From about 1987-1992, O’Shea Jackson was near the top of the emceeing game. While his name doesn’t necessarily come up in the same conversation as Rakim, Kane, and KRS-One, he definitely deserves to be in the conversation. Look at his body of work during that time: He was the principal writer in NWA (with a big help-out from the DOC, I think), then he put out two classic solo albums, with a dope, dope EP in between. Then came The Predator which, while not classic, was still pretty good. As with Outkast, it’s hard to put an order on this, so we’ll just pull up 15.
A Bitch Iz A Bitch – This song represented the first time I’d heard a woman really cuss hard on a record. I was actually quite shocked. That aside, ABIAB was the prototype of what I once called the “definition” record. Where some records have misogynistic content based on the actions of the characters in the songs, this one and others of its ilk try to distinguish what makes a woman a bitch. The ad-libs are pretty good too.
Straight Outta Compton (extended mix) – I just like the extended version better. Straight Outta Compton was the joint. Period. That’s all.
I Ain’t Tha 1 – The companion song to ABIAB, only with more radio-friendly lyrics. One of my more frequently-used phrases, ’spell girl with a B’ comes from this record. Oh, and the classic, ‘they get mad when I put it in perspective/ but let’s see if my knowledge is effective.’ That’s a GREAT line. Oh, and the other killer, ‘I’ll tell a girl in a minute, yo: I drive a bucket.’
Natural Born Killaz – If Cube and Dre were only gonna have one post-NWA song, I’m glad this was it. This was back during the era when we knew Cube was starting to slip, but it was like being with Dre returned him to his prime. Even though the song was as nihilistic as it wanted to be, it was hot fire. I can still remember the first time I heard it. I almost jumped out the car.
It Was A Good Day (remix) – It Was A Good Day was already a great song, but using “Let’s Do It Again” as the backing track put it over the top. Way over the top. In a way, Cube’s opening lines to the song, “Just wakin up in the morning, gotta thank God” seem to go with the track even more than the lyrics of the original song.
Jackin’ For Beats – The St. Ides commercial got my attention first, but this joint was ridiculous. Ice Cube rapping over other artists’ tracks was pure genius. He crushed it. In a way, it was like he pre-dated what The Roots and The Fugees would do later, performing other groups’ songs. He performed his song on their beats. And again with the line, “But I don’t party and shake my butt / I leave that to the brothers with the funny haircuts.”
A Bird In The Hand – Cube was good about writing about things from the everyman perspective, and A Bird In The Hand was an excellent example of that. While I don’t now, and didn’t then, think the character was as stuck as he seemed to think, I thought it explained the situation very well.
The Product – Speaking of which, if I was going to use a song that illustrated exactly what I thought early Ice Cube was about as an emcee, this would probably be it. This was Cube at his everyman finest. Telling the story of a young man from conception to incarceration, it sounds like something everybody can get next to. Particularly ironic is the tone of the song and the fact that the sample driving the song is “You Can Make It If You Try” by Sly & the Family Stone.
Once Upon A Time In The Projects – Cube’s storytelling is on display here. What impresses me so much about this record is his attention to detail. The unstable couch, the messed up black and white TV, the child with the runny nose and stinky drawls…this song doesn’t even need a video. You can see it exactly as it is.
Dopeman (remix) – Come on.
Fuck Tha Police – Among the whole crew, Cube’s verse stands way out because it puts the whole question of police brutality into a larger context. While Ren and Eazy are primarily focused on the “I’m-so-bad” element, Cube actually spends a couple lines looking at it from a systemic perspective fuck the police comin straight from the underground / a young nigga got it bad cuz I’m brown / and not the other color, some police think / they have the authority to kill a minority That pretty much summed it up for a lot of us, especially in the early 90’s.
Dead Homiez – Was this hip-hop’s first elegy? Whether it was or not, one of the lines that has stuck with me for the last 19 years is I look at this shit and I think to myself / and gotta thank God for my health / cuz nobody really ever know / when it’s gonna be they family on the front row / so I take everything slow / go with the flow/ and shut my motherfuckin mouth if I don’t know…” Those are some words to live by.
What They Hittin’ Foe – Again with Cube as everyman, but this time, he deliberately casts himself in that role. “Fuckin around in a crap game, niggas think I’m soft / cuz now I’m in the rap game and I don’t / hang out as much / bang out dope cuts / standin on stage and I’m grabbin my nuts/
No Vaseline – For my money, this is still the king of the dis tracks. Nowadays, people say so-and-so got “ethered,” referring to Nas’ track about Jay, but neither Ether nor Hit Em Up nor any of the 10000 other dis tracks that have been recorded are really fooling with No Vaseline. Cube straight eviscerated NWA on this track. And then he had the nerve to go and be right? It was crazy.
Parental Discretion Iz Advised / The Grand Finale – I count these two together because they’re kinda like the bookends of the full NWA team, with DOC actually rapping on the tracks instead of just writing for Eazy or Dre. As good as Ren and DOC came off on these tracks, Cube showed why he was that man. On The Grand Finale, he actually busts out one of the greatest forced rhymes I’ve ever heard, bordering on lyrical impressionism: “because I’m gone, you say I left you all/ but I stay in your ass like cho-les-tre-ol”
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Natural Born Killaz was THAT nice. One of the last great Cube joints. And I probably wore out that “Murder Was the Case” soundtrack back in high school.
But what about some joints from “The Predator”? I was all into “We Had to Tear this Mothaf–ka Up” and the “Check Yo Self” remix with Das Efx. It was one of his best albums, to me.
no doubt, the predator was nice. i was fully planning on putting ‘when will they shoot?’ on the list, but by the time i got towards the end, i didn’t have enough room to put a lotta records i had been planning. i prolly shoulda done a top 20, because ‘hand of the dead body’ off scarface’s album has to be on there.
Have you seen the Showtime flick, “This is the Life?” Interesting to see where Cube picked up his style.
The Good Life Cafe is gone now, but not forgotten.
“Natural Born Killaz” doesn’t get the recognition it deserved. Fire?
No.
INFERNO!!!!