>> Ice Water
bio: Hip-hop is in an ice age - or perhaps just the age of Ice Water.
Under the tutelage of Wu-Tang Clan’s resident chef Raekwon, the four-man crew of Polite, Stomach, P.C. (Paulie Caskets) and D.C. (Donnie Cash) marks Staten Island’s return to prominence as hotbed for fresh, credible talent. As Raekwon, Shaolin’s long standing delegate, comments, “These dudes got a lot of street credibility; a lot of people know how they get down. You gotta have your hood credentials card. Ice Water is highly respected out here.” Respect takes time, and Ice Water has been chilling for years. Polite, who was incarcerated during the original nine-man formation of Wu-Tang, is a childhood friend of Raekwon. In the mid-nineties, Rae enlisted Polite in his short-lived group, The American Cream Team. Signed to Loud Records, the group would appear on Raekwon’s gold-selling Immobilarity album, along with many soundtracks and compilations. However, after member Banky Bank’s murder, the hopes for the group dissolved. In over five years since, Raekwon carefully waited for a group worthy of his guidance. The self-proclaimed captain within Ice Water, Polite was a member of the original Theodore Unit with Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God. In 1998, while working on his own album, Polite was impressed by neighboring rappers Stomach and P.C. The trio, representing Stapleton, Park Hill, and West Brighton sections of Staten Island would come to form Ice Age - shortly before adding the youngest member (and P.C.’s younger brother), D.C., in 2000. As Raekwon recalls, “We knew these cats had potential way back, but the timing wasn’t right. I always kept a radar on dudes, and when I felt they was ready mentally and lyrically, I helped ‘em get on.”
Rae tested the waters (no pun intended) by blessing the group with appearances on several tracks on his last album, 2002’s The Lex Diamond Story. The group would open for the Chef on the subsequent tour, performing in over 30 states, in front of thousands. Fast forward almost four years and this quartet is older, wiser, and hungrier. D.C. states that the crew is a bridge between the biggest movement of the ‘90s and of recently, “Anything coming off of the Island is gonna have that W on it. That’s where you get the Wu-Tang. We’re also the youth, the streets, the hood. Just like Dipset is in Harlem, we’ve got the movement of the island behind us.” Ice Water would manifest their hunger in the form of extensive mixtape appearances as well as over five visits to DJ Kay Slay’s acclaimed radio show on NY’s famed Hot 97. Raekwon compares his protracted development of the group to raising pitbulls: “I’m training these pits. I’ve got them on the treadmill, and I’m beating ‘em, feedin’ ‘em hot sauce and steaks, so they’re ready for this industry.” No dogs were injured in the creation of Ice Water, but quite a few microphones were left victim to street lyrics and deft wordplay. Honed and focused, Ice Water’s debut, Raekwon presents…Ice Water: "Polluted Water," will finally be released in August on Babygrande Records, home to such renowned and critically acclaimed talent as Hi-Tek, GZA, Jedi Mind Tricks, Immortal Technique and more. Raekwon states, “Babygrande recognized that Wu is a brand, and we’ve got so many different divisions of rappers around us.” But is Ice Water really ready for the spotlight? The veteran multi-platinum selling MC speaks earnestly, justifying the time he's taken to refine the quartet's innate skills: "I can't put my name on anything that I feel is not on my level. These dudes are on my level, that's why I pushed for the project; I believe in them." A-listers such as Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross, Remy Ma, Three Six Mafia and Jagged Edge believed too, appearing on a number of the album's tracks, which also features appearances from Rae himself and Method Man, along with production by such renowned producers as Scram Jones, Jagged Edge and EZ-Elpee. According to Rae, the collaborations weren't just a result of Rae's industry stature: "Yea I pushed a couple of buttons. Busta Rhymes, he's a good friend of ours; but he knew where these dudes was at. Nobody would represent these guys if they didn't have a good taste in they mouth about dudes." The masses will indeed get a taste when the group hits the road opening for the Clan at this year's Rock the Bells festival. Honing their craft for over a decade, Ice Water has paid their dues. Indeed, the release of "Polluted Water" marks both the return and rebirth of Staten Island hip-hop. The significance of the group’s long awaited emergence from the Wu-Tang Clan’s very own Shaolin stomping ground is not lost on Master Chef Raekwon: “At the end of the day, I knew I’d never build another dynasty with eight or nine dudes. But these dudes’ chemistry is perfect. This is the next dynasty.” With a superstar MC and an entire borough behind them, this dynasty will not be put on ice.
