Mind Blowin

Artist: Vanilla Ice
Label: Ultrax Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Original recording reissued
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 022775647129
EAN: 0022775647129
ASIN: B000055ZEA

Release Date: 2000-11-28

Mind Blowin

Related Categories:

Gangsta & Hardcore

| Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

General

| Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap

| Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Live Intro
Fame
Get 'Em Now
The Wrath
Roll 'Em Up
Hit 'Em Hard
Smooth Interlude
Now & Forever
Iceman Party
Oh My Gosh
Minutes Of Power
I Go Down
Bullet On The Chart
Phunky Rhymes
Blowin My Mind
Son Of A Gym
Get Loose

Similar Items:

Hard to Swallow
Bi-Polar
Hot Sex
Platinum Underground
Extremely Live

Customer Reviews:

Straight Fire!.......2006-12-09

I was a Ice fan back in the early ninties when he was super mainstream, but i was very young just getting into music, and then I remember people hating on him and he became a joke for most. Alot of artist were trying to ditch their teen booper image and trading it for the harder sound that was becoming popular in 1994 (think wu-tang clan 36 chambers)i believe Mc Hammer tried doing it too, and it just looked like they were trying to hard. Now flash forward 10 years and i find myself in a outlet store where everything is cheaper and they had a little cd section and their it was Mind Blowin, i'm actually a very open minded person when it comes to music, i never discriminate. So I said what the heck for $1.88 I can't go wrong! The best $1.88 i ever spent let me tell you and just recently i had installed a subwoofer and amp in my car so it was time to blow my mind, and boy did it. I'm telling you this album bumps, very nice production by DJ Zero ("who wears a chronic hat but always says no") seriously the beats are amazing, almost like ahead of its time, most songs still sound great and not dated at all. What I really like about this album is that pretty much every song kicks, you can hear the whole cd without even thinking of skipping a song, which ya gotta agree can't be said about much music, especially these days in which i think hip hop is dead. What kind of sadens me is that if you tell your friends that you like this album people automatically hate, they don't even give a chance. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. "But I say yes and get it off my chest" Roll em up! is the best track

Probably the best in the Vanilla Ice catalog.......2006-03-30

I first listened to this album about seven years ago and have heard it a few times since, including just this past year, as I know a couple people who own a copy. I don't own this cd myself, and have no plans to buy it. However, I felt the need to offer an objective review that will balance out all the ones left by people who are either hardcore Vanilla Ice fans or extreme haters, with no middle ground in sight. I've heard it enough times to give a pretty informed review. I've also heard pretty much everything else in his catalog, so it will be easy for me to make some comparisons to earlier (and later) work.

'Mind Blowin' was Vanilla Ice's attempt to return to the top of the charts in 1994. The album had a more loose and laid back feel compared to earlier efforts from Rob Van Winkle. 'Mind Blowin' turned out to be a commercial failure, for a variety of reasons.

To start, SBK Records (Ice's label) went under around the time this came out and any promotional efforts dried up with the label. Secondly, hip hop (and pop) fans were not buying the new, tougher, funkier Vanilla Ice sound. This is an album that is often classified (mistakenly) as gangster rap, like M.C. Hammer once attempted himself. This is actually more along the lines of Cypress Hill or House of Pain, as opposed to Dr. Dre, N.W.A. or Snoop Dogg. You could even classify this as safe, radio-friendly party rap, not unlike Sir Mix A Lot. Ice manages to avoid any real cursing or profanity on this album, even stopping himself before swearing at one point, so he doesn't come across as tough as he might like to. That or he wanted to get as many cuts played on the radio as possible. Isn't this what it is all about?

Truth is, 'Mind Blowin' is actually Vanilla Ice's best album which may not be saying much. However, it is significantly better than 'To The Extreme', 'Extremely Live' or anything that has come out since this release. There are a lot of popular songs that are sampled or lifted in this album, something Vanilla Ice has done throughout his career. Rob/Ice has a number of very short song intros (i.e. "Live Intro" and "Smooth Interlude"), which is also par for the course on his studio albums.

