JUST ICE Vinilo y CD

Review: A former bouncer at punk clubs, Joseph Williams Jr. was the first of the New York rappers to embrace gangsta rap, and when he burst out of Fort Greene, Brooklyn as Just-Ice, he gained instant notoriety. Muscle-bound, tattooed, aggressive - he resembled Mike Tyson in more than just looks, and with a mouthful of gold teeth, he certainly stood out. His debut album "Back to the Old School" proved he was more than just a pretty face. It came out on the independent New York label Sleeping Bag, and certainly sounded like no other Hip Hop album, thanks to his fast, forceful rhymes, DMX's human beatbox as well as the distinctive production of Mantronix's Kurtis Mantronik. When he was held by Washington DC police regarding the murder of a drug dealer in 1987 ("Murder, Drugs, & The Rap Star" read a Washington Post headline), it gave him an even greater notoriety (he was never charged with the murder). Declaring war on DC's go-go scene and loudly criticizing Run DMC (then the ruling New York rap outfit), Just Ice set a pattern for many a future hip hop feud. Little could halt Just Ice's ascension to hip-hop stardom, though the departure of Mantronik from Sleeping Bag was the start of a new era. KRS-One stepped in to produce 1987's "Kool & Deadly" and 1989's "The Desolate One", swapping out Mantronik's hi-tech skills for raw, elemental beats and rhymes, reminiscent of the original Boogie Down Productions set and sound. A must have CD for hip hop heads and old school aficionados alike. Includes the incredible "Na Touch Da Just" and reggae influenced "Ram Dance Hall Session" featuring an up and coming Heavy D.