Mind Blowin'

Production

In late 1991, Ice started talking about his second album, which then had the working title 'Ice Capades'. While writing and recording new songs, Ice premiered three of them in 1992 during his tours, including The Wrath, Now & Forever and Iceman Party. The original version of The Wrath was heavily changed for its album release after the departure of Ice's regular disc jockey Earthquake. The album was recorded throughout 1992 to 1994 and was eventually named 'Mind Blowin' which was a nod to Ice's rhyming skills.

Lyrics

The Wrath, one of the album's singles, was a reply to the single Pop Goes the Weasel by 3rd Bass.

Mark Wahlberg, then in the rap group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch had made negative remarks about Ice in one of his songs. Ice answered back in the song Hit 'em Hard which was almost in its entirety a dis song aimed at Mark, but Ice also included 3rd Bass and MC Hammer. Neither 3rd Bass nor Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch responded.

A lot of the lyrics were drug influenced and featured references to smoking marijuana, especially in the single Roll 'em Up. The song I Go Down pays tribute to Gang Starr, Mary J. Blige and Tupac Shakur.

Reception

Reviews were unfavorable. Entertainment Weekly reviewer James Bernard called the album "more clunky than funky". Rolling Stone reviewer Danyel Smith called the song "Get Loose" "snappy", writing that although the lyrics are "inane", "the song is a thumping party, one of the few places where Ice loosens up. He sounds solid at the beginning of 'The Wrath' as well [...] He sounds easy and unaffected – close to sexy. But he doesn't keep it up: In 'Now and Forever,' a wet dream kind of song, Ice goes back to goofy lyrics [...] and his dry Max Headroom style." AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "There isn't a single moment that establishes a distinct musical identity, and the whole thing is rather embarrassing."

Vanilla Ice's cannabis-oriented lyrics were questioned by some, including Primus bassist Les Claypool, who stated in an interview for High Times, "He's got dreadlocks and he's got this song about smoking pot and basically he uses every little catch phrase he can think of that has to do with pot in his rap. That's all fine and dandy and cute, but it could be misconstrued and manipulated by the wrong people." The album was named the "Least Essential Album Showcasing An Image Makeover" in The A.V. Club's list of the "Least Essential Albums of the '90s," cited as "an album that inspired almost no one to roll up the hootie mack, as instructed in its first single."

Track listing

All tracks written by Vanilla Ice and Zero unless otherwise noted. All songs produced by DJ Zero and Vanilla Ice unless otherwise noted.

Samples

Fame

The Wrath

Roll 'Em Up

Hit Em Hard

Smooth Interlude

Now & Forever

Iceman Party

Oh My Gosh

Minutes of Power

I Go Down

Phunky Rhymes

Blowin My Mind

Get Loose

Musicians

Additional personnel