If Ice Cube had been able to stand by his claim in this August 1990 interview with Andy Cowan of Hip-Hop Connection, he would have been able to retire with a perfect battling average.
Straight Outta Compton, AmeiKKKa’s Most Wanted, Kill At Will and Death Certificate.
That’s a helluva discography right there. Concise, to the point, no bullshit. Had O’Shea Jackson made good his promise of retiring from rap after his second solo album in 1991, he would forever be remembered as a gifted storyteller who took no shorts when it came to his music, capable of delivering blunt social commentary and blistering dis records in the space of a few minutes.
Instead, he continued to churn out music on an annual basis, reduced to ripping off King Sun, Das-EFX and Cypress Hill when his own creative well began to dry up, eventually getting sonned by Common, for fuck sake.
Likewise, imagine if KRS-One had retired after Return of The Boom-Bap? The same could be said for most groups really…
You need to revisit The Predator.
@Merv: I did, I still don’t like it.
By the time KRS ONE got to Return of the Boom Bap, he was already kinda struggling. Up to then, all four previous albums were pretty luke warm. If only LL Cool J would have stopped after Mama Said Knock You Out. Ice T after OG. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.
NICE POST Robbie! @Don Guapo-Co-sign!
SPOT ON as always ROBBIE!@ Don Guapo-co-sign!
GREAT POST ROBBIE!@Don Guapo-I couldn’t have said it better!
ICE-CUBE been OVER!COMMON and CYPRESS HILL handed him his DEATH CERTIFICATE years ago! Sadly….THIS is the CUBE TRUE HIPHOP heads MISS!
The Predator was nowhere near the level of Cube’s first 2 1/2 but it was still pretty good. I listened to Lethal Injection once. Straight cream corn. PE, their stopping point should have been Fear Of A Black Planet, unless they could have gotten Pete Rock to remix the whole Apocalypse ’91 album.
Trying to explain to my kid how incredible ice cube was around the time of death certificate, makes me look like the best storyteller in the world, an unbelievable tale due to his west side connection work, shoddy solo output and “are we there yet?” Movies.
I never like The Predator either. That was around the time when wiggers took over. Growing up in Philly we had a real bad Wigger problem in the early-to-mid 90’s. It was a fuckin epidemic.
I however liked Lethal Injection and Bootlegs N B-Sides. And the albums he produced were classics also. K Dee, Kausion, Threattt, just to name a few.
Predator wasn’t that bad. Lethal injection was when he started biting Cypress.
Yeah and Nah. I think if you were around when those first few albums dropped, you noticed that Lethal Injection was the point he was trailing rather than leading.
Cube had always taken what was hot and made it hotter, like a Das feature and Muggs beats on Predator (which makes it weird for you to suggest these hook ups happened after the album they featured on).
Lethal Injection was a bit G Funk-lite and “really doe” sounded right on Snoop, forced on Cube.
None of which detracts from his legacy for me. If you make 3 classics you’ve won the right to do whatever the fruck you like
How did Cube bite Cypress on Lethal Injection? He had Muggs on The Predator, but L.J. sounded more like a Dre/Cold 187 rip-off (Thanks to QDIII).Both albums still had some gems though, don’t front!
yeh, 2nd The Predator, I can’t really call it jackin when he paid those people to help him get the Cypress Hill/Das EFX sound. If that’s what you can’t get behind on that album. He’s still Angry Cube and its still major.
As far as the Predator album goes, style-wise, the old Cube was long gone. The tracks and the willingness to speak on controversial matters is what prevents me from throwing that album away. Bootlegs and B-sides is the last album of Cube material that I ever purchased.
So if Roc Marci packs it in right now….Top 5 Dead/Alive?
Who has the longest catalogue w/out a fail?
My $$$ is on GangStarr from Daily Operation – Ownerz, it’s not all perfect but damn near.
Ice cube’s last good song was good day. What u want, he grew up. Of any rappers around, he goes down in history for what he’s done in hollywood, he is the shi!
