Just-Ice is tagged as: hip-hop, hip hop, rap, old school hip hop, old school Just-Ice (b. Joseph Williams) a former bouncer at punk clubs, was the first of the New York MCs to embrace gangsta rap (although he hardly ever used foul language), and when he burst out of Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, as Just-Ice, he gained instant notoriety. Muscle-bound, tattooed, aggressive—he resembled Mike Tyson in more than just looks—and with a mouthful of gold teeth, he certainly stood out. His debut album Back to the Old School proved he was more than just a pretty face. It came out on the independent New York label Fresh/Sleeping Bag label in 1986, and sounded like no other hip-hop album, thanks to his fast, forceful rhymes, Cool DMX’s human beatbox, and the distinctive production of Mantronix’s Kurtis Mantronik. Ice was also one of the first MCs to embrace the teachings of the Nation of Gods and Earths on a recording, as well as being a pioneer in incorporating dancehall reggae-style toasting into hip-hop rhymes. When he was held by Washington, D.C., police regarding the murder of a drug dealer in 1987 (“Murder, Drugs, and the Rap Star” read a Washington Post headline), it gave him an even greater notoriety (he was never charged with the murder). Declaring war on D.C.’s go-go scene and loudly criticizing Run-D.M.C. (then the ruling New Yo... Read More About Just-Ice Biography... Send Just-Ice ringtones to your cell |
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