Like many who put stock in the right-wing diatribe of the early-1990s, I once believed the Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King verdict were the result of profiteering gangbangers-turned-entertainers who set out to turn their so-called art into a contrived reality.
Then, I listened to Ice Cube, and his chronicles of South Central via AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Death Certificate, The Predator and Lethal Injection. The skies opened wide, the truth rained down upon me, and from the heavens he bellowed:
"To get some respect, we had to tear this mothafucka up!"
Understood.
It's been more than a decade since "Tear This Mothafucka Up" first appeared on the post-King tour de force, The Predator, Ice Cube's third and arguably greatest full-length solo album.
The first Bush was on his way out, and soon thereafter, Cube, along with the rest of us, became "Clintonized," at peace with himself, his community and, most importantly, his fat wallet.
For whatever reason, The Albums That Shook A Nation are back, and in full accord with the again mounting frustration of urban America and the country at-large.
Among the re-releases of the aforementioned masterpieces are the Kill At Will EP included within the AmeriKKKa disc; remixes of "Check Yo Self" and "It Was a Good Day" on The Predator; and Ali Shaheed Muhammad's [A Tribe Called Quest] remix of "What Can I Do" on Lethal Injection.
It's a collection of work that not only tells the unabridged story of South Central, but also stands as the most intellectual and political statement West Coast hip-hop ever delivered.
Reach the reporter at joe.watson@asu.edu.
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What we thought... |
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The Albums That Shook A Nation Ice Cube Priority Records
(out of four) |
