The Art of Rap, Ice-T, DJ Evil E, and Sir Mix-a-lot

Born in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., Tracy Marrow moved to Los Angeles when he was 12, where he attempted to immerse himself in a non-existent rap culture. The name Ice-T derives from Iceberg Slim, a novelist and poet pimp whom Marrow used to recite to his friends. Ice-T’s first live performance came singing/dancing in the group The Precious Few of Crenshaw High School, after which Ice-T left school and joined the U.S. Army. After which, Inspired by the Sugar Hill Gang’s freshly released “Rapper’s Delight”, Ice-T would attempt to rap over the instrumentals, although struggled to make his delivery fit with the beat.

Having acquired stereo and DJ equipment, Ice-T began honing his rapping and beat-making skills, which resulted in signing with Sire Records in 1987. Ice-T’s debut “Rhyme Pays” was released the same year featuring production from DJ Aladdin and Afrika Islam. Unlike the beats in “Rapper’s Delight”, “Rhyme Pays” features rolling, sparse beats with which the rapper deliver’s his articulate, party-orientated style. The rapper subsequently contributed the track “Colors” to the Dennis Hopper film of the same name, which unlike Ice-T’s debut, properly showcased the pioneering rapper’s lyrical and musical talent. After launching his own label Rhyme Syndicate, the rapper released his sophomore album “Power”, earning strong reviews from the musical press.

Reaching new heights, Ice-T’s third, “The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech…Just Watch What You Say” arrived in 1989. The album cemented the rapper as a founder of gangster rap, with apt political and social commentary and once again earned rave reviews. In 1991 Ice-T appeared in the film “New Jack City”, and contributed the song “New Jack Hustler”, which became synonymous with the rapper’s subsequent album “O.G.: Original Gangster”. The album also marked the formation of the Ice-T’s heavy metal group Body Count, which expanded the rapper’s appeal to middle class and alternative music fans. The resulting album “Body Count” however earned fierce criticism for the track “Cop Killer”, which documents a protagonist killing a police officer.

The rapper subsequently released the album “Home Invasion”, however due to the controversy of “Cop Killer”, Ice-T was dropped from Time Warner Records and the album was released on Priority Records. The album turned out to be both a commercial and critical disappointment, and the rapper’s audience main audience was no longer the black, hip-hop youth intended. The full-length rap album “Return of the Real” arrived in 1996, followed by “7th Deadly Sin” in 1999.

Sir Mix-a-Lot began his musical career by founding the Nastymix record label with partner Nasty Nes. He released a variety of singles over the following years in an attempt to make a name for himself on the hip hop circuit. He collated some of his early material into the debut album 'Swass' which featured singles such as 'Square Dance Rap' and 'Posse on Broadway'. This album now holds a platinum selling certificate in the United States.

His most successful album 'Mack Daddy' was released through the Def American label and charted at #9 on the US Billboard. It features hit single 'Baby Got Back' which is Ray's most known single to date, topping the US Singles chart upon release. It is now certified as double platinum selling and won the artist his only Grammy Award to date in the Best Rap Solo Performance category.

His next two albums were poorly promoted by his record label which forced Mix-a-Lot to part ways with them after 'Return of the Bumpasaurus' failed to even make the top 100 on the US Billboard. Sir Mix-a-Lot decided to sign to the independent Artist Direct label to release the album 'Daddy's Home' in 2003, it failed to chart and he has not released an album since to date. The producer's biggest single 'Baby Got Back' was featured in Nicki Minaj's 2014 hit single 'Anaconda' with Anthony commenting that it is a 'new and improved version'.