One man show with public enemy type bangers, what more you want.
@ boy ugly Gang Starr was my boys from the very first time I saw the Manifest video. I was at the store on the release day for every album. My only problem with them was the crazy long lag times between albums. Hard to Earn in 94 and nothing until 98 for Moment of Truth (Gang Starr foundation was killin it for a minute) And then nothing till 2003. That’s just too long of a wait. I’m gonna have to go with Jay Z. He came correct EVERY year from Reasonable Doubt through the Blueprint imho.
Sorry @bboycult *auto correct*
@bboy and Don Guap
Cosign both! GS has arguably the illest catalog of any group. I often wonder how many more classics Pete and CL could have cranked out had they not broke up. Speaking of which is it safe to say they went on top?…
*went out on top…
If you took the best cuts from predator and lethal injection, you’d have a damn good album
I would add Da Lench Mob’s LP to the batting average, which came out in 92 a few months before Predator. Cube is all over this and it’s still incredible.
^^ melquan
You could maybe get an EP. I’m thinking “when will they shoot”, “tear this mf up” “enemy” “down 4 whatever” & ghetto bird
I forgot about Outkast. By far, they kept it thorough from beginning to end. They went out on top fasho. I don’t count Idlewild.
Robbie shut yo cracka ass up and release the damn lord finesse interview before I send m.o.p to your address
Come on guys, in any other genre of music you can make music for a lifetime no problem. Obviously your latter records aren’t going to be good as the first few if you’ve been in it for a minute. Prince’s stuff for the past couple of decades ain’t matching Purple Rain and the 80s stuff. Just let these rappers do what they love doing without reducing them or their work.
I like The Predator, but it was mos definitely nowhere near the first 2 albums and the EP. Lethal Injection had some joints, but you could tell that Cube would never again be the Cube we all loved. Bootlegs & B-Sides was the last Ice Cube album I bought. Aside from a few joints here & there over the years, I never cared for Ice Cube again. He was originally a Rapper who also acted, but then he became an Actor who also Rapped. No thanks to that!! The same shit happened with LL and Common… originally Rappers who also Acted, but then became Actors who also Rapped. *shrugs*
In all fairness, that biting of Cypress Hills hook, was not the worst biting in the history of hiphop. Worst then how he took a big bite off the artists performing around the famous Good Life Cafe, especially Volume 10.
I never heard a bad album from Masta Ace.
@Grass: That’s because retired from solo albums.
@Funkologist: Cube ripped off ‘Throw Ya Set’ for ‘Friday.’
@Oska
@Don Guap ….I agree w/the both of you
I think Jay gets caught w/the same GOAT syndrome that cancels LL out TOO MANY albums ( Vol 1 and Roc La Fam are bastard children to me )
Outkast tho…..that’s legit Speakerboxxx/Love Below is like the last dirty band aid keeping that legacy intact ( the Idlewild question tho ….haha )
Pete Rock & CL …I think they needed at least 1 more; its fucking insane how early in the game they broke up, considering ALL the music Pete has put out since, there is definitely 1 more top/bottom classic w/CL vocals in there somewhere.
What about … Eric B & Rakim ( Paid – Don’t Sweat/Tech )
Scarface ( somebody make the case for the Scarface catalogue! ) ??
Redman ( Whut – Muddy Waters )?
@PAS thats real talk about Cube biting Volume 10 cause if you listen to his flow on Amerikkkas most wanted and Death Certificate vs The Predator it changed
@Robbie I’m well aware of that, but that joint wasn’t from neither of the mentioned albums. It was featured on the ‘Friday’ soundtrack. Matter of fact B-Real even had a guest cameo in the ‘Really Doe’ video. He did bite King Sun’s hook for ‘Wicked’ though.
