Ras Kass-Soul on Ice 2
i n f o
label........: Mello Music Group
date ripped..: 09.06.2019
date released: 09.06.2019
url..........: mmg-raskass.bandcamp.com/album/soul-on-ice-2
release size.: 115,1 MB
encoder......: Lame 3.100
bitrate......: avg. 256kbps
mode.........: Joint-Stereo
tracks.......: 15
source.......: CDDA
ripper.......: RK
n o t e s
It's been nearly a quarter century since Soul of Ice
and they still can't handle the truth. In fact, the
intervening decades since Ras Kass dropped his classic
debut have only validated the poisonous and panoramic
vision of the waterproof MC, who was immediately
hailed as the West Coast's answer to Nas. And with the
nature of the threat growing more real by the minute,
there couldn't be a more necessary time for Soul on
Ice 2.s
In nearly half a century of rap, you'd be hard-pressed
to find anyone as venomous, cerebral and creatively
fearless as Ras Kass. His lyrics are like a form of
alcohol that ruthlessly kills all toxic germs. Real
hip-hop that aims for the jugular. The best music
takes risks and Soul on Ice 2 is so determined to
expose uncomfortable truths that in another era it
would've ended up on a banned albums list. It finds
the Watts and Carson-raised seer determined to apply
disinfectant and pressure to the ever-expanding list
of American atrocities; this time accompanied by a
hall of fame lineup of rappers and producers including
Diamond D, Pete Rock, Snoop Dogg, Immortal Technique,
Justice League, Cee-Lo Green, DJ Green Lantern,
Everlast, Styles P and M.O.P.
From the first track, Ras Kass lays his mission
statement in visceral and unyielding terms. The nature
of the threat remains more relevant than ever. Hate
crimes are multiplying. There are Christians in red
hats preaching zero tolerance. In a sly aside, Ras
cracks the irony: "Jesus never said that." The beat,
courtesy of Twiz the Beat Pro operates in communion
with Ras' semi-automatic-wrapped-in-sandpaper voice,
flipping a sample of the phrase "it's been such a long
long time."
What's stark is how little has changed. The ghosts of
America's original sins continue to haunt, but they're
now twinned with a variety of new indignities from
minor to major. They range from trust fund kids
pretending to be broke and plasticine women to weed
being legal but the police will still kill you. Then
Ras punctuates his flurry of bars by adding that he'll
probably be underrated for life. It's a claim that
underscores exactly why his music has continued to
matter: it's unvarnished and intelligent, devoid of
gimmicks or overwrought plays for radio. These are
anthems for seekers and the curious, those who refuse
to adhere to the easy answers and dim lies
disseminated by the sinister and the simple minded.
There is "Grammy Speech," where Ras imagines what heÆ'
say if he was ever called up the Staples Center
podium. Over a stomp-your-life out beat that recalls
Diamond D's late 90s collaborations with Pharoahe
Monch, Rass spits a life story in a matter of minutes.
He unloads about being feared and snubbed, corrects
popular misconceptions, attacks the slithering nature
of the music industry and accepts the award for all
the real MCs.
Consider "Midnight Sun", where Cee-Lo adds red clay
soul to a fulmination about the false construction of
race. The thundering "White Power", where Immortal
Technique and Ras eviscerate the tenets of white
supremacy and chronicle the grotesque litany of evils
committed by this demonic colonizer mentality. Yet for
all the rage, it finishes with a message of unity --
the notion that all races are really one -- and the
only hope for the future is to overthrow the yoke of
antiquated thinking.
"Guns and Roses" finds Ras wrecking a dusty
psychedelic flip with M.O.P and Styles P. It's a
classic four alarm, bring-the-big-guns assault. A
tunnel banger for the second decade of the 21st
Century. "LL Cool J" brings Snoop Dogg to Carson so
the duo of West Coast legends can conjure a pimped-out
low-riding cruise in silk shirts and open collars. The
finale is the harrowing "Opoid Crisis", where Ras
threatens to murder Republicans before connecting the
threads between the CIA flooding inner-cities with
crack and evil corporations getting the entire
populace addicted with the tacit support of the U.S.
government.
None of this is for the faint hearted, but Ras Kass
never made music for the soft-handed and headed. On
his latest opus, you realize exactly what a dramatic
influence he's has had on everyone from Kenrick Lamar
and Ab-Soul to Dead Prez and Jay Electronica. Another
gem burnishing the indelible legacy of the one of the
greatest rappers to ever incinerate a microphone. This
is eternal soul, ice-cold but somehow never less than
searing.
Track production:
01 Twiz the Beat Pro
02 Diamond D
03 The Olympicks
04 DJ Green Lantern
05 J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
06 Sir Veterano
07 Nino Beige
08 J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
09 Pa. Dre
10 Vokab
11 Felony Muzik
12 Chukk James and Nathan Brush
13 Cee
14 Pete Rock
15 Chukk James (and 'Ghosted' by Omid G)
Physical's always better, right?
d a t a
# t r a c k n a m e t i m e
01- Silver Anniversary [03:43]
02- Grammy Speech [04:30]
(Viola Solo by Christien Lien)
03- Midnight Sun (feat. Cee-Lo Green) [03:47]
04- F.L.Y [02:56]
05- Street Superstar [04:05]
06- White Power (feat. Immortal Technique) [05:46]
07- Sharkweek [03:21]
08- Wxt Thv Shxts [03:54]
09- The Long Way (feat. Everlast) [03:35]
10- Guns n Roses (feat. Styles P and Lil Fame) [03:38]
11- LL Cool J (feat. Snoop Dogg) [03:19]
12- Trapped Music [04:30]
13- Gingivitis [03:21]
(El Gant, J-57 and Ras Kass aka Jamo Gang)
14- Can U Feel It [03:13]
15- Opioid Crisis (plus bonus track Ghosted) [07:18]
115,1 m e g s t o t a l [60:56]