Song: "Wicked"
Artist: Ice Cube
Album: "The Predator"
Year: 1992
"Wicked" is a gangsta rap song by legendary hip hop artist Ice Cube. The song's roots are fueled by the Los Angeles riots which took place that year after several police officers were found not guilty of using excessive force while detaining Rodney King, even though video footage showed them severely beating him. As a performer, Ice Cube first appeared with the hip hop group C.I.A., which is where Cube first worked with Dr. Dre, then of the World Class Wreckin' Cru. By 1987, the two decided to form the group N.W.A. along with Eazy E, MC Ren and DJ Yella. In 1988, the group changed the rap game forever with the release of "Straight Outta Compton". They managed to take "gangsta" rap to the next level with this release, while also gaining the attention of the F.B.I. because of the song "Fuck Tha Police". By 1989, inner turmoil began to break up the group. Ice Cube found out that he was grossly underpaid, especially considering that he wrote not only his lyrics, but at least half of Eazy E's and Dr. Dre's for "Straight Outta Compton" as well as Eazy E's solo album "Eazy Duz It". In 1990, his first year as a solo artist, Cube took the world by storm, releasing "Amerikkka'z Most Wanted", starring in his first movie, "Boyz N The Hood", as well as releasing "Kill At Will", the first hip hop EP to go platinum. 1991 saw Cube release "Death Certificate". This album featured the scathing diss rap "No Vaseline", in which he totally tore up the remaining members of N.W.A., basically putting that fued to bed. In 1992 Ice Cube came out with "The Predator", his most successful album to date, selling three million records in the U.S. alone. With singles like "It Was A Good Day", "Wicked" and "Check Yo Self", Cube won a spot on the alternative Lollapalooza tour of that year. 1993 saw Cube get into the "G-Funk" era with the release of "Lethal Injection". By 1994, the N.W.A. fued was a thing of the past as Cube would collaborate with Dr. Dre for the song "Natural Born Killaz". Cube also squashed any beef with Eazy E and MC Ren at this time and even hoped that possibly N.W.A. could work together again at some point. This came crashing down with the untimely death of Eazy E in 1995, who succumbed to the AIDS virus. Between 1998 and 2000, Ice Cube would release "War & Peace Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. These albums featured guest spots by Westside Connection, a group made up of Cube, Mack 10 and WC, as well as a reunion of N.W.A. for the song "Hello". 2001 would see Cube join fellow N.W.A. members Dr. Dre and MC Ren as well as Snoop Dogg and Eminem on the "Up In Smoke" tour. In 2006, Cube dropped "Laugh Now, Cry Later". This album featured the single "Why We Thugs", a song that showed Cube get back in that gangsta/political vibe and made no mistake that he is still the real deal when it comes to lyrics and flow. In 2008, Cube released "Raw Footage", his eight solo studio album. The 2010 release "I Am The West" debuted at #22 on the Billboard 200 charts, proving that Ice Cube is still very much relevant in the world of hip hop. Along with his stellar rap career, Cube is also known for his work in films, both acting and directing. As I said earlier, he starred in the epic film "Boyz N The Hood" and he wrote and starred in the "Friday" comedies as well as the "Barbershop" films. It could be argued that his acting has made him an even bigger star than his music career but he has not turned his back on hip hop yet. Currently, in fact, Ice Cube has said to have at least seven tracks done for what will be his tenth studio album. In 2012, the first single was released for that future album, called "Everythang's Corrupt". Good to see someone in hip hop still talking about something meaningful and shining a light on injustices instead of just spewing bullshit!!
No comments:
Post a Comment