| Mind Blowin' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 22, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1992–94 | |||
| Studio | Luminous Sound Studios (Dallas, Texas) | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 47:14 | |||
| Label | SBK | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Vanilla Ice chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Mind Blowin' | ||||
| ||||
Mind Blowin' is the second studio album by American rapper Vanilla Ice. Released on March 22, 1994, it is the rapper's final release on SBK Records. The album did not chart, and received unfavorable reviews. It has since received some degree of cult status in the hip hop community. Songs from the album made up one third of Vanilla Ice's tours during 1992–2010. The album shifted just 42,000 copies in the United States, a massive drop in comparison to his blockbuster debut album To the Extreme.[1] Despite this, lead single "Roll 'Em Up" received some airplay in Europe.[2][3]
Ice followed up this album with 1998's Hard to Swallow, which involved a switch to the record label Republic Records.
Lyrics[edit]
Cyco of Insane Poetry worked on 10 songs on the album.[4]
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 mostly a diss track aimed at Mark, but Ice also included 3rd Bass and MC Hammer. Neither 3rd Bass nor Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch responded.[citation needed]
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[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | D[6] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [7] |
| NME | 5/10[8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Reviews were unfavorable. Entertainment Weekly reviewer James Bernard called the album "more clunky than funky".[6] 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."[10] 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."[5]
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."[11]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Vanilla Ice and Zero unless otherwise noted. All songs produced by DJ Zero and Vanilla Ice unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Live Intro" | DJ Zero, Tha Hit Men and Vanilla Ice | 0:51 | |
| 2. | "Fame" | DJ Zero, Tha Hit Men and Vanilla Ice | 4:15 | |
| 3. | "Get 'Em Now" | 0:08 | ||
| 4. | "The Wrath" | 4:20 | ||
| 5. | "Roll 'Em Up" | Vanilla Ice, Rod Johnson and Patrick Rollins | 4:30 | |
| 6. | "Hit 'Em Hard" | 3:10 | ||
| 7. | "Smooth Interlude" | 0:31 | ||
| 8. | "Now And Forever" | 3:40 | ||
| 9. | "Iceman Party" | Vanilla Ice | Tha Hit Men and Vanilla Ice | 3:34 |
| 10. | "Oh My Gosh" | 3:25 | ||
| 11. | "Minutes Of Power" | Vanilla Ice | Tha Hit Men and Vanilla Ice | 3:50 |
| 12. | "I Go Down" | 3:27 | ||
| 13. | "Bullet On The Chart" | 0:28 | ||
| 14. | "Phunky Rhymes" | 3:47 | ||
| 15. | "Blowin' My Mind" | 3:18 | ||
| 16. | "Son Of A Gun" | 0:07 | ||
| 17. | "Get Loose" | 3:41 | ||
| Total length: | 47:14 | |||
Samples[edit]
Fame
- "Long Red" by Mountain
- "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
- "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix
- "Fame" by David Bowie
The Wrath
- "Wicked World" by Black Sabbath
- "When Boys Talk" by Indeep
Roll 'Em Up
- "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps
- "Insane In The Brain" by Cypress Hill
Hit Em Hard
- "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers
Smooth Interlude
- "Do It Roger" by Roger
Now & Forever
- "Don't Change Your Love" by Five Stairsteps
- "Motor Booty Affair" by Parliament
- "Do It Roger" by Roger
Iceman Party
- "Do You Wanna Go Party" by KC & the Sunshine Band
- "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Roger
Oh My Gosh
- "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud" by James Brown
- "It's a New Day" by Skull Snaps
Minutes of Power
- "Cold Sweat" by James Brown
- "Take Me to the Next Phase" by The Isley Brothers
- "Opening/Can You Feel It" by The Jacksons
- "Cutie Pie" by One Way
I Go Down
- "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers
- "You're Just What I Need" by Betty Wright
Phunky Rhymes
- "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)" by Zapp
- "Son of Reach for It (The Funky Dream)" by George Duke
Blowin My Mind
- "Sara Smile" by Hall & Oates
- "Mind Blowing Decisions" by Heatwave
Son of a Gun
Get Loose
- "More Bounce to the Ounce" by Zapp
- "We Call It the Box" by Bill Summers
Personnel[edit]
Musicians[edit]
- Vanilla Ice — vocals, producer, engineer, executive producer, mixing
- Darryl "Delite" Allamby — keyboards
- Davis Bickston — drums
- Mike Daane — bass
- Dee Dee Harris — vocals
- Paul Loomis — keyboards
- Jeffrey Smith — electronic sounds, talk box
- Andy Timmons — guitar
- Robert Wechsler — guitar, programming, engineer, synclavier
- Steve Williams — drums
Additional personnel[edit]
- Scott Burnworth — art direction, design, photography
- Tom Coyne — mastering
- Dave Gossett — A&R
- Glen Hardy — photography
- Sean Hargraves — type
- Phil Johnson — art direction, design
- Scott Johnson — art direction, design
- James Conrad Koch — logo
- Tha Hit Men — producer
- Zero — producer, mixing
References[edit]
- ^ "Easygoing Five: The five biggest flop albums ever released". JOE.ie. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- ^ "Music & Media" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. June 18, 1994. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Music & Media" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. May 14, 1994. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Insane Poetry: Edgar Allan Holiman Interview (5/28/15)". Faygoluvers.net.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mind Blowin'". AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ a b Bernard, James (March 25, 1994). "Mind Blowin'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
- ^ Hunt, Dennis (March 27, 1994). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- ^ Moody, Paul (April 9, 1994). "Long Play". NME. p. 41. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Vanilla Ice". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 843–44. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Smith, Danyel (May 5, 1994). "Review of Mind Blowin". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-03-07.[dead link]
- ^ Phipps, Keith; Rabin, Nathan; Thompson, Stephen (December 22, 1999). "Least Essential Albums of the '90s". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
