REVIEW

In the late 1980's, rap music in America was transforming. Having finally been discovered by MTV, the genre was changing from an Est Coast (mainly New York) underground type of movement to a total nationwide phenomenon. When Aerosmith and Run DMC paired up to redo _Walk This Way_, the lid got blown off. Rap was everywhere, on TV, radio, sports, and so on. But up until then it had been still mostly unnoticed by the majority of white America. That was until 1987 when some west coast self described thugs known as NWA released their debut album. Talk about scared shitless. Whitey was officially on the run. Shootin, Lootin, Killin, Hos, Bitches, Tricks and everything else vile under the sun was now splashed all the fuck over MTV. And millions of little whitey's were all about it. And their parents were scared. One of their members was a man named Oshea Jackson, better known as Ice Cube.Cube left NWA in 1989, shortly after the watershed LP _Straight Outta Compton_ over disputes with management. Cube quickly began releasing a series of politically charged, violent LP's. _Amerikkkas Most Wanted_ appeared in the spring of 1990, while _Death Certificate_ was released fifteen years ago tonight. Both albums revealed an intelligent, political, if misogynistic point of view. The beats were tight, the flow was right, Cube was acting (barely) in _Boyz n Tha Hood_ and everything was good. For a while.We all know about Rodney King. We all remember the riots. Most of us from watching TV, thinking how lucky we were not to be in L.A.. But for those who were, theirs are the lives and experiences which haunt Cube's third full length, _The Predator_This album is the cry from the hell of South Central. Violence is everywhere. In the lyrics, in the beats, song titles everywhere. If Whitey was scared before, now he wasn't coming out of the house for anything. People couldn't envision people living this way, still can't. But for the people who are there, it's their lives laid out across the vinyl, in some sick, twisted display of death and rape, drugs, and babies in the streets.For his part, Cube's relation of the struggle in south central, his recounts of the riots, his anger towards Darrell Gates, Billboard magazine, Even incoming LA police chief Willie Williams is 100% believeable. When he says "Im'a dig a ditch, bitch- and throw your ass in", you fuckin believe it. But underneath the politics and the violence is one bad ass hip hop album. The songs jump like crazy, tight ass productions, intelligent sampling, g funky ass beats predating even the g funk itself. Hip Hop isn't like this anymore. Rappers just want to be crunk gettin that bling wearin polo its all about me me me I'm so fuckin good I'm the shit the man get with me get with this. Hip hop at one time was folk music. Believe it. These guys screamed about what was going on around them, what it did to their minds, their lives, their people in the street killing each other, while the white man bulldozed evryone else underneath. And they did! White people looked down on it, condemmed it, ignored it, couldn't imagine living like it. They said people like Cube were doing nothing but sensationalizing it. Damn, all they were doing was telling the truth. Rappers today are turning their backs on the truth, all they see is that green. Remember "Cash Money" records. How about now? Even Cube himself has assimilated, but at one time his ass was like Dylan. You will not find a more true representation of the low class urban breakdown of the late 80's earl 90's than Cube's first three albums. Three completely incendiary albums I cannot do justice here. Which you have certainly figured out if you're still reading. Just go get these albums.And don't forget. Here in America we have the greatest country in the world. But when it comes down to it the Statue of Liberty ain't nothin but a lazy bitch!