hiphoplifeandtimes

The Icepick is probably the most multi-faceted emcee in the UK game, and is unarguably one of its best. He has one of the games most viscous flows, battles at an incredibly high level, and has a body of work that is both varied and experimental.

The Icepick came into the game at the tail end of the 1980’s, serving as the front man for his crew, The Zombie Headhunters, founding members of the HQ Squad. He instantly made an impact with his legendary ‘Enter The Tormentor’ verse that was used on both ‘The Burial Proceedings In The Coarse of Three Knights’ put out on the Music of Life imprint, and ‘The Contract’ which was featured on Hijacks ‘Horns of Jericho’ LP. The Icepick also made a memorable contribution to the BROTHER Movements ‘Beyond The 16th Parallell’, a track rallying UK Hip Hops finest against apartheid in South Africa.

His punchy, vociferous style and mind-blowing imagery made a huge impression on all who heard him, and many were waiting for him to follow up his explosive entry into the game with a single of his own. Unfortunately, fans were left wanting for at least another four years before they would hear anything new. But then, in 1995, The Icepick came back out of retirement to record ‘The Genocide EP’ with a new crew called The Body Snatchers that comprised of DJ Supreme and MC Grizzly. The EP contained blistering battle raps related over the type of militant, vicious production that Supreme had used to make Hijack a household name. It was a classic record. Unfortunately, ‘The Genocide EP’ saw a very limited release so not many people even knew of the records existence. Furthermore, fans had to wait a further two years before they would have access to new, widely available, commercial material from The Icepick.

When The Icepick did return with the single ‘Phenomenal Criminal’ in 1997, there was a slight change to his sound. The punchy inflections and battle mentality that are his signature energy were still in effect, but now The Icepick was holding up a mirror to life on the streets. So the subject matter and the language he was using in his lyrics had changed slightly, and it was more in line with the kind of language you’d associate with man from road. The Icepick had made a radical transition the mentality was less B-Boy and more Roughneck. To draw attention to the change, Supreme altered his production style too. Gone was the Old Skool Hijack sound we had come to associate with him, as he moved on to a live flex, centered around the use of analogue keyboard sounds and slower drum programming an auditory experience more inline with the old skool reggae sound systems from the 1980’s.

The reinvention didn’t stop there. In 1998, The Icepick dropped ‘The Icepick EP’ which featured the track ‘Sour Puss’. Here, The Icepick played the Slick Rick role, demonstrating his ability to tell funny stories. You may remember hearing him freestyle this track live on DJ 279’s Choice FM show and the whole studio was on the floor weeping with laughter. This is one department where UK Rap traditionally lacks, but The Icepick, who has always demonstrated an ability to be witty, funny and insulting in his more battle oriented material, is a comedic master.

In 1999, The Icepick altered his style yet again when he dropped the ‘Dungeon Funk EP’ on Ruf Beats/Backbone. Here, The Icepick demonstrated that he was adept at mastering that frenzied style of flow one normally associates with a Busta Rhymes or Twista. However, what he produced came off as a whole new style in its own right, since The Icepick melded it with the UK nuances and ebonics one would usually hear on inner London city streets.

Since then, The Icepick has contributed vocals to a variety of projects. These include Gunshots ‘English Patient’, MC Mell-O’s ‘Against The Grain Project’, and his own crews ‘HQ Radio’ mixtapes. Since then The Icepick (now known also as Jack Jones), has recorded with acts such as Insane Macbeth, ‘Against the Grain’ featuring artists such as Grizzly, Don E, MC Mello and Estelle as mentioned earlier. He has now embarked on releasing this album covering his years as a recording artist. This Album is a must for all fans of UK Rap.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/album/its-just-me-and-you/id605505036

Connect with The Icepick a.k.a Jack Jones
http://www.soundcloud.com/djsupremeuk
http://www.facebook.com/theicepickrevelation139
http://www.myspace.com/theicepickjackjones/music

Track Taken From The “Brothers In Arms” Mixtape Coming Soon…