Ice Cube, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

In late June of 1990 the Hip-Hop world was subjected to Ice Cube's debut, solo album.

After leaving Rap supergroup NWA on bad terms (during the Winter of 1989), Cube sought to put as much distance between himself and his ex-colleagues as possible.

'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' was his medium for venting anger at the situation, as well as a manifesto of what was to come from him as a solo artist. He wasted no time in getting his jibes-in on his former bandmates though, verbally attacking Dre and Eazy-E throughout the LP (calling Dre the 'Oreo Cookie', a US snack-food that is brown biscuit on the outside and filled with white cream in the middle!).

From the opening skit: 'Better Off Dead' (in which the listener hears Cube being lead to the electric chair and eventually 'fried') to the closing track: 'The Bomb', this is an LP that makes no apologies for it's raw, candid content.

Within weeks of it's release it became a 'Gangsta' classic, finding an immediate audience with those that had previously been attracted to NWA's sound. Such was the instant success of the album that Cube's label (Capitol/Priority) immediately asked for a follow-up to be started (which emerged the following Summer as the 'Death Certificate' LP), and in the interim released a 6-track EP entitled 'Kill At Will' in order to stem the demand for more Cube (the EP being composed of extra material and remixes from the 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' sessions along with the now infamous track: 'Dead Homiez').

It shares many similarities with 'Straight Outta Compton' (for obvious reasons) but is also much more intelligent and well-polished than the 'Niggaz With Attitude', debut. Where 'Gangsta' posturing and overtly violent lyrics had once been played-out by MC's Yella, Dre, Eazy E, Ren and Ice Cube, 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' offered a more intelligent narration to everyday life in the poorer area's of the USA. Sometimes it veers into the immature, Often it steers into genius. Some may interpret it's content as an important social commentary that uses the unpolished (and curse-filled) dialect of it's surroundings, to tell stories of the commonplace struggles faced by young Black Americans. Others however will always see it's proponents as real-life murderers and thieves, confusing fable with fact, taking the words as literal accounts of an artist's character (a view that wasn't helped by people like Eazy-E, who held questionable morals and values).

Production duties for the Album were taken by Eric 'vietnam' Sadler (legendary 'Bomb Squad' producer) and Ice Cube's long-time friend Sir Jinx (who was also a member of Cube's first, Short-lived group 'CIA' in 1986/7 and who is ironically the cousin of his most-hated enemy Dr Dre).

Having toured and become friends with Public Enemy during the NWA 'media frenzy' of 1988/89, Cube turned to their producer's 'The Bomb Squad' (Eric Sadler and Hank & Keith Shocklee) to craft the sound of his first solo-outing. The New York based trio (in particular Sadler) leant their expertise to the project, sampling artists such as: Stevie Wonder, The Average White Band and Isaac Hayes (among others) and embedding them into a backdrop of heavy, bouncing beats. The laid-back and groovy, funk backdrop perfectly complimented Cube's harsh vocal delivery and gritty lyrical content.

Both Public Enemy emcees featured as guest artists on the album (albeit on seperate tracks), Chuck D lending his unmistakable voice to the track: 'Endangered Species (tales from the darkside)' and Flavor Flav providing his vocal style on the cut: 'I'm Only Out For One Thang'

With Cube having appeared as a guest emcee on Public Enemy's album: 'Fear Of A Black Planet' at the beginning of 1990, Chuck D returned the favour on a track that would become one of the high-points of 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. The first collaboration between PE and Ice Cube (which also featured a guest spot from Big Daddy Kane), came in the form of the now legendary track: 'Burn Hollywood, Burn'. An outpouring of verbal disgust against the lack of opportunity for Black actors in the Movie industry, the tune displayed a 'new' Ice Cube. It showed a glimpse of what was to come from the young, Compton-based Rapper. The heavy, booming and incisive voice of Chuck D sat well with Cube's bubbling, menace-filled tones (also being complimented brilliantly by the ever eloquent Kane), and it came as no surprise to many that their joint-effort on Cube's first album maintained the standard that: 'Burn Hollywood, Burn' had set.

Flavor Flav on the otherhand, joined Ice Cube for a track that plumbed new depths of pointless, ignorance. Showing Cube's often-criticised lack of respect for the Female sex, 'I'm Out For One Thang' displayed an Emcee who was full of personal hypocrisies (Cube) and one who continued to build on his 'Cartoon' persona by talking nonsense (Flav).

Sir Jinx produced a large portion of the album, also choosing to blend old-school funk riffs with bassy, bouncing beats (although his sound is darker than Sadler's), often working with The Bomb Squad and Ice Cube on idea's for the project. Jinx went on to produce material for Da' Lenchmob (the loose connection of emcee's and alleged gang members that came from Cube's neighbourhood) and has contributed to every Ice Cube album to the present day.

Various Lenchmob members supplied background vocals or 'skit' voices including: Kam, Chilly-Chill, T-Bone, J-Dee, Del (tha funkee homosapien) and KD, all of whom combined to create a recording of menace and passion that had only been heard from Public Enemy before then.

