Ice Cube: Raw Footage

Ice Cube: Raw Footage At this point in his career, Ice Cube is better known as an actor than a rapper. Having starred in movies like Barbershop 1 and 2 and Are We There Yet? and Are We Done Yet?, the NWA days seem like so far away. Don't tell that to Ice Cube. On his eighth studio, Cube sounds just as hard as the old days. It's hard to believe this is the same man who just signed on to do the movie adaptation of Welcome Back, Kotter. Ice Cube employs production from Emile, Maestro, and Tha Bizness and guest appearances on the album include Young Jeezy, Musiq Soulchild, WC and The Game. The albums content is top notch even though it's not quite as gangsta as AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted or The Predator. Ice Cube still raps about the hood but in a much more socially and politically conscious manner. "Why Me" talks about senseless black-on-black crime. "Stand Tall" talks about Don Imus and white people in general putting down black people. The other major topic is self aggrandizing. "Jack in the Box" has a spoken word intro and chorus saying Ice Cube's "head is so big, they call him Jack-in-the-box". Although that concept sounds pretty lame, Ice Cube actually makes it work. This album is really all about Ice Cube making it work. In the three years since his last album, Ice Cube has released a myriad of family oriented comedies. Raw Footage is out to prove Ice Cube still has a lot of rapping to do. Rating: 8.3/10 MP3: Ice Cube feat. Young Jeezy "I Got My Locs On" Buy: iTunes, Insound