Ice T

LOS ANGELES -- Seeming to relish what some describe as a role of "attack dog" for his boss, Vice President Dan Quayle yesterday added a controversial rapper's song to his list of targets for criticism.Commenting on Time Warner Inc., the parent company of the record label that released a song called "Cop Killer" by Ice T, Mr. Quayle said: "Here is a very influential corporation, supporting and making money off a record that suggests it's OK to kill cops. I find that outrageous."The vice president's arrival in Southern California coincided with President Bush's signing into law a $1 billion emergency urban aid and summer jobs package.

O. G. ORIGINAL GANGSTERIce-T (Sire 26492)When Ice-T claims to be the "O. G. Original Gangster," he's not kidding. After all, he virtually invented L.A. gangsta rap years ago, thanks to albums like "Rhyme Pays" and "Power," and his starring role in "New Jack City" simply enhanced that reputation. As raps likes "Midnight" or "The Tower" demonstrate, he's a master of the genre, combining brutal beats with a breathless narrative for true edge-of-your-seat suspense. But he's also smart enough to push beyond the limits of the gangsta style, turning cliches into jokes ("Street Killer")

FIRST, LET IT BE SAID that attending a Vanilla Ice concert with a pen and a pad isn't the easiest assignment.The first thing necessary is to be an impartial critic, remaining fair to what you're hearing and seeing and forgetting what upset you months earlier when you heard the record, which in this case happens to be the thrice-platinum, No. 1 seller "To The Extreme."The best we could do as we headed to the Baltimore Arena last night was to try to find a touch of positive light in a sea of talent darkness.