Ice Cube: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
OK so he’s a knob now. But back when Ice Cube still thought his name was a good idea, he was cool. So for argument’s sake we’ll refer to ‘young’ Ice Cube as just that and ‘now’ Ice Cube as Ice Square.
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But when you’ve just come out of a Wendy’s with a square hamburger in one hand and a bag of nazi crank in the other, there ain’t nothing better to listen to than Ice Cube’s Amerikkka’s Most Wanted. Urban beauty at its finest, the album is a kick in the balls in the rain while waiting for a bus.
In the days immediately after NWA, Ice Cube flourished. Amerikkka’s Most Wanted came out in 1990. There must be a dozen different samples running through some of the tunes alone. And those samples come from everywhere – music from all genres as well as TV and radio. So much effort. There’s none of your Dido singing some pants bollix with a tit rapping about his pointless and uninteresting childhood over it. Yes, I’m talking to you Skittles.
Ice Cube lyrics are filthy, informative and sharp - the perfect combination. “Once upon a time in the projects, Yo, I damn near had to whack a ho. I knocked on her door: ‘Who is it?’ It’s Ice Cube come to pay a little visit to you.”
In fairness, who doesn’t need to whack a ho every once in a while? I was out planting autumnal rhododendrons in my garden the other day and I’m telling you, I whacked my ho all afternoon. You better recognise… my ho. It’s a green 8-inch Huzqvarna.
But I always think rock stars who give themselves cool names when they’re young must really regret it when they’re older. The Edge, Puff Daddy, Sid Vicious, Ice-T. If I was in my fifties and people still knew me as, oh I don’t know, ‘latté weasel’, I’d be pretty annoyed with myself. I imagine it’s like that tattoo of the millennium falcon you got when you were 18 and thought it was ‘soooooo’ retro. Now it looks like a melanoma cake smeared onto your upper arm and you can’t wear short sleeve shirts to work because people might think you’re Tom Hanks in Philadelphia.
While the young Ice Cube certainly had some infectious beats, he was an altogether non-cancerous dude. In fact he was all about cleaning up his neighbourhood with the unconventional sweeping brush of South Central LA – the ak-47 assault rifle.
Those days are gone but his legend lives on in every freezer in America. Which came first the rapper or the rhyme? In this case, definitely the rapper.
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Comments
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ianarchy @ 11 Nov 2008 12:22Lethal injection is his best record, amerikas most wanted is shite
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Adzer @ 12 Nov 2008 14:44
I'd have to vote for the predator myself...even tho i am a cracker.
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Dejan @ 12 Nov 2008 14:52
Thought AMW was bit over-rated myself. The Bomb Squad were on the boards with Da Lench Mob and the beats were a bit messy. Still a good album though. They've re-packaged it now with Kill at Will and there's some gems across the whole lot - Jackin' For Beats, The Nigga You Love To Hate, Dead Homiez and two tracks that always make me laugh: Gangsta's Fairytale and I'm Only Out For Thing.
The Cube peaked with a genuine classic in Death Certificate and went gradually more mainstream after that. For such a long album there's hardly any filler there. Plus the production was completely fresh. The Life and Death sides, classics running through all the way - Steady Mobbin', Us, and the one of great diss records No Vaseline - WORD!
Predator was almost as good but maybe a bit polished. Can't help think of that album and not think about the LA Riots - there was a real apocalyptic vibe running throught it. Wicked was great, as was it's video, and We Had To Tear This Muthafucka Up is probably my favourite Ice Cube track. Although I had no time for the lead single - It Was A Good Day (although I think I'm alone on that!).
Lethal Injection was the end of him. A pop record, although still not bad. You Know How We Do It and Bop Gun were straight up pop records, and although neither of them are awful, I think he lost a lot of the heads when they came out. Doesn't help that there were only 12 tracks on the album and 5 of them were crap. Shame, as I thought him and Da Lench Mob were going to take the mantle from PE but he kinda fell off at the same time as them.
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Adzer @ 12 Nov 2008 16:09
Yeah Death Certificate is a classic i just find The Predator easier (more enjoyable) to listen to. Despite its harshness it still works on a sunny day,
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Derek B @ 14 Nov 2008 1:57
Saw him in concert with Snoop a few weeks ago, Cube still has it!!
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Tyres (Guest User) @ 15 Nov 2008 16:00
Death Certificate + The Predator are fantastic but AMW was the 1st time id heard a west cost record and really went "holy fuck"
:) Good article.
Gangsta's Fairytale was always one of my faves. Still think The Predator album is much better though.
Did anyone else see him play at Sunstroke in Dalymount? Classic show...