''Soul on Ice'' is the debut album by West Coast emcee

Ras Kass John R. Austin II (born September 26, 1973), better known by his stage name Ras Kass, is an American rapper. He is a member of the hip hop supergroup The HRSMN, along with Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt in 2014. He is also a member of the ...

, released on October 1, 1996, under

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row ...

. 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 Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party. In 1968, Cleaver wrote '' Soul on Ice'', a collection of essays that, at the time of i ...

's 1968 book '' Soul on Ice''. Two charting singles were released from the album, "

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

" 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,

adopted his stage name in honor of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n emperor Ras Kassa. In 1993, with funding from his high school friend and then- Atlanta Falcons offensive tackle

Bob Whitfield Bob Lectress Whitfield III (born October 18, 1971) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Early career Whitfield played high school football at Banning High School in Wilmington, California, wher ...

, 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 ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' December 1994 issue, led to him signing a deal with

. The album's title was inspired by Black Panther member

'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.

Critical reception

Will Ashon Will Ashon (born 1969) is an English writer and novelist, former music journalist and founder of the Big Dada imprint of Ninja Tune records. Ashon was educated at Countesthorpe Community College and Balliol College, Oxford. In the mid-1990s he w ...

of '' Muzik'' praised ''Soul on Ice'' as "a powerful journey through Ras' life, grounded in a historical-political-theological analysis of the plight of the black race", concluding that it was "post-encyclopedia-black-power-lyricism". Carlito Rodriguez of ''

'' commended Ras Kass' lyricism, stating that he "drops material that'll have history buffs, religious theorists and English majors alike either reaching for their reference books or bustin' off in their Fruit of the Looms". In a retrospective piece, '' Stylus Magazine'' critic Brett Berliner noted that several years into Ras Kass' career, "he still hasn't matched the awe and skill of ''Soul on Ice''", hailing it as "one of the most next level albums of all time, lyrically". Steve Juon of RapReviews.com commented that the album "still stands as a testament to what an MC with unlimited potential and the free reign to say it can truly do".

Track listing

Samples

Anything Goes *"Oooh This Love Is So" by

Al B. Sure! Albert Joseph Brown III (born June 4, 1968), known professionally as Al B. Sure!, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, radio host and former record executive. He was born in Boston and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. During the ...

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

" by Carl Perkins Reelishymn *"

Goin' Out of My Head "Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied ...

" by

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

Drama *"Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" by

Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm- ...

Gin and Juice "Gin and Juice" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on January 18, 1994, as the second single from his debut album, ''Doggystyle''. Lyrics The lyrics depict a party filled with sexual intercourse, sex, Cannabis (drug), m ...

" by Snoop Dogg *"High Snobiety" by Ralph Marco Band Etc. *"How Many MC's..." by Black Moon *"The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)" by

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' The ...

*"Moshitup" by

Just-Ice Joseph Williams Jr. (born June 22, 1965), better known by the stage name Just-Ice, is an American rapper from New York City. A former bouncer at punk clubs, Williams was the first of the New York rappers to embrace gangsta rap, and when he bur ...

feat. KRS-One If/Then *"Stay Still (And Let Me Love You)" by Ronnie Laws *"Bitches Ain't Shit by

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

Marinatin' *"

You Gots to Chill "You Gots to Chill" is a song by EPMD, released as a single from their 1988 debut album '' Strictly Business''. It reached number 22 on the U.S. R&B chart. The song prominently features a sample from " More Bounce to the Ounce" by Zapp and "Jungle ...

" by

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

On Earth as It Is... *"Spinning Wheel" by Lonnie Smith *"La Dolce Vita" by Sparks *" 10% Dis" by

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rap music, rapper, Disc jockey, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 19 ...

Sonset *"

You're Gettin' a Little Too Smart "You're Gettin' a Little Too Smart" is a song written by Abrim Tilmon and performed by the Detroit Emeralds. It reached number 10 on the R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United Stat ...

" by

The Detroit Emeralds The Detroit Emeralds are an American R&B/soul vocal group, best known in the early 1970s. They enjoyed a run of successful records in the decade including their 1973 transatlantic hit single, " Feel the Need in Me". Career "The Emeralds" were ...

*" Eric B. Is President" by Eric B. & Rakim *"Underground" by

Soul on Ice *"School Boy Crush" by

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their album ...

The Evil That Men Do *"Kool Is Back" by

Funk, Inc. Funk, Inc. was an American jazz funk/ soul jazz group, founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, in 1969 by Bobby Watley, Eugene Barr, Steve Weakley, Jimmy Munford and Cecil Hunt. During the 1970s they were signed to the Prestige Records ...

*"Barefoot Ballet" by

John Klemmer John T. Klemmer (born July 3, 1946) is an American saxophonist, composer, songwriter, and arranger. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and began playing guitar at the age of five and alto saxophone at the age of 11. His other ear ...

*"Color Blind" by Ice Cube,

WC and the Maad Circle WC and the Maad Circle was an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California that consisted of WC, Big Gee, Coolio and DJ Crazy Toones. History MAAD stands for ''Minority Alliance of Anti-Discrimination''. Following the dissolution of Low ...

Ordo Abchao (Order Out of Choas) *"Universe" by

Hampton Hawes Hampton Barnett Hawes Jr. (November 13, 1928 – May 22, 1977) was an American jazz pianist. He was the author of the memoir ''Raise Up Off Me'', which won the Deems-Taylor Award for music writing in 1975. Early life Hampton Hawes was born on ...

Charts

References

{{Authority control Ras Kass albums 1996 debut albums Albums produced by Battlecat (producer) Priority Records albums