Brooklyn-born Just-Ice was among the first to call himself a gangsta MC, even though there was no violence in his lyrics. Inspired by a Melle Mel show, Just began rhyming in his early teens, buying his first rhyme from a friend for $3. His first album, Back to the Old School, was released in 1986 on Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records and pointed to a new direction in hip-hop. However, as more and more MCs followed down the gangsta path, Just-Ice went with a more hardcore, straight-up hip-hop style and was one of the first MCs to use ragamuffin-style toasting from dancehall reggae. Just was also one of the first MCs to employ Five-Percenter rhetoric in his rhymes. Even with production by artists such as Mantronik, KRS-One, and Grandmaster Flash and with seven albums under his belt, Ice still never achieved the commercial success of many of his peers.

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