Just like the style of Rap that he utilizes, Ice Cube is full of personal contradictions and often comes under criticism for the 'offensive' language he uses and the lyrical content he employs. Some find it difficult to see past the expletives, to the (often) important messages contained within. Others fixate on the 'less-mature' or even downright misogynystic aspects of his music. After nearly 20 years in the music industry as a major recording artist and having become a leading Actor and Producer in the movies ( the very 'Hollywood' that he was 'Burning' with Chuck in 1990 for it's lack of black opportunities......and who says Hip-Hop can't help to change things?), Ice Cube has proved that he has a good head for business. One can't help but wonder if the West-Coast Rapper has played the media at their own game and used controversy as an advertising tool throughout his long career. Looking back it is clear to see that he had learned a great deal about handling the media from his brief time as a member of NWA.

Aged just 19, the young O'Shea Jackson suddenly found himself in the 'World's Most Dangerous Group' (a phrase coined by the group and subsequently used by the media as their descriptive slogan). The press-reaction to their first album was unprecedented, it being one of the first times (but certainly not the last) that Rap music seemed to scare the US Government and Middle-America (it's release even being discussed by the FBI at the time). The subsequent Media circus that transpired, helped to induce the 'Gangsta' era of Hip-Hop and propelled sales of 'Straight Outta Compton' beyond all expectations.

Who else in Hip-Hop could be criticized for his liberal use of 'Sexist' language and views, while signing to a Female business manager (ex-Priority records bigwig, Pat Charbonnet who still represents him to this day). Which other Emcee would 'answer' those same criticisms by including a track on his debut in which he purposefully spat verses of sexist venom, only to have his friend Yo-Yo (Female member of Da' Lenchmob and subsequently successful solo artist) spit-back with 'pro-women' lyrics of her own.

Ice Cube has always been an artist of intricate hypocrisies and conflicting metaphors, one who can be found frequently urging his fellow Black Americans to better themselves (such as on the track 'Endangered Species (tales from the darkside)' ), while simultaneously displaying an apparent ignorance towards other human beings (such as on the track: 'I'm Only Out For One Thang').

It's true to say though, that where NWA continued to plough the fields of Government-Baiting and extreme hostility (their Second Album: 'Efil 4 Zaggin' being banned in the UK even before it's official release), Cube seemed to be exploring more 'mature' subjects (for the most part) and cementing his name firmly into the future of Rap music. It is no coincidence that the only two members of the original NWA line-up who have enjoyed long and prosperous careers (Dr Dre and Ice Cube), are the only two that developed their sound and style beyond the 'ultraviolence' of the 1989/90 'Gangsta' phenomenon. MC Ren, MC Yella and Eric 'Eazy-E' Wright continued with their respective music careers after the demise of 'The World's Most Dangerous Group', only to find that without personal progression comes musical stagnation and public disinterest (Eazy-E being particularly stubborn with his homophobic, sexist and overtly nasty views being flaunted on wax, until his premature demise from the AIDS virus in March of 1995).

It is a fair argument to say that Ice Cube's music displays the frailties and hypocrisies of human-nature itself, although it seems clear that with the passing of time he has gained a more political and intelligent grasp on the English language.

During a press conference in 1990, Cube was asked to address the media disapproval to the release of 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. Instead of adopting an arrogant, obnoxious and confrontational stance (as Dr Dre and Eazy-E would repeatedly do in the press over the following year), He calmly stated: "A lot of people took mixed messages from my album, so I'm just going to have to make my writing clearer in the future".

Subject matters tackled on 'AmeriKKKa's......' include: Institutionalized racism, The working-class struggle, The futility of Black-on-Black violence, Personal relationships, Street violence, Sexual promiscuity, R&B on the radio, Capitalism, Government conspiracies, Rhyming skill and Self-empowerment (to name just some of the topics on the album).

Cuts like: 'What They Hittin' Foe' with it's vivid description of a backroom game (complete with it's 'ever-building' collage of drum-hits and rhythmic scratches), showed that the young O'Shea could match Emcee's like Big Daddy Kane or KRS-One with his visceral, storytelling.

Another outstanding moment on the LP comes in the form of: 'Once Upon A Time In The Projects', a raw and realistic account of the everyday dangers faced by American Black youth.

It was moments such as these that gave the listener a sign that 'Gangsta' Rap was about to change. Where once (only 12 months earlier in fact) it had meant an output of untamed aggression and genuine violence without remorse, Cube's debut introduced a sense of guilt, human-emotion and maturity into the cooking-pot.

It's hard to do justice to such a musical work in a written review, as the overall influence and effect that it had on the Rap world is probably more impressive than the actual material it contains (it wouldn't be until the release of his 'Death Certificate' LP the following year that the world would hear the 'perfected' sound of the 'Ice Cube' we have come to know).

It caused controversy and celebration in equal measure, yet it would be incorrect to ignore what it did for Black music as a whole (and indeed, what it did for West-Coast Rap generally).

The album changed Ice Cube's career forever and allowed him to bring other artists through to the Hip-Hop conciousness. The solo careers of artists such as Yo-Yo, Sir Jinx, Chilly-Chill and Del Tha' Funkee Homosapien (Cube's cousin), would probably have never existed without the release of 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted'. Hardcore groups like Da' Lenchmob and Cypress Hill (who Cube championed and 'represented' in their early days) also owe a direct debt of gratitude to the emergence of the album.

Whichever way it will be remembered, Ice Cube's first solo effort was and is an incredibly important one. With a taste like Marmite (either loved or loathed), 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' will continue to excite, educate and titillate it's new young fans as well as antagonize, offend and scare their parents (just the way it was intended at it's conception 18 years ago).