top 3 fav Ice Cube joints:
- Thread starter caff
- Start date
Yup, same here. It might be easier for me just to rate his solo CDs:
AMERIKKKA'S MOST WANTED--10/10 (Cube merges with the Bomb Squad and sets the Hip-Hop world on fire, combining ghetto attitude with PE-style politics).
KILL AT WILL--10/10 (basically more of the same, in the style of AMW).
DEATH CERTIFICATE--10/10 (the ultimate political Rap CD. Rappers don't address issues like this CD did anymore, unfortunately. Many of these issues from '91 are still around today. Nice combo of live music with samples).
THE PREDATOR--9/10 (Cube deals with the aftermath of the Rodney King beatings and the subsequent trial, as well as the L.A. riots, and shows he can flow as well. Slightly dated, but still dope).
LETHAL INJECTION--8/10 (Cube doesn't claim much for this one nowadays, but I like it. A couple of tracks could have used more oomph, but Cube still addresses topics like no one else).
WAR DISC--7.5/10 (better now than it seemed in '98. The experimental music works in its' own way, IMHO. I figure, hey: If Cube had to adapt to the "Cristal-sippin', money grubbin'" trend in Rap, at least he did it about the best way an old-schooler could)!
PEACE DISC--7/10 (the songs that do work are cool, but several could have benefited from more developed verses. Still worth getting if you're a fan, though, and the cover booklet did say that it was INTENDED to be more "dance/club-oriented", so maybe I shouldn't bitch).
PEACE!
AMERIKKKA'S MOST WANTED--10/10 (Cube merges with the Bomb Squad and sets the Hip-Hop world on fire, combining ghetto attitude with PE-style politics).
KILL AT WILL--10/10 (basically more of the same, in the style of AMW).
DEATH CERTIFICATE--10/10 (the ultimate political Rap CD. Rappers don't address issues like this CD did anymore, unfortunately. Many of these issues from '91 are still around today. Nice combo of live music with samples).
THE PREDATOR--9/10 (Cube deals with the aftermath of the Rodney King beatings and the subsequent trial, as well as the L.A. riots, and shows he can flow as well. Slightly dated, but still dope).
LETHAL INJECTION--8/10 (Cube doesn't claim much for this one nowadays, but I like it. A couple of tracks could have used more oomph, but Cube still addresses topics like no one else).
WAR DISC--7.5/10 (better now than it seemed in '98. The experimental music works in its' own way, IMHO. I figure, hey: If Cube had to adapt to the "Cristal-sippin', money grubbin'" trend in Rap, at least he did it about the best way an old-schooler could)!
PEACE DISC--7/10 (the songs that do work are cool, but several could have benefited from more developed verses. Still worth getting if you're a fan, though, and the cover booklet did say that it was INTENDED to be more "dance/club-oriented", so maybe I shouldn't bitch).
PEACE!
Oops! My bad...thanks for reminding me! I was focusing mainly on the Cube CDs that were intended as "solos with new material," and overlooked those since they were comps, but yeah, you're right. Let's do those...
BOOTLEGS & B-SIDES--9/10--this one was kind of slept-on when it came out in '94 (a time when almost everything in West Coast Rap was focused on G-Funk sounds), but I think it stands up to Cube's regular releases. "U Ain't Gonna Take My Life", "My Skin Is My Sin", and "24 Wit An L" are my favorites of the "B-Sides," and from the alternate takes, "What Can I Do?", and "Lil Ass Gee" sound better than the originals. Of the "unreleased songs," "You Don't Wanna Fuck Wit These" and "Robbin' Hood" are both tight (although I personally prefer the former song). If you can find this, get it!
FEATURING...ICE CUBE--7/10--this one could have been more complete than it was (where's "Played Like A Piano" or "A Hoe B4 Tha Homies" with King Tee?), and "Game Over" could have been left off (all Cube did there was spit the hook--no verse), but it's a capable sampler for those who don't have the CDs on which some of these first originated. Not great, but not bad either.
