| Product Summary | | Label: Emd/priority | | UPC: 00049925001525 | | Release Date: 3/21/2000 | | Buy.com Sku: 60387031 | | Item#: M5V5SY | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25079 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Hell Low ~ Ice Cube |  | | 2. Pimp Homeo (Insert) ~ Ice Cube | | | 3. You Ain't Gotta Lie (Ta Kick It) - (featuring Chris Rock) ~ Ice Cube | | | 4. Gutter S***, The - (featuring Jayo Felony/Gangsta/Squeak Ru) ~ Ice Cube | | | 5. Supreme Hustle ~ Ice Cube | | | 6. Mental Warfare (Insert) ~ Ice Cube | | | 7. 24 Mo' Hours ~ Ice Cube | | | 8. Until We Rich - (featuring Krayzie Bone) ~ Ice Cube | | | 9. You Can Do It - (featuring Mack 10/Ms. Toi) ~ Ice Cube | | | 10. Mackin' & Driving (Insert) ~ Ice Cube | | | 11. Gotta Be Insanity ~ Ice Cube | | | 12. Roll All Day ~ Ice Cube | | | 13. Can You Bounce? ~ Ice Cube | | | 14. Dinner With The CEO (Insert) ~ Ice Cube | | | 15. Record Company Pimpin' ~ Ice Cube | | | 16. Waitin' Ta Hate ~ Ice Cube | | | 17. N**** Of The Century ~ Ice Cube | |
| | Ice Cube is one of the most enduring, versatile, controversial and engaging figures ever to emerge out of hip-hop. At 30, he is one of this generation's cultural icons. After establishing himself as a film phenomenon, acclaimed actor, screenwriter, director and producer, Ice Cube (born O'Shea Jackson) comes back to his solo music career with a vengeance. "War & Peace - Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc). The first volume "War" was released on November 17, 1998 on Priority Records with "Peace" following on March 21, 2000. Just as his classic Death Certificate presented a "Death Side" and a "Life Side", Cube explores the war/peace dialectic in well over 2 hours of new music. Further fueling rumors of a NWA reunion album, this album opens with the simple greeting "Hell Low", a Dre produced selection (co-produced by Mel Man) featuring Dr. Dre and MC Ren; a comedic track "You Ain't Gotta Lie" featuring Chris Rock and appearances by Krayzie Bone on the commercial single "Until We Rich." Other notable artists featured on the album are Mack 10 and Jayo Felony with production on several tracks by Chucky Thompson, Battlecat, and Puffy to name a few.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Ice Cube, Mack 10, Ms. Toi, Krayzie Bone, Chris Rock, Jato Felony, Pain In Da Ass, One Eye (vocals); Ralphie Boy (keyboards); DJ Joe Rodriquez (scratches). | | Producers include: DJ Joe Rodriquez, Carl "Chucky" Thompson, One Eye, T-Bone, Ice Cube. | | Includes liner notes by Jeff Chang. | | Personnel includes: Ice Cube, Mack 10, Ms. Toi, Krayzie Bone. | | Producers include: Carl "Chucky" Thompson, Battlecat, One Eye, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Bud'da. | | Includes liner notes by Jeff Chang. | | Personnel: Pain In Da Ass (vocals); Ralphie Boy, Chris "The Glove" Taylor (keyboards); Ms. Toi, Traci Nelson (background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: Claude "Swifty" Achille; Dr. Dre. | | Photographer: Davis Factor. | | Ice Cube's initial War & Peace album left a lot of fans feeling disappointed, after having waited five years for it, and the concluding volume isn't any more satisfying. A lot changed in those five years, and Cube does adjust well here to the changing times. Besides, it's simply great to hear him so revived. Yet there's also an undercurrent of stubbornness here that's unsettling. The opening track, "Hello," is the first omen of what's to come. The tailor-made N.W.A reunion anthem produced by Dr. Dre brings together the surviving members of the legendary gangsta rap pioneers and hits hard, Cube proclaiming on the hook, "I started this gangsta sh*t/And this the muthaf*ckin' thanks I get?" It's a striking beginning -- hard-hitting, yes, but also openly bitter and haughty. If Cube could keep heavy hitters like this coming, it'd be easy to accept the attitude, but he doesn't. The album drops off from here. There's a lot of steam and a lot of tension, yet not much artistry. That golden touch Cube had back in the days of AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and Death Certificate is sadly missing. There's a nice good-time diversion halfway through, "You Can Do It," but that's about it. You're then back to the tension, and it lasts for a straining 17 tracks. In the end, the net total of Cube's two-album creative burst doesn't amount to much. Amid the two-plus hours, there's a small handful of gems buried beneath a lot of tracks you'll find yourself skipping. Here on the War & Peace series the aging legend is clearly a changed man, an older, wiser one who's trying hard but ultimately incapable of grasping the brilliance of his past. But it's nothing to mourn, as Cube certainly had his moments of glory and continued to have them, albeit in Hollywood rather than Compton. ~ Jason Birchmeier | | The second volume of Ice Cube's War & Peace album finds the multi-talented veteran MC evolving beyond a mere gangsta rap artist. Of course, Ice Cube doesn't admit his maturity, starting the album off with an excellent song titled "Hello" featuring MC Ren and