DEF POET BLACK ICE COMES STRONG WITH DEBUT LP, “THE DEATH OF WILLIE LYNCH”
By Khalid J. Strickland a.k.a. Dirty Angel
The Iceman cometh
Brilliant poet Black Ice, whose stand-out recitals on Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam brought him national fame, is a precious gem in an entertainment business packed with rubbish. Black Ice’s profound compositions caught the ear of superstar singer Mary J. Blige, who personally requested him to join her on this summer’s Breakthrough Tour, a showing that made its way to thirty venues nationwide. Cameo appearances on releases by Method Man, Fabolous and Pete Rock also decorate Ice’s lengthening resume. With his debut album, “The Death of Willie Lynch”, Black Ice defies hip-hop music’s holy trinity of rims, grills and dope. Released by Koch Records on September 5th, 2006, “Willie Lynch” is a substantial work of art that properly displays Black Ice’s impressive, thought-provoking verses over tight grooves. During an interview with Insomniac, Black Ice elaborates on the title of his album.
“Willie Lynch was this (man) who supposedly came to the docks of Mississippi when the slave owners couldn’t control their slaves,” articulates Black Ice. “So they brought (Lynch) through and he was supposed to have masterminded this technique of breaking slaves and horses or whatever. (Lynch) prescribed the method of breaking Black people down as a unit. Come to find out, (the myth of Lynch) was actually false. The reason it was found to be false was the contradiction in the English. The English that was used in (Lynch’s) speech wasn’t even invented at the time. A couple of college professors broke that down to me. So the title of my album actually symbolizes the death of that theory…the death of that myth.”
Breaking away from the multi-producer formula that makes many albums sound more like compilations and less like a single artist’s creative vision, Black Ice enlisted one producer for “The Death of Willie Lynch”. Eric Greene Jr., a prospering young producer who, as a drummer, has toured with Pharell Williams and Jill Scott, was tapped by Ice to create a hip-hop concept album; the likes of which hasn’t been seen in some time.
“(Eric) is a phenomenal young prodigy who is the music director for my band,” Black Ice explains. “We met some years ago when the idea of putting my (poetry) on an album came into creation. Our career paths split us up for a second. But we came back together. I always wanted a (unique) sound. I didn’t want to be this cat who was known for being on ten-thousand different producers’ tracks. I’m very particular when it comes to who I work with and how the work gets done. It has to be very organic.”
Musiq Soulchild and Natalie Stewart of popular R&B/hip-hop duo Floetry are just two of the guest artists who lend their unique talents to “The Death of Willie Lynch”. With fellow Philadelphian DJ Jazzy Jeff (of “Fresh Prince” fame) at the helm as executive producer, Black Ice’s debut album is equal parts entertaining and enriching. Although he had an opportunity to release his maiden LP under the famous Def Jam banner, Black Ice opted to sign with Koch Records, a popular choice for artists seeking more artistic freedom and equitable dividends. “Def Jam is kind of a mass-producing, color-by-numbers company,” discloses Black Ice. “I need more development. I’m more of a boutique artist. I’m not Macy’s, I’m not Bloomingdale’s; I’m more of a SoHo boutique. (Def Jam) was a learning experience so I can’t knock it and say it was a f****d up experience. I did gain some notoriety from my time there, so I can’t speak too bad of them. If the (music) industry was organized religion, Koch is kind of like the Yoga center. It’s a place where you can breathe and do your thing without that eye over the top of you telling you how you have to play and so on and so forth. And the math was better.”
Although he’s expanding his audience with “Willie Lynch”, Black Ice remains grounded and focused on meaningful, rather than material, goals. On the subject of African-American unity, Black Ice doesn’t mince words.
“Coming up in the hood where we come up at, (people) find success and it hypnotizes (them) into leaving where they come from,” Black Ice points out. “So nothing ever gets regenerated, which is another one of our ailments. We don’t put back. We raise ourselves above the mentality of our environment and then we move on. We don’t try to raise the rest of us up, and I feel that’s why we don’t succeed ultimately. We succeed individually but we don’t succeed ultimately as a unit because everybody’s raising themselves up and then saying ‘f**k everybody else’.”
For more information on Black Ice & “The Death of Willie Lynch”, visit www.myspace.com/blackicemusic.
For more stories & work by Khalid J. Strickland a.k.a. Dirty Angel visit www.supremearsenal.com and www.myspace.com/blackpacino.
