Song: "The Nigga Ya Love To Hate"
Artist: Ice Cube
Album: "Amerikkka's Most Wanted"
Year: 1990
Place Of Origin: Los Angeles, California
Years Active: 1986 - present
WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:
"The Nigga Ya Love To Hate" is a continuation of the street knowledge that Ice Cube displayed when he made a name for himself in the infamous rap group N.W.A. It would be the first single for Ice Cube as a solo artist and really the first glimpse of his lyrical skills outside of the N.W.A. shadow. The song and the album proved that Ice Cube was, and still is, one of the premier lyricists and rappers in hip hop history. It ain't about preaching to people. It's about shining a light on the ills of society.
ICE CUBE DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1990 - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (Priority Records)
1991 - Death Certificate (Lench Mob/Priority Records)
1992 - The Predator (Lench Mob/Priority Records)
1993 - Lethal Injection (Lench Mob/Priority Records)
1994 - Bootlegs & B-Sides (Priority Records)
1998 - War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc) (Lench Mob/Priority Records)
2000 - War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc) (Lench Mob/Priority Records)
2006 - Laugh Now, Cry Later (Lench Mob/EMI Records)
2008 - Raw Footage (Lench Mob/EMI Records)
2010 - I Am The West (Lench Mob/EMI Records)
2018 - Everythang's Corrupt (Lench Mob/Interscope Records)
CURRENT STATUS OF ICE CUBE:
Ice Cube got his start in hip hop back in 1986, originally in a group called C.I.A. The South Central Los Angeles native eventually struck up a friendship with Dr. Dre, who was in the World Class Wreckin' Crew at the time. With the help of local drug dealer Eazy-E, and Eazy's friend from the neighborhood, MC Ren, the guys banded together to form N.W.A. and history was made. If Ice-T put west coast gangsta rap on the map, N.W.A. exploded it into the stratosphere! The band's debut album, "Straight Outta Compton" was, and is, the blueprint for the way gangsta rap should be done. But, all things don't end well. Cube, who wrote not only his lyrics, but at least half of the lyrics for Eazy-E and Dr. Dre, felt he should be compensated more for his efforts in the group. After not being able to come to a contractual agreement with the groups manager, Jerry Heller, Cube decided to part ways and go solo. He enlisted the help of Public Enemy's production team, The Bomb Squad, to help him with his debut solo album. 1990's "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" proved that Cube could not only stand on his own, he was well on his way to climbing the mountain of greatest emcee's in the game. Cube came firing out the gates. Four full length albums and an EP in a four year span. "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted", 1991's "Death Certificate", 1992's "The Predator", 1993's "Lethal Injection" and of course the 1990 EP "Kill At Will". It was during this period that Ice Cube was at his peak in hip hop and could easily be argued as a top four, Mount Rushmore of emcee's. "Death Certificate" featured the fiery N.W.A. diss track "No Vaseline", making Cube a fierce diss emcee. "The Predator" would go double platinum, peak at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts and become Cube's best selling album. "Lethal Injection" saw Cube get into that g-funk style that was super prevalent at the time in L.A. gangsta rap music. Cube's next four albums, 1998's "War & Peace Vol. 1", 2000's "War & Peace Vol. 2", 2006's "Laugh Now, Cry Later" and 2008's "Raw Footage" continued a streak of Ice Cube album's charting #7 or higher on the Billboard 200 charts dating back to "Death Certificate". Cube would drop two more albums in the 2000's, 2010's "I Am The West" and 2018's "Everythang's Corrupt". When hip hop was Cube's main focus, he was a beast. He was dropping albums every year and they were legendary to boot! His music career began taking a back seat to his acting and directing career. Making movies began taking up more and more of his time. He would always eventually get back in the studio but his later albums would just show flashes of his younger self. Songs like "Why We Thugs" and "Everythang's Corrupt" show that there's still that fierce, political rapper inside but the urgency and the in your face aggression of his early 90's material isn't quite there still. That comes with getting older I suppose. Still, Ice Cube has to be respected as one of the greatest artists in hip hop history. He's be on my Mount Rushmore of emcee's for sure. Right now, my Mount Rushmore of rappers would be Cube, Kool G. Rap, KRS-One and Paris. That could change in a week though! If you really want to check out Cube at his best, check out all his work from N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Comption", right through 1993's "Lethal Injection". Also, check out his work in the west coast super gangsta group Westside Connection which also featured gangsta rap stalwarts WC and Mack 10.
TEN ICE CUBE SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. When Will They Shoot
2. The Nigga Ya Love To Hate
3. No Vaseline
4. My Summer Vacation
5. Once Upon A Time In The Projects
6. Why We Thugs
7. It Was A Good Day
8. Ghetto Bird
9. Endangered Species (Tales From The Darkside) (featuring Chuck D.)
10. Wicked
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