After announcing tour dates with De La Soul and last week’s Throwback Thursday selection Public Enemy, Ice Cube takes this week’s spot with his classic N.W.A. diss “No Vaseline”.
Released in 1991 on “The Life Side” of Ice Cube’s 2nd album “Death Certificate”, “No Vaseline” was a highly controversial song aimed at his former crew N.W.A.
Ice Cube had left the group two years earlier, after a dispute over money and to be more exact: their manager Jerry Heller.
Ice Cube wrote almost half of N.W.A.’s lyrics on their debut album “Straight Outta Compton” and for Eazy-E’s “Eazy-Duz-It” solo debut album. Ice Cube had a new contract proposed to him by Jerry Heller and felt he was getting shafted out of money he felt he was owed for all of the work he was doing for the group.
After leaving the group, the remaining members of the group attacked Ice Cube on their EP “100 Miles and Runnin’” and their 2nd album “Niggaz4Life”.
Ice Cube’s response was “No Vaseline”.
Produced by Sir Jinx and Ice Cube himself, “No Vaseline” was his retaliation towards the group. It caused a lot of controversy due to the lyrics and was even removed from the UK release of “Death Certificate”.
The song is targeted on the topics he believed to be at hand, including N.W.A. getting screwed out of money:
Heard you both got the same bank account/
Dumb nigga, what you thinkin’ bout?/
He also expresses his distain at N.W.A. selling out and siding with Jerry Heller:
It’s a case of divide-and-conquer/
Cuz you let a Jew break up my crew/
House nigga gotta run and hide/
Yellin’ Compton, but you moved to Riverside/
Ice Cube also goes after Eazy-E on the 3rd verse and goes after MC Ren in the 2nd verse:
Now they got the Villain with a purse and high-heels/
So don’t believe what Ren say/
Cuz he’s goin’ out like Kunte Kinte/
But I got a whip for ya Toby/
Used to be my homey, now you act like you don’t know me/
N.W.A. never responded.
After the death of Eazy-E, Ice Cube and the rest of N.W.A. reconciled and went on later to make music together.
“Death Certificate” contains other Ice Cube classics such as “Black Korea“, “I Wanna Kill Sam” and “My Summer Vacation“.
The album is still available on Amazon.
