Plan Your Own Good Day In L.A.

Now one music fan has taken it one step further and figured out–based on the clues given in the song–the EXACT DATE that Ice Cube’s Good Day took place.

The genius who runs the  MurkAvenue Tumblr deciphered the dates, quotes and basketball schedules mentioned in the song to pin point which day in the 90s was Ice Cube’s Good Day. It’s all in fun of course but a great piece of detective work…

CLUE 1:
“went to short dogs house,
they was watching Yo MTV
RAPS”
Yo MTV RAPS first aired:
Aug 6th 1988
CLUE 2:
Ice Cubes single “today was a good day” released on:
Feb 23 1993
CLUE 3:
”The Lakers beat the Super
Sonics”
Dates between Yo MTV Raps air date AUGUST 6 1988 and the release of the single FEBRUARY 23 1993 where the Lakers beat the Super Sonics:
Nov 11 1988    114-103
Nov 30 1988    110-106
Apr    4 1989    115-97
Apr  23 1989    121-117
Jan  17 1990    100-90
Feb  28 1990    112-107
Mar  25 1990    116-94
Apr  17  1990    102-101
Jan  18  1991    105-96
Mar  24  1991    113-96
Apr  21  1991    103-100
Jan  20  1992    116-110
CLUE 4:
Dates of those Laker wins over SuperSonics where it was a clear day with no Smog:
Nov 30 1988
Apr   4  1989
Jan 18  1991
Jan 20  1992

So out of those four dates, which was it? CLICK HERE FOR THE ANSWER!

Funny enough, I had just been wondering which member of the New York Knicks Biggie Smalls would have hypothetically robbed on the fictional “A Story To Tell” from Life After Death. And when. I’ll share my findings on March 9th.

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“Eye For An Eye” centers on a complex man, played by Ice Cube, who is a veteran paramedic. After too many years of leaving the scenes of violent crimes with a victim struggling to live in the back of his ambulance, he snaps and starts going eye for an eye. When his thirst for revenge proves addictive, his personal life spirals out of control as he tries to reconcile it with his newfound life as a vigilante.

Cube will continue to executive produce “Are We There Yet?,” his film-turned-sitcom that airs on TBS. Since “Eye For An Eye” hasn’t gone into production, a premiere date has not yet been set.

Get the rest of the details about Ice Cube’s new TV show here.

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Harrelson plays a rogue cop named Dave Brown who is caught on camera beating a suspect and Ice Cube is Kyle Timkins, the internal affairs officer investigating the case. The film opens in theaters on January 27, 2012. (props to Blackthespian.com)

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10. Tropical Fantasy
Coming straight out of the BK, Tropical Fantasy won our taste buds over with its cheap price. Being that the bottling company was small, there was very little advertising for the soft drink. Though the hood drink was tasty, fervent rumors would lead to its demise. Gossip of the drink having secret ingredients that would cause men to become sterile spread like wild fire. That misinformation caused people to refer to it as “Tropical Fanticide.” Once talk of the KKK being behind the company only distributing in the inner city, violence happened to stores who sold the refreshment. In other words, our Tropical Fantasy turned into a Tropical Nightmare.

9. Olde English
Olde English malt liquor had been around for decades before gaining headway in urban communities in the eighties and nineties. By that time, there were a variety of sizes. Most of the hood reached for the forty ounce bottle cloaked in a brown paper bag. The height of its fame came in John Singleton’s hood classic, Poetic Justice. When the gang stops for something to quench their thirst, Regina King gets a little indignant about a white liquor store not having the malt beverage. Her actions caused Janet Jackson to scold her, “Girl, you know they don’t sell that outside of the black neighborhoods!” Truer words have yet to be spoken.

8. Cisco
It’s one of the cheapest drinks on the market if you’re trying to get drunk. It’s probably one of the worst when it comes to health. From personal experience, the darker the color of your bottle of ‘Sco, the bigger the hole it left in your liver. Thank heavens I’m not reduced to tolerating that mess anymore. You might not have felt well the day after, but the the party sure felt good when Cisco was in your system. Or was that just me? Don’t front. You know the exact feeling I’m talking bout.

7. Colt 45
Billy Dee Williams was the coolest brother around, back in the day. So when he said to drink Colt 45, you drank Colt 45. His long standing relationship with the company during the Regan Era caused a lot of backlash for the actor. His response to the criticism? “I drink, you drink. Hell, if marijuana was legal, I’d appear in a commercial for that too.” So Black America was left with a choice, just say no or do what Billy Dee said. Needless to say, Colt 45 made a lot of money in its heyday. By the way, that extra kick it advertised having was not a game.

