This is one of the most chilling "reality" rap songs of all time. From the Death Certificate album. Ice Cube's delivery is ice cold and the song is like a soundtrack to a horror movie. The part at the end with the police brutally assaulting three "suspects" is one of the most chilling musical moments of the 90s. It shows you what the "reality rap" genre was really capable of when artists put a lot of thought into the lyrics and production.
[This message was edited Mon Apr 5 2:41:36 2004 by JANFAN4L]

JANFAN4L said:

Great song, but you've got the wrong album JF4L. "Summer Vacation" is off "Death Certificate", his second full-length album.

JANFAN4L said:

Temporary Brain fart... album correction.

I like that track. My fave track from that LP tho, is "Bird In The Hand."

The last half of '91 saw some hip-hop classics come out -- Death Certificate, Apocalypse '91, Cypress Hill, and The Low End Theory, among others!

namepeace said:

Ahh, The Low End Theory. Great album.

Ice Cube was really hitting hard in the early 90s with a string of memorable albums (my faves were "Death Certificate" and "AmeriKKKas..."), but he fell off album-wise with The Predator, in my opinion. I like Cube's albums more when he was affliated with the Nation of Islam (whatever happened to that... I remember he was on MTV back in '91 or '92 talking about the N.O.I. in some MTV News-type segment). I think it was following the L.A. rebellion.

The Parliament throwback "Bop Gun" was another song I loved by him -- even though it comes in '93.
[This message was edited Mon Apr 5 11:04:24 2004 by JANFAN4L]

Another thing I want to note about this song:

What's even more chilling and ominous about "My Summer Vacation" is that it was recorded a year before the Los Angeles Riots in '92.

L.A. was like a tinderbox pre-April 29, 1992 (the day of the tragic events on the South Central intersection of Florence and Normandie avenues). This track was recorded in '91 and it documents all of the things that would lead to the mass unrest in the streets of L.A. a year later -- the police brutality by the LAPD and the reign of racist police chief Daryl Gates, racial profiling, the Rodney King case (during which a trial was held by an all-white jury in the lilly white suburb of Simi Valley, CA -- which is also where MANY LAPD officers reside and own homes), the duality between the suburbs and the impoverished inner-city, the gangbanging epidemic, hopelessness, the drug trade, etc.

Twelve years later, I still remember the L.A. civil unrest like it was yesterday, and how huge it was.

Ice Cube was on point with this song.

.
[This message was edited Mon Apr 5 11:30:32 2004 by JANFAN4L]

GORILLA GORILLA

REPORT TO THE MIST!

[This message was edited Mon Apr 5 15:44:23 2004 by POOK]

JANFAN4L said:

4-29-92:

I remember I was studying for Finals, and it was my birthday. I was lucky enough to have cable for my last semester in college. I remember turning on CNN the morning before leaving my place and they were talking about how they expected the King verdict to come in later that day. I said to myself, "well, when I get back in, before I celebrate my 21st, I will see how much time those cops got . . ."

I left my tv box on CNN and left. I turned it back on at about 6pm. The city was in flames.

It was eerie how the West Coast gangsta MCs and East Coast political MCs of the 90's (including Cube, NWA, PE, Cypress Hill, even 2Pac when he was the West Coast's answer to KRS-ONE) had predicted a backlash to police brutality.Then it blew up.

It seemed as if the public had been compelled to pay more attention to hip-hop as a credible voice for change as a result of those riots. Then hip-hop, in my humble opinion, blew it.

Thanks for taking me back!

namepeace said:

April 29, 1992:

It was a hazy day in Los Angeles. The sun was shining, but it was very still that day. I remember I got out of school at 3:00pm (my school was only eight blocks away from the intersection of Florence & Normandie). I hopped on a school bus and headed home. I walked down the street and I reached my house. I opened the door and I saw my mother and older brother in the living room watching KABC Channel 7 and the breaking news coverage on the intersection of Florence & Normandie. I saw Reginald Denny get a brick thrown to his head live on TV. I saw rioters pulling people from their cars and beating them up. Then I saw people throwing trash cans at cars and basically standing in the street.

Later that night, my brother and I were glued to the TV screen. We were jumping around our suburban home (safe and sound) shouting "No Justice! No Peace!" By this time, demonstrators were rioting in front of L.A. City Hall. I remember Governor Pete Wilson declared a State of Emergency and LAPD Police Chief Darryl Gates told the LAPD to just watch, not to react. People were looting like crazy and buildings were burning. Many of the neighbors in my community stood in front of the local stores so they wouldn't be looted (however, the only store looted in my area was "Radio Shack"). Someone spray painted "Black owned" on one of the local convenience stores in our area.

The next day the curfews were issued (and of course all Los Angeles Unified School District schools were closed) this continued for days. It was scary, wild, bedazzling, and one of the most toxic things I've ever experienced.

I remember when school continued psychologists came in and spoke to us about the riots and how we felt.