From the moment I found this website, I knew that I would have to immediately set myself apart from all the other music fans writing. And what better way to do so than to immediately etablish my individualism by repping a legendary rapper, Vanilla Ice? Before you run away in fear, let me remind you of a few facts people often forget: Rob Van Winkle was the first white solo MC to top the Billboard 200, and his debut,
To the Extreme, is the third best-selling album by a white hip hop performer, behind
Eminem's
The Marshall Mathers LP and
The Eminem Show. He has also been favorably noted by
Public Enemy leader
Chuck D on many occasions, noted for breaking the race barriers in hip hop.
On
Bi-Polar, Van Winkle expands his musical horizons, adding styles of hard rock and metal into his mix, alongside a series of impressive hip hop outings featuring guest appearances by some of the most respected names in hip hop. The results are, for the most part, worthwhile. The rock tracks boast appearances by members of
Slipknot,
Stone Sour and
Stormtroopers of Death, while the hip hop guests include Chuck D,
Wu-Tang Clan associate
La Tha Darkman and
Insane Poetry's Psycho.
"Nothing Is Real" opens up the rock set with Ice expressing his gratitude for life:
You cant make me die
Now I testify
Through you I can see
Get from in front of me
The horror movie imagery of "Mudd Munster" is performed through deathgrowls:
Mudd Monster following me uh
It's hard but I really can't see uh
He lives inside the trees uh
Outside of New Orleans uh
He'll eat your flesh like Hannibal
Human type animal
Oh no he's after me uh
Mudd Monster psycho creature
Run, Run
No Face, no fingerprints to trace
Just like it never did take place
Bloody master psycho creature
Beware of the freak of nature
Screams of pain coming from the mud
Streams of rain up the blood
Half human half gorilla
Saskatchewan, cannibal killa
Ice mixes clean singing and rapping on "Primal Side":
Don't make me hate you for your lies
Closing the rock set is "I Know", a classic hard rock tune:
I know there's something going on
And it seems so cold
I know there's something going on
And it wont be long
I know there's somthing going on
How could you be so cold
I know theres something going wrong
Through the hip hop set, Ice mixes varied styles of production - taking influence from the underground styles of various rappers, some of which make appearances here, including rock-influenced beats ("Hot Sex" features
Damageplan bassist Bob Kakaha), Wu-Tang-influenced Oriental instrumentation ("Unbreakable") and horrorcore chills ("Insane Killas"), while "Elvis Killed Kennedy" mixes rap metal and hip hop instrumentation with the raps of Chuck D and Ice. "Get Your Ass Up" is a banging track that will sure to get club-goers bouncing.
Many of the guest appearances are strong, most notably
Chuck D, who contributes some of the best rhymes of his career:
Confrontation town front
I can't front! no, I can't believe this funk
got a backlash as long as some happy ass
clown, frown, I get down
in the trenches underneath the underground
under a blanket of hell you never heard rejected the sound
wrap your troubles in dreams baby in search of a theme
I can't believe I'm triple teamed
I voted, hope my ass wasn't railroaded
Ran for the border to avoid the slaughter
shit! I blamed that tape recorder cause you mad outta order
beyond categories, another East side story Uh
Not all of the guest appearances work, however.
Insane Clown Posse don't tread any new ground, and you would likely be better off by skipping their appearance. The old school "O.K.S." makes up for things, with Psycho name-dropping
Brotha Lynch Hung and
Season of da Siccness, and the Darkman reminds listeners why he is a respected associate of the Wu. These appearances make
Bi-Polar enough of a lively affair for me to recommend this album.