"Fame" is indeed a David Bowie cover and this selection opens the album, getting it off to a decent start. "The Wrath" and "Roll em up" were both released as singles, which gives you a clue as to what some of the better songs on this effort are. "Hit em hard" is a comical track in which Vanilla stumbles through an attempted diss/threat on Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark) and New Kids on the Block, which is pointless since neither of them (or Ice) were selling a lot of records in 1994. Why even bother going after them? You won't find top-notch rapping on the song, but the diehard Vanilla Ice fans will undoubtedly eat this one up. The rapping isn't much better on "Now & Forever" but at least the sampling is pretty good. "Iceman Party" follows and sounds very dated, like an outtake from an earlier album. The song makes references to both cassette tapes, thanking fans for (quote) "buying Vanilla Ice tapes", and to the year 1992 (even though 'Mind Blowin' came out in 1994). It suggests that Ice had this tune laying around for a couple years and threw it on the album anyway, without bothering to update it.

"Oh My Gosh", like "Roll em' up" earlier on the album, makes reference to smoking pot, a theme that occasionally shows up on this record. "Minutes of Power" sounds like something Coolio was doing when he was still making MTV hits. It is actually one of the best (and funkiest) tunes Ice has ever done, for better or worse. "I Go Down" is Vanilla Ice copying Tupac Shakur and doing an ok job. He actually gives a shout out to both Tupac and Mary J. Blige in this song, maybe hoping this will give him some credibility. "Bullet On The Chart" is just another short song intro (like some of the others I previously mentioned), which leads into the next tune ("Phunky Rhymes"). "Phunky Rhymes" disses Two Live Crew and also thanks all the supporters who stuck with Ice during thick and thin, it isn't that bad of a song overall. "Blowin' My Mind" is something that would have never appeared on an earlier Vanilla Ice album. However, it does contain the same old lyrics boasting about his sexual conquests. "Son Of A Gun" (mistitled on Amazon) is a short sample, like the ones that came before it. "Get Loose" attempts to rehash the earlier hit "Ice Ice Baby" at one point. This final track is the weakest effort and has some of the poorest rapping of the entire lp. It is certainly not a good way to finish things up.

Quite honestly, I liked this one better than I expected. It is the best Vanilla Ice is capable of and that isn't so bad. Some fans of this artist may not know that Rob Van Winkle later rehashed two songs from this album, "The Wrath" and "Oh my gosh", on his so-called heavy metal/nu-metal comeback cd, 'Hard To Swallow', which came out in 1998 on a major label and nearly went gold (stunning a lot of naysayers).

Despite the modest rating of three stars, anyone who digs Vanilla Ice or late 80's/early 90's whitebread or pop rap would do well to pick this up. This is an essential release for the Vanilla Ice fanbase, which has more members than people might think, even if they are fans for the kitsch value alone. If you've always loathed this "rapper", don't even bother. Nothing about 'Mind Blowin' is likely to change (or blow) your "mind", pardon the pun.

While it is not all that important, it is worth noting that 'Mind Blowin' had the best cover art of any Vanilla Ice album. It was also the very first time he started using a brand new logo which has appeared on every album cover since.

Don't Be Hatin.......2004-07-27

Everybody stop hatin vanilla! I haven't even heard this 1 yet but to the extreme was the best. if u don't hav a v ice cd yet, get to the extreme.

Da Kronic blows my mind & so does Vanilla Ice.......2004-03-18

I wish i was a fan of Vanilla when dis cd 1st came out cause it is pretty fat an da songs r real hard to get nowadays.There r heaps of dope tracks on this cd but some of my fav's r "hit em hard","Roll em up" & "The Wrath.If u like dis cd also check out To the Extreme which is also fat. "U fill it, u want it, nw roll, it roll it, lick it, lick it, den hit it" frm da words of da master.

Mind Blowin' Is Right!.......2004-02-06

I must say that I was impressed to the extreme! I've always thought that Vanilla Ice was a decent rapper, but this album put him over the top. I highly reccommend this album to anyone who likes clever rhymes over party beats. Hit 'em Hard is a classic. I liked Marky Mark, but that song is great. If you liked Vanilla's flow on To the Extreme or the Cool As Ice soundtrack, buy this album now!

Music Album:

Music Album

Music CD

Escuela de la Salsa ~ Conjunto Chaney

Toots Blues 1950-1952 ~ Toots Thielemans, Les Thompson

Modern New Orleans Masters ~ Various Artists

Runnin' Wild ~ Mike Jones

Dickie Valentine ~ Dickie Valentine

Trio '64 ~ Bill Evans

Historia Musical ~ Los Cardenales de Nuevo Leon

Mis Nuevas Baladas ~ Joan Sebastian

Coleccion RCA: 100 Anos de Musica ~ Jose Jose

Calidad ~ Adalberto Santiago