Mind Blowin'
Studio album by
Vanilla Ice
ReleasedMarch 22, 1994 (1994-03-22)
Recorded1992–94
StudioLuminous Sound Studios (Dallas, Texas)
GenreHip hop
Length47:14
LabelSBK
Producer
Vanilla Ice chronology
Cool as Ice
(1991)		 Mind Blowin'
(1994)		 Back 2 Back Hits
(1998)
Singles from Mind Blowin'
  1. "Roll 'Em Up"
    Released: February 9, 1994
  2. "The Wrath"
    Released: August 17, 1994
  3. "Get Loose"
    Released: March 27, 1995

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

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.

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Entertainment WeeklyD[6]
Los Angeles Times[7]
NME5/10[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

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.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Live Intro" DJ Zero, Tha Hit Men and Vanilla Ice0:51
2."Fame" DJ Zero, Tha Hit Men and Vanilla Ice4:15
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 IceTha Hit Men and Vanilla Ice3:34
10."Oh My Gosh"  3:25
11."Minutes Of Power"Vanilla IceTha Hit Men and Vanilla Ice3:50
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

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

Son of a Gun

Get Loose

  • "More Bounce to the Ounce" by Zapp
  • "We Call It the Box" by Bill Summers

Personnel

Musicians

  • 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

  • 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

  1. ↑ "Easygoing Five: The five biggest flop albums ever released". JOE.ie. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  2. ↑ "Music & Media" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. June 18, 1994. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Music & Media" (PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. May 14, 1994. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Insane Poetry: Edgar Allan Holiman Interview (5/28/15)". Faygoluvers.net.
  5. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mind Blowin'". AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  6. 1 2 Bernard, James (March 25, 1994). "Mind Blowin'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
  7. ↑ Hunt, Dennis (March 27, 1994). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  8. ↑ Moody, Paul (April 9, 1994). "Long Play". NME. p. 41. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ Smith, Danyel (May 5, 1994). "Review of Mind Blowin". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  11. ↑ 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.
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