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Concert Sat Sep 13 2008
Still Amerikkka's Most Wanted?
Of existence borne by celebrity, is it better to bow out gracefully or flame out, attempting to keep the streak going while disaffected fans largely turn from you? No one wants to be the one who touts the "return" of a heavyweight when they're not really sure he can stand up to the blows of an ever-changing public. Especially when most of that public last saw him in xXx: State of the Union. You did see that, right?
Ice Cube's had his hands in a lot of different pots, but his base is being a rapper. He'll still give you the Scowl (which is trademarked). He'll still be backed up by above-average production. What old fans aren't sure of is if this is the end of the caricatured Ice Cube, who was such a departure from his image when he first showed up as a member of NWA in the late '80s. It's a testament to PR efforts that, in this age of questionable "authenticity", where hardcore thugs hawk vitamin supplements and hedonistic rockers find God, he can still produce an album that a few people will check for.
His constant recreation as cuddly actor to funny straight man and more on the big screen mirrors the change from hard-lined revolutionary to Puffed-out materialism to coast-based set-trippin'. So I guess you can excuse the buying public, especially those that watched him move through these stages, from buying too much into the "he's back! The Ice Cube I used to know and love is back!"
The rapper known as Ice Cube will take the stage tomorrow night at the House of Blues. His reticence in the past to doing "old shit" may not bode well for those who want "It Was a Good Day" or even "Bow Down." I know, though, that the scowl will still be there.
Ken / September 15, 2008 1:48 PM
XXX: State of the Union?? How soon they forget "Are We Home Yet?"...