Hip Hop Fans Celebrate Ice Cream Man’s 20th Anniversary

Photo Courtesy of Facebook.com/Master P

This month, rapper and hip hop mogul, Master P, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the classic album Ice Cream Man. This breakthrough album set the stage for Master P in 1996.

The hit single off the album was “Mr. Ice Cream Man.” The single reached No. 87 on Billboard Hot 100 and No. 10 on Hot Rap Singles.

When the music video came out, hip hop fans weren’t sure what to think. Master P drove his Lexus around the block, selling ice cream out of his trunk.

Ole miss student Peter Pursley said the song reminded him more of an R&B beat than hip hop.

“It is a traditional hip hop song, but it kinda lends itself to R&B.”

Student Anthony Williams thinks it was a big transition in hip hop culture.

“That song, Ice Cream Man, was the beginning of a new era and new sound and big transition from gangster rap,” Williams said. “You can listen to it and vibe and relate. My dad and my buddy and cousins would listen to it while I was growing up.”

Rico Green said it was the best song ever made.

“The beat came out like an old song, and I was rapping to it,” Green said. “It was something nice to listen to.”

Student Jyquorion Marqueze Gee can relate to it as well.

“When I first heard the song, I was little kid at the time in the 90’s,” Gee said. “It came out in ’96. I thought it was funny at first, but then as I got older and listened to lyrics, I was like, ‘Okay, this man talks about the life we go through.’”

Pursley said another of his favorite singles from the album was “Time for a 187.”

“My biggest memory of that was when I was a little kid, and my older brother was in high school,” Pursley said. “He was a huge old school hip hop fan, and his favorite song on the album was ‘Time for a 187.’ It was the song I heard everyday when he picked me up after school. I would not see the car, but I could hear song blaring and I knew my brother was on his way to came and get me.”

Even though this was Master P’s fifth album, it was his first album to be distributed through priority records.

To many, Master P is not just known as the rapper who wrote “Mr. Ice Cream Man,” but also as a businessman and entrepreneur.

“What I remember most about Master P and ‘Mr. Ice Cream Man’ was about hustling. This man played basketball, sold clothes, had a TV show with his son” Gee said. “The one thing I can say about Master P is that he is one of the smartest rappers, but he had a beat that you can bob your head to.”

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Ice Cream Man, use the hashtag #IceCreamMan and #20Years on social media. There is a possibility of winning a No Limit hoodie or tee.

Nico Dantzler is a senior broadcast journalism major at The Meek School of Journalism and New Media. He can be reached at nddantzl@go.olemiss.edu.