@bboy
I think Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em would have been a good point to throw the deuces up. Don’t Sweat The Technique I think was their Beats Rhymes and Life, overlooked when it first dropped but appreciated more with time. Speaking of the Questers, their first three albums are about as close you can come to a perfect trifecta. My dude Reggie? Everything up to Doc’s Da Name (his biggest seller yet strangely seldom mentioned) is gold, the rest being more than solid, except for that lousy Reggie joint.
What about Lord Finesse? Although he suffers from the lag in years (as mentioned with Gang Starr) between albums.
Personally, I like MF Doom from 99’s Operation Doomsday through 2009’s Born Like This) I do not count the Special Herbs. Pretty creative period.
@ Oska ….What’s crazy ( and don’t quote me on this ) but I bet HipHop has more perfect trifectas than most other genres. It seems like that should be/ Is hard as fuck to do!?! HipHop is a Mothafucka b!
@ bboy
I’m not sure about that. You gotta think, Hip-Hop didn’t get on wax ’til ’79 and the album game didn’t really step up ’til around ’86 when heads started gettin’ in those crates. There’s been a few who pulled it off but I don’t think Hip-Hop has been around long enough and in its prime long enough to really get in the ring with other genres as far as trifectas go. Country, maybe…
@oska: Considering that the album format is practically dead in the water at this point, I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
@oska: The first Tribe album wasn’t perfect though. Phife was wack on it and there were some fast fwd tracks like ‘Ham and Eggs’.
@Robbie
Notice I said “in its prime long enough”? Meaning the wonder years are long gone…
@oska: I thought you meant it was ‘still in it’s prime,’ which clearly no one in their right mind would say, so my apologies on that count.
@Robbie
Sorry, I missed your Tribe dart. You might be right as far as the first joint not being perfect but it’s still viewed as a classic. Keep it 100, we both agree that Critical Beatdown is arguably the GOAT but tell me you didn’t fast forward (or skip) Travelling At The Speed Of Thought. And Phife wasn’t totally wack on the first joint, non description as hell, maybe but not wack. Homes stepped it up so much on the next joint, he just seemed wack, lol…
*non descript…I can’t stand auto correct…
@oska: “Footprints’ and ‘Rhythm’ are the only songs from that LP that I still go back to. I don’t skip ‘Travelling’ either, I don’t mind the LP mix.
Footprints was my joint off that first Tribe album! I loved how Tip freaked that Donald Byrd sample.
@Guap
Me too. Crazy how Large Pro flipped it damn near the same time on Looking At The Front Door. My favorite joint on that album is Youthful Expression. Even though Tribe got better with the next two albums, I still go back to that first joint. I just like the vibe of it.
@Robbie
I was never a big fan of any version of that song, the original 12 inch version, the album joint or that godawful “Hip-House” remix (God bless Paul C., dude was a beast on that SP but he must have had one too many beers when he did that joint.)
Or De La Soul. You have 3 Feet High and Rising 89, De La Soul is dead 91, (does the remix album count? 92) I don’t count it, and for the third Mindstate in 93. Not perfect records but classics overall.
Or De La Soul. You have 3 Feet High and Rising 89, De La Soul is dead 91, (does the remix album count? 92) I don’t count it, and for the third Mindstate in 93. Not perfect records but classics overall.
@Oska @ Robbie ….I hear what you’re both saying; young genre/ album format dead and THAT’S what makes the possibility of what I’m saying incredible…check
Just talking artists that perfected a run with their specific style…
M.O.P ( 2 the Death -Warriorz )
El P ( Solos )
@Beard said ( and I agree ) De La ( retrospect respect for Mindstate)
Beastie Boys ( I personally would take it to Hello Nasty, but you can stop 2 lps before and they still rank) …that’s just off top.
Y’all can’t say Roc Marci isn’t 1 lp from it ( and Marci Beaucoup can be argued heavily )
Shit ….KA might have it already imho ( Iron Works gets crazy burn )
OMG! I finally agree with you!
I always said, if Cube would have never fell off, maintained unity with the east coast, 2Pac and Biggie would still be alive today … The whole trendy east vs west dumb shit trend would have never happened …