Ice Cube is a fascinating figure in hip-hop. The modern day Cube is surrounded by a lot of younger cats and he often comes off looking more like an actor than a legendary rapper. At 39-years-old, his focus on acting may be the thing most people relate with his career but his gangsta rap bloodline will always be the foundation on which Cube built his fortune.
In many ways, no matter how many Are We There Yet? moments Cube has, he’ll always be The Predator.
With Raw Footage, he proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that the West Coast Icon can still throw down with the best of the best. His eighth studio album surprised the hell out of me, blasting out of my speakers with taut production, a light and cool guest line-up, and Cube’s trademark delivery as the lawful showpiece.
This is pure Ice Cube for pure Ice Cube fans.
There’s nothing trivial about his approach here, as he is succinct and shrewd when he rips through the “I do gangster rap” speech at the beginning of “Thank God” that pins the origin of rap music on a system that failed the poor. “I’m blamin’ them motherfuckers for gangsta rap because if they didn’t create these kinda conditions, I wouldn’t have shit to rap about,” he spits.
And he doesn’t hold back on the corporate tip either, shouting “Fuck Viacom!” on the Public Enemy-inspired “It Takes a Nation.”
At 70 minutes, this is a stripped-down and clear-cut hip-hop record. Like The Game’s record, this is light on skits and sketches and focuses on the album’s star as the hinge by which everything else swings. Following the pattern set by Laugh Now, Cry Later, this album is slim on guest footage and heavy on Raw Footage.
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