Almost 40 years ago, Ice Cube shocked the world with his words from the viewpoint of a disillusioned young man from inner city Los Angeles. His recollection of gang violence, police brutality and corrupt institutions over Dr Dre’s cinematic, yet grimy production became a soundtrack to an integral sub genre of rap music.
Years later, O’shea Jackson Sr, 54, who goes by ‘Cube’, says had he been born in 2005 instead of 1969, he would be rapping about the exact same issues. “The things I saw before I started doing music, those same things still exist.” He told the Manchester Evening News.
“I’d probably have the same topics, different names, instead of Bush we’d be talking about Biden.
“Unfortunately it’s the same topics, the same topics are plaguing the same neighbourhoods. The only thing that’s really changing are the calendar dates.”
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(Image: Getty Images)
During a interview with the Manchester Evening News , Cube said that while he is disappointed at the state of things, he knows the transformative power that music has and is well aware of he pivotal role his own music has played.
He pointed to the strides made in combatting police brutality which now sees some police officers wear bodycams to avoid instances like George Floyd’s death and Rodney King’s vicious beating at the hands of law enforcement go unchecked.
“There’s slight disappointment, but I was born into this world and it’s the only world I understand and know.” He explained.
“We were trying to change it for the better. I think about police corruption before NWA, a lot of it went unseen, unheard.
“You didn’t really get officers paying the price for breaking the law. Now look at us.
“Today, officers are held to the same standard as citizens and they have to obey the law too and they can’t just violate your rights. I think NWA and the music had a lot to do with those changes and so we’ll continue to fight in our own way and ours is to continue to fight through the music.”
One of the pillars of hip hop, Ice Cube’s career started in the mid 80s when he was catapulted into the globe’s conscious as the poetic, militant lead rapper of the NWA. Short for ‘Ni**** With Attitude’ the group was made up of legendary hip hop producer Dr Dre, street mogul turned rapper Eazy E, wordmsiths MC Ren, Dj Yella and Ice Cube.
The quartet were best known for debut album ‘Straight Outta Compton’ which created the soundscape for ‘gangsta rap’ as a sub genre and the whole region of the West Coast. With his iconic Los Angeles Raider cap, processed long, curly hair and signature scowl, Cube was the lead rapper and responsible for penning most of Dr Dre and Eazy E’s rhymes.
The rags to to riches story of the group was turned into a summer blockbuster biopic released in 2015 released under the same name as their debut album.
The crew didn’t last long, and disbanded for a myriad of reasons which weren’t always amicable. Cube went on to have a very successful career, carving a niche for himself as a respected political rapper.
In the 90s, he made a pivot to movies that saw him star in flicks such as ‘Boyz ‘n’ the Hood’, the ‘Friday’ series, family comedies like like ‘Are We There Yet?’, the Friday series and ’21 Jump Street’.
(Image: Sunday Mirror)
In the same year that hip hop celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, Cube says that its legacy and impact on his life and the world is something that he often thinks about. “I often think about how far hip hop has come. ” He told the MEN.
“How many lives its touched, how many people have been able to eat. If you think about all the jobs, the careers that hip hop has sparked and has birthed in a lot of ways.
“A lot of us can’t sing a lick when it comes to singing and holding notes or things like that. You wouldn’t have really heard of us if it wasn’t for hip hop.
“So if you wouldn’t have heard of us then all of the things that we’ve done when it comes to movies, fashion and now sports, none of these things would have been able to exist without hip hop. I think about it all the time.”
With ten million albums sold, and spot in the Rock ‘n’ Roll hall of Fame, Ice Cube is still going strong. Last year he formed a Westcoast supergroup with fellow LA natives and hip hop royalty, Snoop Dogg, Too $hort and E-40 called ‘Mount Westmore’.
In December he will be bringing the ‘California love’ to Manchester with more Westcoast rap ‘giants’ in the The Game and Cypress Hill. Speaking about the upcoming show, he said: “I’m almost 40 years in the game and I’m going to bring all those hits with me, over 30 years of music.
“From NWA days, to my solo stuff, I might drop a Mount Westmore song in there.
“It’s going to be fun and what’s cool is it’s going to be real rapping. We’re those emcees from an era where you definitely have a great stage performance and you’re able to perform your songs.
“The grippin’ and rippin’ kind of emcees, they’re going to feel that California love from the giants of the West Coast.”
Ice Cube will be performing alongside Cypress Hill and The Game at the AO Arena on December 7 for the ‘High Rollers Tour’. You can get tickets here.
