Home Invasion

Infobox Album
Name = Home Invasion
Type = Album
Artist = Ice-T


Released = March 23, 1993
Recorded =
Genre = Gangsta rap
Length = 73:55
Label = Sire/Warner Bros. Records
45119
Rhyme $yndicate/Priority/EMI Records
0499 2 53858 2 3
P2-53858
Producer = Donald D
DJ Aladdin
Hen-Gee
Evil-E,
Ice-T
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|2.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:7cvyxd0b8ol7 Link]
*Robert Christgau (B+) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Ice+T link]
*Rolling Stone Rating|2|5 [cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor=Brackett, Nathan |others= |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=2004 |month= |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location= |language= |isbn=0743201698 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=page 401 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= ]
*Yahoo! Music (mixed) [http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12036091 link]
Last album = "O.G. Original Gangster"
(1991)
This album = "Home Invasion"
(1993)
Next album = "VI - Return of the Real"
(1996)

"Home Invasion" is the fifth solo album by Ice T. Released in 1993, the album was Ice T's first release on Rhyme Syndicate Records.

History

"Home Invasion" was the first album Ice T released following the controversy over the Body Count song "Cop Killer." Sire/Warner Bros. Records had stood by freedom of expression during the controversy, although some within the Time Warner conglomerate now favored a more pragmatic policy. "Home Invasion" was originally set for a November 15, 1992, release, but the L.A. riots were still fresh in people's minds, an election was in process, and political releases by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were causing controversy, so Ice T agreed to postpone "Home Invasion's" release, in addition to removing the song "Ricochet," which had already appeared on the soundtrack to the film of the same name.

With the album's release posponed to February 14, 1993, Sire/Warner Bros. told Ice T that it would not release the album with its current artwork, which depicted a white child who was engrossed in black culture in the middle of images of violence, even though the catalog number 45119 was already assigned to it, and the single “Gotta Lotta Love” was released. Ice-T initially agreed, opting for an all-black cover and a name change to "The Black Album". He later realized that his future output was going to be continuously monitored by vince temme and censored, and he left the label amicably, signing a distribution deal with Priority Records, which released the album with the originally intended artwork. [cite book |last= |first= |author=Ice T |coauthors=Sigmund, Heidi |editor= |others= |title=The Ice Opinion |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=1994 |month= |publisher=Pan Books |location= |language= |isbn=0330336290 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=pages 181—184 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= ] Due to the postponed release of the album, tracks were altered to keep the topics up-to-date.

Lyrical themes

"It's On" begins with the phrase "Turn up the mike, dog, so I can get off/Find me Charlton Heston and I might cut his head off." Charlton Heston had pushed for Ice T's contract with Sire/Warner Bros. to be dissolved. The title track explored the concept of a white supremacist home being invaded by political emcees who were seeking to rescue the children from racist indoctrination. "Gotta Lotta Love" pays tribute to the gang truce in L.A. "That's How I'm Living" is autobiographical, describing Ice T's early life. "Race War" is a reflection on the riots and a warning against such events repeating themselves. "Message to the Soldier" offers advice to those involved in political hip hop. After abstaining from sex rhymes on "O.G. Original Gangster", Ice-T made a point of including two such tracks on this album with "Addicted to Danger" and "99 Problems."

Reception

The album peaked at #9 on "Billboard" magazine's "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums" and at #14 on the "Billboard 200". [cite web |url=http://wc04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=ICE-T&sql=11:gnfyxq85ld6e~T5 |title=Charts and Awards for Ice-T |accessdate=2007-11-03 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=Allmusic] "Home Invasion" was the last hip hop release of Ice T that had significant political content. His later releases were more in tune with the rest of gangsta rap. This is reflected in how this album featured the end of the accumulated pleas that had appeared inside the pamphlets of his albums since "Power". "Home Invasion" also often seen as the release with which Ice T's career began to take a downturn. Reviews were generally less impressed than they had been with his earlier work. The hip hop audience was moving away from political artists at the time. The rivalry between the West and East Coast was also at its peak. Ice-T had always stayed out of the dispute. He also didn't seem to fit neatly into either camp; he hailed from the West Coast, but his raps were more in the style of the East Coast.

Track listing

"The Last Temptation of Ice"

The album was re-released with a bonus disc entitled "The Last Temptation of Ice". [cite web |url=http://www.amazon.de/dp/B000024ZO5 |title=ASIN: B000024ZO5|accessdate=2007-10-19 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= |work= |publisher=Amazon.de |language=German] Its track listing follows.

#That's How I'm Livin' (On The Rox Remix)
#Gotta Lotta Love (Tubular Bells Mix)
#I Ain't New Ta This (Radio Version)
#Ricochet
#Addicted To Danger (Nut Shop Mix)
#G Style (Remix)
#Racewar (Full Muthafuckin' Assassin Remix)

References