Stackmaster

“Stackmaster” is a 2004 solo album by Blade Icewood, the west side Detroit rapper and member of the Street Lord’z. Discogs files it under hip hop with a gangsta style tag.

The story

The album arrived after two Street Lord’z group records, “Platinum Rolee’s Don’t Tic Toc” (1999) and “Platinum Masterpiece” (2001). A Metro Times report from October 2004 noted that Blade had released “Stackmaster” earlier that year, and that sales of this kind of Detroit street release could not be accurately tracked because many CDs sold through outlets that did not report to SoundScan.

Sound and production

The twelve-track program runs from an intro through “Ride Out”, “Walk Like Me” and “Fa Sho” to an outro. Fellow Street Lord G-Rock appears on three songs: “Detroit”, “Come Roll ’04” and “Boy Would U (Remix)”. K-Doe features on “Live It Up”.

Legacy

The remix of “Boy Would U” ties the album to Blade’s best-known record, “Boy Would You (Boss Up)”, whose video popularized the Boss Up dance, also called the Blade Dance, still recognized as a marker of Detroit culture. Discogs lists several editions of the album, including unofficial copies.