I've always been an admirer of Ice Cube's pen. At first glance, though, an album like Raw Footage might seem unlikely to enthrall me. It's unshowy lyrically, Cube doesn't do much experimenting with flows or concepts, the beats are stock, programmed & unremarkable, & overall it feels like a Hollywood star with a 9-figure net worth mounting a vanity project to convince the world he's still hood.
I can't contradict any of those criticisms, but Ice Cube was always more of a spokesman for the streets than a knee-deep gangbanger, & his lens on current affairs & American absurdity has never seemed to get clouded no matter how much time he's spent in Hollywood. There's a refreshing frankness & simplicity to the best moments of latter-day Cube--I'm definitely one of those fans he's addressing with "Thank God when I bless the mic/you finally get to hear the shit that you like." The song that lyric comes from, "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It," is one of the centerpieces of the Raw Footage album, a pure expression of disgust with American hypocrisy re: violence & vulgarity, weaving in everything from the Iraq war to domestic handwringing over Don Imus's "nappy-headed hoe" scandal. The song is part of a mid-album stretch of politically aware numbers that includes the equally compelling "It Takes a Nation," where he laments the corporatization of rap ("We need to take it back, fuck Viacom [...] you motherfuckers programmed by the programmers") & celebrates being independent (Cube's Lench Mob label has released every one of his records since his 1990 solo debut) before letting us in on the key to his musical approach in the 21st century: "This shit don't sell, you know I'm still paid [...] I'm doin' it for the love." It's so refreshing to hear a famous rapper admit that he knows his music don't do big numbers--that movie money is keeping him comfortable, so he can afford to make records as a labor of love. It's what keeps the music from being watered down & compromised.
Given Cube's general disregard for popularity, it's a big awkward to hear him try to flow over trap beats or go bar for bar with Young Jeezy, so "I Got My Locs On" & "Jack in the Box" are somewhat low points on the album. Less than feeling entitled to make these sorts of songs, though, you get the impression that Cube has enough love for the culture that he wants to pay respects to current trends, however awkward the attempts end up being. On the other side of the coin, he sometimes falls into grumpy dad-rap pitfalls like his anti-music piracy rant at the start of "Tomorrow" & his outdated references to Jerry Springer & Ricki Lake.
I said at the top that the production on this album is lukewarm, but there are a few bangers nonetheless. Da Beatsmith laces "Cold Places" with dramatic orchestrals--horns, strings, bells--& a big rubbery electric bassline leading the charge. (I liked that beat so much I jacked it on my 2016 mixtape.) Da Beatsmith is also responsible for the album's other standout, "Thank God," which interpolates a bar from "Child Support" off Cube's previous album for its chorus, backed by big brass & horn stabs. The song is delivered with such conviction that you really believe it when Cube says "stop looking for the best rapper, goddamnit, here he is!" Even though the song suffers from more than the occasional struggle bar like "I'm the macaroni with the cheese, n***a please," the beat is infectious enough that he just gets away with it.
Cube's writerly integrity, his all-encompassing love for hiphop & his general refusal to trend-hop have kept his work remarkably fresh for 30+ years. Raw Footage will never be as bracing & vital as his '80s/'90s peak, but there's plenty worth returning to. Thank god the gangsta's back, indeed.
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