Album Review: Ice Cube - Raw Footage

Grade: B

The last time I drove home from the record store, I did something I hadn’t done in a very long time: I opened up a CD I just bought and immediately put it in my deck to listen to on the way home. There’s very little material that comes out these days that can excite me like that. What was even more surprising to me is that the album that inspired me was Raw Footage by Ice Cube. At one time my favorite rapper, Cube is someone who I hadn't cared about musically since I was in college. The best thing he's has his name on the past 15 years with Three Kings. And while the album isn’t a throwback to Cube’s golden age, it’s better than I ever realistically could have hoped it would be, and probably as good as he could be expected to have released.

It’s no secret that hip-hop artists do not age well. Ice Cube is no exception. Twenty years ago (damn, did I just type that?), Ice Cube was undoubtedly one of the baddest motherfuckas on the planet. Now, as The Boondocks cartoon noted, he’s mostly known as the guy who does family films. Bad ones at that. Not so coincidentally, his latest one bombed over the weekend. The last time I bought a full-length album of original material by my once favorite rapper was 15 years ago (damn, did I just type that?). Sadly, Cube hadn’t much in the way of good music between then and now: a pair of concept albums (War and Peace), two ill-conceived albums with the “super-group” Westside Connection, one aborted N.W.A. reunion, and one uneven independent album, Laugh Now, Cry Later.

But Cube has bucked the odds, and creates a solid album with Raw Footage. Is it outstanding? No. Does it make you forget about the bullshit that he pumped out for the last decade or so? No. But it does show that Cube still has the ability to craft dope songs, a cohesive album, and be a different sort of bad motherfucka, all while staying “raw as a dirty needle.”

One reason Raw Footage is successful is because Cube lyrically doesn’t try too hard to remake himself to be “relevant” to 16-yea-olds. There’s little more painful to watch these days than rappers in their late thirties or early forties trying to be young and hip. As one of the few rappers that has actually achieved lasting success inside and outside hip-hop, Cube doesn’t spend Raw Footage bragging about his riches. He spends much of the album saying how unimpressed he is with the crop of “bling” rappers flossing on Cribs and making jackasses of themselves.

There are moments of Raw Footage where Cube’s progression over the last 20 year is crystal clear. Cube spits fire on “It Takes a Nation,” “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It,” and “Here He Come,” where Cube damn near recaptures his golden age magic. “Get Used To It,” featuring WC and The Game, is another winner; the track is remarkable in the sense that The Game doesn’t came off like a whiny bitch. Cube also spends time rapping about hope, closing the album with the fairly inspiring “Stand Tall” and “Take Me Away,” and are only minimal in their heavy-handedness (a Hilary Clinton dis is unnecessary at this point).

The album isn’t perfect. The album actually begins on a sour note with “I Got My Locs On,” a dull track featuring Young Jeezy. Another is “Why Me?” featuring the vocal stylings of Musiq Soulchild. I’m sorry, but songs with R&B crooners, much less neo-soul singers, have NO place on an Ice Cube album. The production is also a weak spot, as too many tracks lay on thick layers of heavy keyboards and synths. It’s not offensively bad, but it’s pretty generic fare, best suited for rappers with “Lil’” or “Yung” in front of their names. There’s also an inordinate amount of Don Imus references, which seem really dated after only a year or so.

In a perfect world, Raw Footage would been a complete return to form for a revitalized Ice Cube, once again ready to put his foot squarely in the collective asses of the American power structure. And while I’m aware this isn’t a perfect world, it puts a smile on my face that Cube still has the ability to make good music and kick a little ass when he wants too. And in this world of lowered expectations, I’m happy enough with my once favorite rapper releasing something respectable 15 years past his prime.