Released in the latter part of 1990, Cube put out the ‘Kill At Will EP’ in a similar move that NWA put out ‘100 Miles And Running,’ as a go-between from one album and the next. The same way NWA put out their EP to introduce their new hard-hitting style, Cube put out ‘Kill At Will’ to introduce us to the production sounds of Sir Jinx Sir Jinx’s production was featured lightly on ‘Amerikkka’s Most Wanted,’ so this EP was his chance to shine…
All songs produced/ remixed by Ice Cube, Sir Jinx & Chilly Chill
1. Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside) (remix) ft. Chuck D
About the dangers faced by a young black male in George Bush Senior’s America
“You wanna free Africa? I’ll stare at ya/ coz we aint got it too good in America!”
Chuck D comes in and drops it like he does with Public Enemy and he spits fire with the short verse he has. The remix of the OG produced by The Bomb Squad offers a different step in its beat to the original. While the OG had a harder clap to it, this version mellows out a little while still maintaining the OG beat underneath its different bass line Cube & Chuck’s voice seem slightly slower to fit with the tempo. The Bomb Squad version works better really, although after a few minutes your ears should adjust to this version
2. Jackin’ For Beats
The 30 second skit is quite annoying when u wanna listen to this song but bear with it til the track kicks in. It features beats taken from EMPD, Public Enemy, Digital Underground, LL Cool J and the X Clan. The song is about Cube jacking beats (who would have guessed?) and adding that ‘gangsta touch’ to them- even the crews down with him! This song is old school and dope with a constantly changing beat. If you don’t recognise at least 3 beats used, u aint no hip hop fan!
3. Get Off My Dick And Tell Yo ***** To Come Here (remix)
This remix of the OG was already co-produced by Sir Jinx and it keeps its original beat to it. The OG version was only one verse long and not even a minute long, the remixed version sees 2 more verses With the additional verses, Cube goes on to tell the story of a girl bringing her man along to meet him, the man jock riding bringing along a T-shirt and pad to be signed when all Cube wants is his girl! If you liked the OG you’ll be happy to hear the extra verses.
4. The Product
This song has a sing along “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!” hook! Now get a load of the sounds on this track because this track isn’t a remix. This is the sound of Cube’s production style for the next few years (Da Lench Mob sounds) Cube presents himself as the ‘product’ [of the ghetto, etc] The song gives a brief history of his life… starting with conception back in ’69! Then on to present day (1991) in verse one Verse 2 covers Cube’s younger days to his school years, sensationalising everything (like walking was another struggle in da ghetto!) Verse 3 deals with his how he’s dealing with the world and raising his baby The song’s sounds are fire!
5. Dead Homiez
Possibly the deepest song by Cube Speaks on Cube having to visit a funeral every other week because of the pointless gang violence. Anyone living this style of life will be agreeing strongly with Cube as he puts of a lighter voice to a slow and funky beat. This song shows Cube’s real feelings and maturity on the issue You can soak up the emotion of the song for yourself, but here’s some quotables (of many) from the song
“Why is it the only time black people get to ride in a limo?” “A lot of flowers and a big reef… what good is that when you’re 6 feet deep?” “I remember we painted our names on the wall for fun/ now its rest in peace after every one “How strong can you be when you see your pops crying?”
One of Cube’s best tracks ever
6. JD’s Gaffilin’ (pt. 2)
Skit. More of JD’s dig at the police. Funny
7. I Gotta Say What Up
Cube giving shouts to all those he’s down with. At over 3 minutes long, he knows a lot of people! Set to Public Enemy’s “Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos” beat
Conclusion: Broken down, featuring 2 remixes, 2 skits and 3 new songs, the EP is worth less than buying it than when it was released and there was hype around it. Overall nowadays it’s not quite worth 4 so I give it 3.5/5
When I first bought this album, I didn’t know what to expect. Could he match the intensity and quality of ”AMERIKKA’S MOST WANTED” and with him growing with age, plus his newer movie commitments, I really wanted to see if he would deliver on this album. Read on to find out…