O.G. Original Gangster
O.G. Original Gangster | ||||
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Studio album by Ice-T | ||||
Released | May 14, 1991 (1991-05-14) | |||
Recorded | July 1990 – January 1991 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Gangsta rap | |||
Length | 72:17 | |||
Label | Sire | |||
Producer |
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Ice-T chronology | ||||
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Singles from O.G. Original Gangster | ||||
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O.G. Original Gangster is the fourth studio album by American rapper Ice-T, released May 14, 1991, by Sire Records. Recording took place from July 1990 to January 1991 in Los Angeles. Its production was handled by seven producers: Afrika Islam, Beatmaster V, Bilal Bashir, DJ Aladdin, Nat the Cat, SLJ and Ice-T himself, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Body Count, Prince Whipper Whip and various Rhyme Syndicate artists, such as Donald D, Evil E and Randy Mac.
The album peaked at number 15 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. On July 24, 1991, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, indicating U.S. sales of more than 500,000 units.[1] O.G. Original Gangster was ranked at #25 in Melody Maker's list of the top 30 albums of 1991,[2] and was featured in The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums[3] and the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[4] The album was praised by many as his best.[5][6]
Release
On the album's release, the vinyl version only contained 16 of the compact disc's 24 tracks.[7] The NME stated to "forget the format's limitations" and promoted the compact disc version with 24 tracks over the lp.[7]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Sun-Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Tribune | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | A[11] |
Daily News | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | A[13] |
NME | 9/10[7] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Select | 2/5[16] |
From contemporary reviews, NME critic Dele Fadele praised O.G. Original Gangster as Ice-T's "best shot yet; riotous vignettes from a decaying America full of devious humour and striking pathos – all those things NWA profess to be but clearly aren't."[7] Fadele found that the music "is always restlessly inventive in catering for your solar plexus (even on the hardcore/Heavy Metal crossover token track)" and "complements highlights like the sad, droning 'The Tower', the optimistic 'Escape from the Killing Fields' (a scathing re-write of Public Enemy's 'Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos' that explains the original metaphor) and the out-of-character bad-tempered 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous'".[7]
In a negative review for Select, Adam Higginbotham wrote that only three tracks – "Mind Over Matter", "The Tower" and "The House" – are "outstanding", while "much of the rest relies on a well-tested recipe of looped breakbeats and linear drums"; he concluded that the album "often functions better as manifesto than as music."[16]
Commercial performance
The album was certified gold on July 24, 1991, selling over 500,000 copies.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Tracy Marrow, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Featured artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Home of the Bodybag" | 2:12 | ||
2. | "First Impression" | 0:45 | ||
3. | "Ziplock" | 1:19 | ||
4. | "Mic Contract" | Donald D | 4:23 | |
5. | "Mind Over Matter" | 4:12 | ||
6. | "New Jack Hustler (Nino's Theme)" |
| DJ Aladdin | 4:43 |
7. | "Ed" | 1:10 | ||
8. | "Bitches 2" |
| Charlie Jam | 5:24 |
9. | "Straight Up Nigga" |
| DJ Aladdin | 3:43 |
10. | "O.G. Original Gangster" | 4:43 | ||
11. | "The House" | 0:57 | ||
12. | "Evil E - What About Sex?" | Evil E | 0:45 | |
13. | "Fly By" |
| 3:28 | |
14. | "Midnight" | Randy Mac | 5:48 | |
15. | "Fried Chicken" | Prince Whipper Whip | 1:00 | |
16. | "M.V.P.s" | 4:19 | ||
17. | "Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous" | Sean E. Sean | 3:51 | |
18. | "Body Count" | 6:07 | ||
19. | "Prepared to Die" | 0:38 | ||
20. | "Escape from the Killing Fields" | 2:35 | ||
21. | "Street Killer" | Special K | 0:41 | |
22. | "Pulse of the Rhyme" | 4:16 | ||
23. | "The Tower" |
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| 3:57 |
24. | "Ya Shoulda Killed Me Last Year" | 1:41 |
Notes
- ^[a] signifies a songwriter that is only listed on music streaming services.[17]
Sample Credits
- "Bitches 2" contains a sample from "Dr. Funkenstein", written by George Clinton, George Worrell and William Collins, as performed by Parliament.
