The Predator (album)

Untitled

The Predator is a 1992 album by Ice Cube. Released within months after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, many of its songs comment on the racial tensions during that period. The title comes partially from sampled quotes from the movie Predator 2, one of which is "They indicated that when trapped, the creature activated a self-destruct device that destroyed enough rainforest to cover 300 city blocks." Out of all his albums, it has been the most successful, with over 5 million copies sold in the US. The success of The Predator is due in part to the major success of the popular single It Was a Good Day.

The overall production template used on The Predator is still heavily influenced by the PE/Bomb Squad era. The Chronic was based upon Parliament/Funkadelic-derived rhythms, slow-rolling basslines, layers of whiny synthesizers, and usually bits of live guitar and flutes.

The Predator spawned two hit singles: the famous "It Was A Good Day", which was a UK#27 and US#15 hit in March 1993, and "Check Yo Self" which was released in August. Check Yo Self on the album includes an appearance from Das EFX but when the song was released as a single, it heavily sampled Grandmaster Flash's The Message and earned lots of 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

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" – 3:42
14. "Who Got the Camera?" – 4:37
15. "Integration (Insert)" – 2:32
16. "Say Hi to the Bad Guy" – 3:19