A death certificate is a document issued by a government official such as a registrar of vital statistics that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death.
Death Certificate is the second solo album from rapper Ice Cube, released by Priority Records on October 31, 1991. Highly anticipated (with over a million advance orders ), the album was certified platinum on December 20, 1991, and to date has sold over two million copies. It was also the source of much controversy due to some of its racially charged content, and Ice Cube's acerbic statements on drug dealing, racial profiling, and the right to bear arms. The Album itself is widely considered one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time.
As a result of the controversy over Death Certificate, in 1992 the state of Oregon declared any display of Ice Cube's image in retail stores throughout the state illegal. This ban also included advertisements for St. Ides Malt Liquor, which Ice Cube endorsed at the time. In 2003, Priority Records re-released Death Certificate with one bonus track, "How to Survive in South Central"; a track originally appearing on the Boyz N the Hood soundtrack.
On the hook of The Game's song "The Documentary", from his album of the same name, Game lists some of rap's most legendary albums, mentioning Death Certificate amongst them. The hook went as follows:
"I'm Ready To Die without a Reasonable Doubt, smoke Chronic and hit it Doggystyle before I go out, until they sign my Death Certificate, All Eyez On Me. I'm still at it, Illmatic, and that's The Documentary."
