Saturday Radical Culture: Ice Cube on the Death of Conscious Rap

One Response to “Saturday Radical Culture: Ice Cube on the Death of Conscious Rap”

1. 

   Shakes

   June 22, 2010 at 10:08 am #

   I hope somewhere in this annoying interview, I ce Cube acknowledges
   a) Rap wasn’t even mainstream until the mid-late ’90′s. There was NEVER an outlet for rap music like P.E., Ice T or BDP.

   b) That the rise of gangsta rap (smokin, drinkin, fuckin) definitely led to the rise of b.s. rap across the board. In fact the west v. east coast wars had everything to do with popularizing gangsta rap and dumbing down “the message”.

   c) Equality? Ice Cube’s lyrics, while often deep, have never been about “equality”. I defer to countless references to bitches, hoes and faggots to make my case.

   d) “I’m not concerned as much with sales?” – No shit, you’re a millionaire who went from making art like Amerikkka’s Most wanted and “Boyz In the Hood”, to “Are We There Yet”.

   As a kid growing up in the 90′s, I was definitely impacted and affected by Ice Cube’s music, particularly after he split from NWA. I still have my first copy of “Kill At Will”. However important his music might have been, Ice Cube traded in his vision for Bentley’s almost 20 years ago. Giving him any kind of forum to talk about “the message” is like letting Obama talk about community organizing – it’s misguided and way too late.

   I hope nobody watched this and actually took it seriously.