made a cameo appearance in Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride" video. Walking out of a bathroom with a group of girls in L.A., he turns to the camera and says "Damn right it was a good day" referring to the single.

Album Chart Positions

Year	Album	Chart positions
		Billboard 200	Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
1992	The Predator	#1	#1

Singles Chart Positions

Year	Song	Chart positions
		Billboard Hot 100	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles	Rhythmic Top 40	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
1992	"Wicked"	#55	#31	#1	-	#31
1993	"Check Yo Self"	#20	#1	#1	#18	#1
1993	"It Was A Good Day"	#15	#7	#1	#13	-

v • d • e Ice Cube
Discography
Albums
Solo albums & EPs: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted • Kill at Will • Death Certificate • The Predator • Lethal Injection • War & Peace - Vol. 1 • War & Peace - Vol. 2 • Laugh Now, Cry Later
Compilation albums: Bootlegs & B-Sides • Featuring... Ice Cube • Greatest Hits
N.W.A. albums: N.W.A. and the Posse • Straight Outta Compton
Westside Connection albums: Bow Down • Terrorist Threats
Singles
Mainstream singles: "Who's The Mack?" • "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" • "Wicked" • "It Was a Good Day" • "Check Yo Self" • "Really Doe" • "You Know How We Do It" • "Bop Gun (One Nation)" • "What Can I Do?" • "The World Is Mine" • "We Be Clubbin'" • "Pushin' Weight" • "Fuck Dyin'" • "Hello" • "You Can Do It" • "Until We Rich" • "$100 Bill Y'all" • "Chrome and Paint" • "Why We Thugs" • "Go to Church"
Featured songs: "Straight Outta Compton" • "Fuck Tha Police" • "Gangsta Gangsta" • "Hand Of The Dead Body" • "Natural Born Killaz" • "Bow Down" • "Gangstas Make The World Go Round" • "Chin Check" • "Let it Reign" • "It's the Holidaze"
Related articles
Ruthless • Priority • Lench Mob • Virgin Records • N.W.A. (Arabian Prince • DJ Yella • Dr. Dre • Easy-E • Krazy Dee • MC Ren • The D.O.C.) • Westside Connection

References

1. ^ http://www.uppercutmusic.com/artist_i/ice_cube_lyrics/when_will_they_shoot_lyrics.html
2. ^ http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2779655&title=The+Predator+%5BExplicit+Lyrics%5D&artist=Ice+Cube
3. ^ http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2779655&title=The+Predator+%5BExplicit+Lyrics%5D&artist=Ice+Cube
4. ^ http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2779655&title=The+Predator+%5BExplicit+Lyrics%5D&artist=Ice+Cube

fr:The Predator

Wikipedia information about The Predator This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Predator". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.