ice mc

Audio

Scream

TRACK #226:

Scream by Ice MC

All right. So I think we can all agree He’s Coming Back is a pretty bad Monster Rap.

I mean, it’s a Good Monster Rap, in that it’s a prime example of what these songs are all about and how that usually just goes terribly awry. But it is not a Good Monster Rap. Dig?

So, in an effort to redeem the Monster Rap genre (if that’s even feasible or worthy of attempt) we present to you Scream by Ice MC.

If you’re not familiar with Ice MC, please do not feel the least bit bad. This is no deficiency on your part.

Mostly likely this is because you’re either:

  1. An American.
  2. Not listening to Raggamuffin rap and/or
  3. A regular person doing regular things and not wasting what short time we have on this planet associating with shit like Scream by Ice MC. And I don’t blame you. I sometimes wish I was just that sort of person doing just those sorts things, whatever they may be.

In fact, I was that person until last week. Well, I was those first 2 types of people, anyway. Still an American too. Still not listening to any Ragamuffin rap, either. However, I do know what it is now and I have heard this song and I am quite presently wasting all kinds of precious time with it. But I digress.

I was definitely not familiar with this song until last week. That’s when Shindig super enthusiast and research beast Devin Connors hipped me to this track. And within about 30 seconds I knew he’d discovered gold.

What Ice MC has created here is a more approachable and less Faygo-drenched associative Monster Rap than a similarly themed example from another ice-based rapper.

Ice MC sets his sights and weird British accent to referencing several horror movies amidst the heavy electronic back beat and sample-stuffed rhythms of the Raggamuffin sound; a subset of Dancehall and Reggae music where sampling forms the backbone of the melody.

What unfolds is something somewhat unique in the Monster Rap game; A song strangely catchy, somewhat legitimately fun and yet laughably ridiculous. Boardering on bad while flirting with good, this song rests in a limbo not entirely either.

Run DMC’s Ghostbusters is too crafted to be thought silly. The Chucky Song too white and corporate to be considered real. Or something like last night’s He’s Coming Back, which is a bit too tedious to be genuinely enjoyed.

Scream appears more akin to something like Lovebug Starski’s Amityville or DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s Nightmare on My Street: completely independent, straight outta left field, eminently listenable and Shindig as fuck.

So thank you Devin for this wonderful new addition, though mine may be the only thanks you’ll receive.

A few side notes:

  1. Yes, that’s Aliens’ Ripley he refers to as Sgt. Weaver.
  2. No, I’m not sure why he does that.
  3. No, I also don’t know what the hell pumpkin on the telly he’s referring to from Halloween. I assume the credits
  4. I won’t spoil the elephant in the middle of this song, but it’s great, and you’ll know it when you hear it. Enjoy.
  5. And yes, he does say that. Several times.