Dr. Dre. The Dre-produced song has the ex-NWA members rapping "I started this gangsta ****/and this is the ************ thanks I get?" and reinstating their thug stance. Besides this opening song, Cube also is heard later on the album rapping to "keep in gangsta," yet for as much as Cube flexes about being hard, he has actually evolved into a wiser, more composed artist than the hate-fueled gangsta found on his early albums. Some of the songs on War & Peace, Vol. 2 such as "Record Company Pimpin'" reflect the deep insight he is easily capable of injecting into his lyrics. Unfortunately, for every contemplative moment on this album, there are also plenty of songs such as "Can You Bounce?" and "Hello" that reduce themselves to simple, lucid attempts at hit singles. These songs -- along with the slightly more thought-out, radio-friendly "Until We Rich" -- are wonderful songs, rich in hooks and full of strong beats, but they don't really fit in with the rest of the album. The fact that Ice Cube churned out two albums of content during his lengthy absence from the rap world in the late '90s makes the two volumes of War & Peace overly eclectic. What made albums such as Straight Outta Compton and AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted such strong albums were consistency; Dr. Dre and the Bomb Squad, respectively, were able to map out an overall musical feel for these albums with their signature styles and unique motifs. Instead of having a fully realized sound such as the aforementioned albums, the revolving door of production on War & Peace that includes Dr. Dre, Puff Daddy, and One Eye for One Eye among others makes this album sound very undeceive in terms of style. Cube's rapping sounds great with plenty of ideas that extend outside of simple gangsta motifs and slick rhymes full of wit; however, the constant changes in the album from hook-laden hits to denser, message-filled songs and from stark, minimal beats to up-tempo dance-rap make this a sometimes brilliant yet ultimately spotty, multi-dimensional album that needs more focus. ~ Jason Birchmeier | | The second volume of WAR & PEACE proved that Ice Cube had not mellowed with age, the strains of a critically acclaimed film career notwithstanding. Much of the disc aspires to the sort of relentless intensity Cube hadn't matched since his solo debut, AMERIKKA'S MOST WANTED. While more restrained than the Bomb Squad's hyperkinetic collages of sound, Dr. Dre's laid-back grooves are a perfect match for Cube's acerbic ghetto wit and biting social commentary. Rolling drum programming and bouncy Roger Troutman-style basslines give the album an old-school feel. Much of the album marries intense grooves and polished production with humorous skits; "Pimp Homeo," for example, is a funny takeoff on ROMEO AND JULIET. Tracks like "Until We Rich," on the other hand, are more laid-back R&B affairs, with more reflective, socially conscious lyrics. While nothing on the set approaches the political and social fire that categorize AMERIKKA'S MOST WANTED, WAR & PEACE still manages to showcase a rap legend at the top of his form. |
Engineer: Claude Achille; Richard "Segal" Huredia |
Musical Guests | | Mack 10 | | Chris Rock | | Krayzie Bone | | Dr. Dre | | Gangsta | | Jayo Felony | | Squeak RU | | Ms. Toi |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 03/21/2000 | | Original Release Date : 2000 | | Catalog ID : 50015 | | Label : Priority Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 55m : 29s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00049925001525 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (5/11/00, p.131)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Makes an argument for Cube's longevity....We see the badass spiritual resiliency that made Cube so worth imitating in the first place."Entertainment Weekly (3/24/00, p.102)
- "...rough-and-tumble celebrations of gangsta life....Cube's stern vocal presence dominates. No, movie stardom hasn't dulled his edge..." - Rating: B- Q (5/00, p.110)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Ice Cube is still angry. At least he's trying to be....A forefather of gangsta rap....[He] sounds like an old man edging out of a young man's game. Deep down, he knows it..." The Wire (4/00, p.53)
- "...[Cube] celebrates his irritation with industry hangers on, record company CEOs, and hustling young rappers....Production is fat and sassy with plenty of slick moves..." CMJ (4/3/00, p.35)
- "...Easily his dopest shit in years, ...PEACE takes to the dancefloor with the energy of landmark works such as KILL AT WILL and DEATH CERTIFICATE..." Vibe (5/00, p.172)
- "...Travels between gangster stylings and conscious rap....Ice Cube provides something for 'all' of his fans....VOL. 2 is a free-flowing smattering of styles..." The Source (5/00, pp.212,214)
- 3.5 mics out of 5 - "...He returns to his incendiary roots and delivers a strong album....Cube sounds invigorated here....quality hard-core music....He still reigns as one of hip-hop's most insightful - and important - artists." |
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