Wanted: Dead or Alive
Overall (Diameter): 11 7/8 in. (30.163 cm)
Wanted: Dead or Alive is the second album by the hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo. Released in 1990 the album was released on Cold Chillin Records and produced by Eric B., Large Professor, Kool G Rap, DJ Polo, Marley Marl, Anton, Biz Markie and Cool V. Lyrically, the album discussed topics of crime, poverty, racism on tracks like "Erase Racism" and raunchy sex rap like "Talk Like Sex". The album contained a significant emphasis on vivid descriptions of crime and urban squalor with songs about organized crime, gang violence, contract killing, and Mafia films (the title track, "Money in the Bank", "Death Wish"), which helped cement Kool G Rap's reputation as the founder of mafioso rap.
Juice Crew members, Kool G Rap (Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, b. 1968) and DJ Polo (Thomas E. Pough) were a hip-hop duo from New York. Mr. Magic and DJ Marley Marl allowed Polo and Kool G Rap to record the song "It's a Demo." The song was written and recorded in one night, and impressed Marley Marl to invite Kool G Rap and DJ Polo as Juice Crew members.