While making the album, Ice Cube was also heavily involved in several other projects, including Yo-Yo's debut album Make Way for the Motherlode, his younger cousin Del tha Funkee Homosapien's I Wish My Brother George Was Here, and perhaps more importantly, his film debut, Boyz n the Hood, in which he co-starred with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Laurence Fishburne.

[citation needed] The Death Side's "A Bird in the Hand" laments a young man's slide into a life of drug-dealing for economic survival.

The track was seen as a response to the killing of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old African American girl who was shot to death by a Korean-American store owner on March 16, 1991, in an altercation over a bottle of orange juice.

[5] Since the release of the track preceded the 1992 Los Angeles riots, in which many of the people targeted were of Korean descent, Ice Cube was accused of inciting racism by African Americans towards Asians.

Although Ice Cube's previous album avoided direct attacks on N.W.A, Death Certificate contained "True to the Game" and most notably "No Vaseline",[8] which were diss tracks aimed at his former bandmates.

The tracks "Steady Mobbin'", "True To The Game", and "Givin' up the Nappy Dug Out", were, however, recorded with clean lyrics and released for airplay.

[9] In 2003, Priority Records re-released Death Certificate with the bonus track "How to Survive in South Central", which originally appeared on the Boyz n the Hood soundtrack.

"No Vaseline" is considered to be one of the greatest diss tracks of all time due to its explicit and direct subject matter towards the members of the group.

The album was re-released for the 25th anniversary edition on June 9, 2017, by Interscope Records after Cube announced signing to the label in late May 2017.

[10] In the September 2006 issue of FHM, Ice Cube stated in an interview that he did not regret the controversial statements made on the album.

It's the sublime combination of '70s P-Funk and Ice Cube's excellent, taut delivery of rhymes calculated to jolt that pleases.

"[19] Spin wrote that it "integrates vitriolic politics with raw street knowledge" and "achieves an almost George Clinton-esque sense of celebratory freakiness".

It continues the sharp insights and unflinching looks at contemporary urban lifestyles that his solo debut only hinted at; in short, it's hardcore without any gangsta posturing."