In 1987, Ice-T unleashed what is commonly referred to as the first gangster rap album of all time, "Rhyme Pays". In 1988, the gloves came all the way off with "Power", with more cutting edge and thought provoking lyrics than his debut. In 1989, he took a step back from the straight up gangster rap and tackled 1st amendment issues, unlike it's predecessor, with "The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say". In 1991, he released his most accomplished album to date, "O.G. Original Gangster", delivering fully realized, and conscious lyrics that convey chilling violence, psychological storytelling, pleas for solutions to ghetto misery, and the everyday street life of a hustler, with a lot less sex raps than it's predecessors.

"O.G." is all over the map, jumping from style to style, dominated with a variety that is unmatched by any single Ice-T album. Some standouts include "Mind over Matter", "New Jack Hustler", "Bitches 2", "Straight up Nigga", "O.G. Original Gangster", "Midnight", "Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous" and "Body Count". Ice-T's lyrics are funny, dark, disturbing and extremely thought provoking. This is by far my favorite Ice-T album in the bunch, if not my favorite old school rap album of all time.

For me Ice-T is one of the best rappers ever and I've spent long hours listening to his hardcore gangster rap. Kind of odd for a middle-aged white guy but what can I say? His in your face, pro-freedom of speech attitude is one that I hold myself. He is one of the founding fathers of gangster rap and one of it's most innovative lyricists. I've seen Ice-T do his rap act only once but have seen him with his band Body Count four times and he puts on a tremendous show.

O.G. the Original Gangster is a phenomenal album and probably one of the best rap albums ever, period. It is absolutely loaded with tremendous songs, clever lyrics, and clever beats. Even if you're not an Ice-T fan, if you like rap music this is certainly a must have. This is his best album.

O.G. the Original Gangster gets a whopping and phenomenal 8, yes 8 stars. Go buy it now if you don't have it.

Mind Over Matter *
New Jack Hustler ** This song was the theme song to the movie New Jack City
Straight Up Nigga *
O.G. the Original Gangster **
Escape from the Killing Fields *
Pulse of the Rhyme *

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Ratings: CDs are rated simply by how many good songs are on the album. Great songs get two stars, and good songs get one star. Songs that get no stars are those that I might like but not enough to give it a star or ones I find boring or actively dislike. CDs are not penalized for songs that I don't like because they are easy enough to skip over. There is no maximum number of stars a CD can get, but of course the more stars it gets, the better the CD.

As with all reviews, these are my subjective opinions on the album.

By the time Ice-T released his fourth album, 1991's "O.G. Original Gangster," he had already established himself as possibly the west coast's most relevant, angriest, and even most talented rap lyricist. But "O.G. Original Gangster" is still an amazing album even in comparison to his previous classic material. This album is his best full album. Ice-T covers a broad range of socially relevant topics from racism, sexism, crime, impressions, prison, and tons of others. Every song basically has a message, and Ice-T comes across as more of a philosophical genius than he ever did before. Musically, this album is also very diverse. His producers and DJ Evil E provide great beats that really match the lyrics he creates, whether it be through sampling or even live instrumentation. "O.G. Original Gangster" set the stage for the west coast to become a hip hop powerhouse, spawning countless imitators but no duplicators. "O.G. Original Gangster" is a hip hop classic, an album that could be appreciated twenty years from now that I recommend to all fans of any hip hop.

Following a cool intro and a skit, the first real song is the short "Ziplock," a tough song where Ice Cube just starts to get into the album. "Mic Contract" is a horn-heavy, funky musical song where Ice lets loose on the mic, speaking of his skills. He uses a sort of growled, low delivery over another funky beat on the excellent "Mind Over Matter," and on the classic "New Jack Hustler," he introduces himself as a new breed of gangster. The short "Ed" tells the story of a deceased friend, there are a number of short tracks on this CD that are like this, getting to the point quickly and telling a message. "B...." is one of my favorite songs on the album, using a great trombone sample and a great hook. Ice-T talks about how the term does not just apply to women, but to men as well. "Straight Up N...." is a song where the rapper speaks proudly of being a black man in America. The legendary title track is an exercise in great production and lyricism, and it spawned a term that would be used for decades to come. Following the very relevant "The House" is "Fly By," a fast, lyrical track. My favorite song on the album is "Midnight," which uses a hard rock sample for an angry Ice-T to recall the story of a night gone wrong and escape from the police. On "MVPs," he gives props to the MCs that he thinks are real and promote good hip hop. Another highlight is "Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous," where he tells the story of just another hectic day on tour. He introduces his soon-to-be controversial metal band Body Count on the monumental track of the same name, one of the first to fuse hard rock with rap. "Escape From the Killing Fields" advocates getting out of the ghetto, challenging those who think people born in the ghetto have to stay there. The hard "Pulse of the Rhyme" precedes the last full song, "The Tower," a genius song that I absolutely love. Using a creepy sample from the "Halloween" movie theme, Ice-T paints a disturbing picture of daily life in the penitentiary.

"O.G. Original Gangster" is easily one of the west coast's best and most important albums from the late 80s/early 90s period. I often compare this album to Ice Cube's similarly concepted album "Death Certificate" from the same year, but this album is very much its own. "O.G. Original Gangster" should be part of any fan's hip hop collection, it's a pioneering album that is amazing to listen to and enjoy.

i had this album on cassette the year it came out. and now hearing it again.AHHH!...my music collection is somewhat varied and there's a place for this one....in my portable player.love me some ice-t.

This album is considered by many to be Ice's best, and although I can't say it's my favourite, I do admit it was his most accessible, and easily his best-produced album.

The beats never got any better than this, and this album really was his first that just played with the competition, especially on the car stereo. LL's "Mama Said Knock You Out" was also released in '91, but there's no comparison. "Midnight", "Pulse Of The Rhyme Flow", and "The Tower" aren't even the a-sides and they're bumpin' 'till the break of dawn.

Singles "New Jack Hustler", and "O.G." bookend the first side, and we were lucky enough not only to get Body Count's first single here, but also a requisite name-dropping track and some of the best in-between song banter he'd ever make.