Career Ender...? | Ice-T - Home Invasion (1993)

Rap music was indeed getting more popular by the 1990s, but that popularity attracted detractors due to lyrics that were deemed anti-social or anti-authoritarian. Already having expressed his thoughts on a previous album regarding the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and censorship, Ice-T found himself in the furnace of media frenzy and societal criticism with the song “Cop Killer” via, ironically, his non-rap side project: the heavy metal band Body Count. As a result, Ice’s fifth album, 1993’s HOME INVASION, would endure a prolonged gestation period caused by a struggle with a conglomerate feeling the heat of public and shareholder scorn. Although the album did eventually come out, the scars and wounds on the project, as well as on Ice-T and his career, were evident—and permanent.

#icet #ogoriginalgangster #rhymepays #power #realityrap #freedomofspeech #bodycount #copkiller #rodneyking #gangstarap #nwa #pmrc #warner

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro: Trajectory Interrupted
04:09 Here Comes the Body Count
07:19 The Big Deal About “Cop Killer”
13:58 The Final Straw and Sire/Warner Exit
22:40 HOME INVASION Review
36:03 Decreasing Relevance in the ‘90s
38:46 Outro: The End of a Prime Run

ICE-T SERIES:
Rhyme Pays (1987)    • Cold Countin' His Cash | Ice-T - Rhyme Pay...  
Power (1988)    • Godfather of Reality Rap | Ice-T - Power (...  
The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say (1989)    • Try to Shut Me Up! | Ice-T - The Iceberg/F...  
O.G. Original Gangster (1991)    • An Epic Audio Gangsta Movie | Ice-T - O.G....  
Home Invasion (1993)    • Career Ender...? | Ice-T - Home Invasion (...  
VI: Return of the Real (1996)    • An O.G. Struggling with Reality | Ice-T - ...  
Seventh Deadly Sin (1999)    • O.D.G. Original Digital Gangsta | Ice-T - ...  

SELECTED REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:
Augusto, Troy J., and Turman, Katherine. “WB Board Put Ice-T Out In Cold.” Variety. January 28, 1993. https://variety.com/1993/music/news/w....
Billboard. https://www.billboard.com.
Discogs. https://www.discogs.com.
Ettleson, Robbie. “Afrika Islam - The Unkut Interview.” Unkut.com. October 16, 2015. https://unkut.com/2015/10/afrika-isla....
Ice-T; Sigmund, Heidi. The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a F*ck? St. Martin’s Press. 1994.
Marrow, Tracy; Century, Douglas. Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption—from South Central to Hollywood. Oneworld Publications/Ballantine Books. 2011.
Merlis, Ben. Goin' Off: The Story of the Juice Crew & Cold Chillin' Records. BMG Books. 2019.
McNary, Dave. “Warner Pulls ‘Cop Killer’ at Ice-T’s Request.” UPI. July 28, 1992. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/07/....
RIAA Gold & Platinum Database. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/.
TIME. “Ice-T Melts.” TIME. August 10, 1992. https://web.archive.org/web/200709300....