Reissue of the 1987 debut album from Ice-T, produced by Afrika Islam. Pressed on transparent yellow vinyl.
Before Ice-T's ascension, L.A. rappers were known primarily for a synthesizer-dominated sound indebted to Kraftwerk's innovations as well as Afrika Bambaataa's 1982 hit, "Planet Rock." While L.A. did have its share of hardcore rappers in the mid-'80s, hardcore rap was dominated by the East Coast. That begin to change in 1987, when Ice-T's debut album, Rhyme Pays, was released and sold several hundred thousand copies. Hard-hitting offerings like "409," "Make It Funky," and the title song (which samples Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and underscores the L.A. resident's love of heavy metal) left no doubt that Ice had very little in common with the Egyptian Lover, the World Class Wreckin' Cru, or the L.A. Dream Team.