- "Midnight" contains a sample from Black Sabbath, written by Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward, and performed by Black Sabbath.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[18]
- Tracy Lauren Marrow – main artist, producer (tracks: 1-13, 16-24), executive producer, arranging
- Alphonso Henderson – featured performer (tracks: 6, 9), producer (tracks: 1, 4-6, 8-11, 14-15, 21-22), project supervisor
- Donald Lamont – featured performer (tracks: 4, 13)
- Sean E. Sean – featured performer (tracks: 17, 23)
- Victor Ray Wilson – featured performer (track 18), producer (track 7)
- Nat the Cat – featured performer (track 13), producer (track 7)
- Lloyd "Mooseman" Roberts III – featured performer (track 18)
- Ernie Cunnigan – featured performer (track 18)
- Dennis Miles – featured performer (track 18)
- Charlie Jam – featured performer (track 8)
- Randy Mac – featured performer (track 14)
- James Whipper – featured performer (track 15)
- K. Alexander – featured performer (track 21)
- Eric Garcia – scratches
- Shafiq "SLJ" Husayn – producer (tracks: 1, 4, 8-10, 14, 15, 21)
- Charles Andre Glenn – producer (tracks: 3, 13, 16, 17, 20)
- Bilal Bashir – producer (track 23)
- Vachik Aghaniantz – recording & mixing
- Dennis "Def-Pea" Parker – recording
- Steve Battman – recording
- Tim Stedman – design
- Glen E. Friedman – photography
- "King James" Cassimus – photography
- Jorge Hinojosa – management
Charts
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada)[24] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[26] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. July 24, 1991. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
- ^ "The Top 30 Albums of 1991". Melody Maker. December 1, 1991.
- ^ "100 Best Rap Albums". The Source #100. January 1998. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ Dimery, Robert, ed. (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
- ^ Gates, Henry Louis; Appiah, KwameAnthony (2005). Africana: An A-To-Z Reference of Writers, Musicians, and Artists of the African American Experience. Running Press. p. 297. ISBN 0-7624-2042-1.
- ^ Taylor, Steve (2004). The A to X of Alternative Music. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 126–127. ISBN 0-8264-8217-1.
- ^ a b c d e Fadele, Dele (May 25, 1991). "Ice T – O G Original Gangster". NME. p. 52. Archived from the original on October 13, 2000. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "O.G. Original Gangster – Ice-T". AllMusic. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Corcoran, Michael (May 26, 1991). "Ice-T speaks to rhythm of the street". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
- ^ Kot, Greg (May 23, 1991). "Ice-T: O.G. Original Gangster (Sire)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Ice-T: O.G. Original Gangster". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 142. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
- ^ Farber, Jim (May 19, 1991). "Ice-T: 'O.G. Original Gangster' (Warner Brothers)". Daily News.
- ^ Bernard, James (May 24, 1991). "O.G. Original Gangster". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
- ^ Coleman, Mark (June 13, 1991). "Ice-T: O.G. Original Gangster". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Relic, Peter (2004). "Ice-T". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 401. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b Higginbotham, Adam (July 1991). "Ice-T: O.G.". Select. No. 13. pp. 68–69.
- ^ "O.G. Original Gangster". Tidal. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ O.G. Original Gangster (booklet). Ice-T. Sire. 1991. CD 26492.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 134.
- ^ "Ice-T Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
- ^ "Ice-T Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Ice-T – O.G. Original Gangster". Music Canada.
- ^ "British album certifications – Ice T – Original Gangster". British Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "American album certifications – Ice-T – O.G. Original Gangster". Recording Industry Association of America.
External links
O.G. Original Gangster at Discogs (list of releases)
- v
- t
- e
- Rhyme Pays
- Power
- The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say!
- O.G. Original Gangster
- Home Invasion
- Ice-T VI: Return of the Real
- Seventh Deadly Sin
- Pimp to Eat
- Gangsta Rap
- Greatest Hits: The Evidence
- "Reckless"
- "6 in the Mornin'"
- "Colors"
- "I'm Your Pusher"
- "High Rollers"
- "Lethal Weapon"
- "What Ya Wanna Do"
- "You Played Yourself"
- "O.G. Original Gangster"
- "New Jack Hustler (Nino's Theme)"
- "I Ain't New Ta This"
- "That's How I'm Livin'"
- "Gotta Lotta Love"
- "I Must Stand"
- "The Lane"
- "We're All in the Same Gang"
- "Born to Raise Hell"
- "Beat of Life"
- "Night Stalkers"
- Body Count
- Analog Brothers
- Coco Austin
- Ice Loves Coco
- Fin Tutuola