"Black Ice (Sky High)" is a song by American hip hop group

Goodie Mob Goodie Mob is an American hip hop group based in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of CeeLo Green, Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp. History The group was formed in 1991 by Cameron " Big Gipp" Gipp, Willie "Khujo" Knighton Jr., CeeLo Green (born Thoma ...

from their second studio album '' Still Standing'' (1998), released as its second single on June 7, 1998. The song features American hip hop duo Outkast and was produced by

Mr. DJ Mr. DJ (born David Sheats) is an American hip-hop producer and DJ from Atlanta. He and Outkast members Big Boi and André 3000 make up the record production company Earthtone III. Biography Raised on the southside of College Park, Georgia, M ...

. There are two versions of the song. The first, titled "Black Ice (Sky High)", features verses from only

Big Gipp Cameron Gipp (born April 28, 1973), better known by his stage name Big Gipp, is an American rapper from Atlanta. He is best known for his work as a founding member of Goodie Mob, which he has gone on to release six studio albums. Aside from Go ...

and Outkast. The second features all members of the Goodie Mob as well as Outkast.

Background

The instrumental of the song was originally intended for a remix to "

Blackberry Molasses "Blackberry Molasses" is a song performed by American contemporary R&B group Mista. It is the opening track on their eponymous debut album and serves as the album's first single. The song was the group's highest chart appearance on the ''Bill ...

" by American R&B group Mista. When Big Gipp heard the beat, he began writing lyrics to it. Gipp told

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, "It was a song that I did in one night. I was n the studio just there playin' around and then came the hook and a verse. It came out so good and everybody was like 'It's jammin'." Gipp added that Outkast was "nearby working on their new album", and joined him, recording two new verses for the track.

Composition

Jonathan Zwickel of ''Pitchfork'' described the song as "a sparse, psychedelic warning against the perils of dealing near your neighbor." The song is notable for an imitation of the speech "

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" is the first line of a speech by Mark Antony in the play ''Julius Caesar'', by William Shakespeare. Occurring in Act III, scene II, it is one of the most famous lines in all of Shakespeare's works ...

" from ''Julius Caesar'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, in the final verse rapped by

André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi. B ...

Charts

References

{{Outkast 1998 singles 1998 songs Goodie Mob songs Outkast songs LaFace Records singles Songs written by André 3000 Songs written by Big Boi Songs written by Mr. DJ