And (just for the hell of it) if anyone's wondering about the Westside Connection CDs...
BOW DOWN--IF you're an open-minded, West Coast Gangsta Rap fan, 10/10; if you're not, and/or if you consider New York or Cypress Hill to be sacred cows, your rating might be lower. Anyway, a lot of NYC critics (who get what they deserve on "All The Critics in NYC") claimed this CD would make the mythical East/West war go out of control, but it's simply, as Cube has often said, a call to arms for West Coast gangsta rappers to be just who they are on wax and not worry about political correctness or what snooty critics think. The only song that didn't do it for me was "Gangstas Make The World Go 'Round", but that was really only because the beat seemed a little too spare to me. Otherwise, I love this CD! WESSSSSYYYYYYYYDE!!!
TERRORIST THREATS--8/10--this doesn't quite have the same bite or venom that BOW DOWN did, but it's still WAY better than most so-called "street" rap CDs out today. Basically, Cube, Mack and Dub take some well-deserved potshots at the overall softness of mainstream Rap today ("So Many Rappers In Love") and remind us that WSCG-style street rap still is and will continue to be here, in one form or another, for those who WANT to buy and listen to it, even if the mainstream media doesn't give said street rap the attention they once did. Only track here that I can't get into it all is probably "Bangin' At The Party," but the rest of this is solid-to-excellent, depending on the song(s). Too bad that they may have broken up (according to recent posts on this board)...
PEACE!
BOOTLEGS & B-SIDES--9/10--this one was kind of slept-on when it came out in '94 (a time when almost everything in West Coast Rap was focused on G-Funk sounds), but I think it stands up to Cube's regular releases. "U Ain't Gonna Take My Life", "My Skin Is My Sin", and "24 Wit An L" are my favorites of the "B-Sides," and from the alternate takes, "What Can I Do?", and "Lil Ass Gee" sound better than the originals. Of the "unreleased songs," "You Don't Wanna Fuck Wit These" and "Robbin' Hood" are both tight (although I personally prefer the former song). If you can find this, get it!
FEATURING...ICE CUBE--7/10--this one could have been more complete than it was (where's "Played Like A Piano" or "A Hoe B4 Tha Homies" with King Tee?), and "Game Over" could have been left off (all Cube did there was spit the hook--no verse), but it's a capable sampler for those who don't have the CDs on which some of these first originated. Not great, but not bad either.
And (just for the hell of it) if anyone's wondering about the Westside Connection CDs...
BOW DOWN--IF you're an open-minded, West Coast Gangsta Rap fan, 10/10; if you're not, and/or if you consider New York or Cypress Hill to be sacred cows, your rating might be lower. Anyway, a lot of NYC critics (who get what they deserve on "All The Critics in NYC") claimed this CD would make the mythical East/West war go out of control, but it's simply, as Cube has often said, a call to arms for West Coast gangsta rappers to be just who they are on wax and not worry about political correctness or what snooty critics think. The only song that didn't do it for me was "Gangstas Make The World Go 'Round", but that was really only because the beat seemed a little too spare to me. Otherwise, I love this CD! WESSSSSYYYYYYYYDE!!!
TERRORIST THREATS--8/10--this doesn't quite have the same bite or venom that BOW DOWN did, but it's still WAY better than most so-called "street" rap CDs out today. Basically, Cube, Mack and Dub take some well-deserved potshots at the overall softness of mainstream Rap today ("So Many Rappers In Love") and remind us that WSCG-style street rap still is and will continue to be here, in one form or another, for those who WANT to buy and listen to it, even if the mainstream media doesn't give said street rap the attention they once did. Only track here that I can't get into it all is probably "Bangin' At The Party," but the rest of this is solid-to-excellent, depending on the song(s). Too bad that they may have broken up (according to recent posts on this board)...
PEACE!