6. St. Ides
During the golden years of Hip Hop, St. Ides was the malt liquor of choice. Mainly because rappers of that time were placed in the ads. Method Man & Redman guzzled the drink. As did Cypress Hill and other rap acts. Chuck D famously sued the manufacturing company for using his voice without permission for one of their commercials. He had taken a stand against the slinging of malt liquor to the black community. Although many rappers appreciated its taste, the biggest name check came from Common in his evisceration of Ice Cube on “The Bitch In Yoo.” He clowned O’Shea Jackson for being hypocritical with the line, “Hypocrite, I’m filling out your death certificate/Slanging bean pies and St. Ides in the same sentence.” Damn, Common, why you had to do him like that?

5. C&C Soda
For years, residents of the inner city have speculated what the two C’s stood for. No matter what you thought the reason was, that fact still remains they are “cold” and “cheap”. Costing a measly fifty cents, C&C soda was in more hoods than crack cocaine and weed combined. Junkies couldn’t always afford to get a fix of dope, but there was hope in finding loose change to sip on one of these chilled carbonated concoctions.

4. E&J
Good ole Easy Jesus. That’s what most people in New Jersey called it. Back when you had to use a fake I.D. to get liquored up, this was the libation of choice. Cheaper than other brandys, E&J was the blame for a great deal of reckless behavior. The term “coyote ugly” came from a woman who had drank too much E&J one night and slept with a man she found to be disgusting. She felt she’d rather gnaw her arm off than risk waking the guy up. That’s coyote ugly and that’s why most people over the age of 21 don’t drink it anymore.

3. 4 Loko
When you’re a company and your product gets banned, you know two things; 1)Energy drinks and alcohol don’t mix and 2)put in the wrong hands, it can be deadly. From the accounts I’ve heard, after drinking a 4 Loko, people have urinated on themselves in public without shame. They’ve also passed out in the most random places, like a snow bank in the middle of a police parking lot. If that’s what 4 Loko is all about, I’m good.

2. Hennessy
Henny has been the street pharmacist’s poison since its inception in the seventies. You can thank the younger hip hop heads for the resurgence of interest in Hennessy. When 2pac was alive he wrote a song called, “Hennessy.” He said the drink represented the thug lifestyle. If you aren’t a thug, you aren’t missing much with this cognac. You heard of the adage, “Less is more.” They had to have had Henny in mind.

1. Quarter Waters
When talking about drinks in the hood, how could quarter waters not get a mention?! More sugary than the Kool-Aid your auntie with Diabetes makes it and cheaper than anything else in the bodegas, quarter waters became an instant favorite. Distributed in various colors, your tongue would change to the color of whatever flavor you sampled. The only problem with the hood favorite was the sharp plastic. You had to drink those things in two swallows as not to risk slicing your lips. Why does something so good have to be so dangerous?

The Book Of David, Quik’s 9th album, drops tomorrow, April 19th!

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Cube is set to co-direct and co-produce the film with Mark Alvarez, his partner in Cube Vision productions.  Cube will also co-write the film with Eva Vives, who wrote the 2002 drama Raising Victor Vargas.

The film was originally set to have a very dark and gritty tone, but with Disney on board, the story has been reworked. The film will be about a fatherless young teen who begins to rebuild a car that once belonged to his father.  Ice Cube will be featured in the film as a friend of the teen’s father.  In rebuilding the car together, the two begin to heal after their loss.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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The deal for the sitcom was recently signed and now the hunt has begun for a team of writers for the show. “Once we get that we will have a name and we will definitely be filming this year, you’ll be hearing a lot about that,” Bow Wow told AllHipHop.com.

Producer Jermaine Dupri is on board to do the music for the sitcom.

“I told JD when Will [Smith] had his own show ["The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"], Quincy Jones did all the music so it’s only right that he does mine,” Bow Wow revealed. “So I got him doing all the scores to the TV show.”

Bow Wow & Cube have previously worked together on the films Lottery Ticket and All About The Benjamins.

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From AdAge.com:

Ice Cube will appear in ads by Chicago-based multicultural agency Commonground, in which he stares down Coors Light bottles in a battle of who’s colder. The spots hold promise of crossover appeal, judging by the spirited reaction last week by the overwhelmingly white, middle-age audience of distributors, who gave most of MillerCoors’ other new creative only polite applause.

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Hill and Tatum are slated to play two undercover cops working in high schools.  Cube would star as the duo’s boss, Captain Dickson.

Filming is scheduled to begin in April.

The original “21 Jump Street” television series starred Johnny Depp and Holly Robinson-Peete.

Source: Variety

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The tracklist for Lil’ Wayne’s new EP, I’m Not A Human Being, was revealed today, and we couldn’t help but notice that the first track on the album was called “Gonorrhea.”  That inspired us to go back and listen to some our favorite hip-hop records that dealt with STD’s.

With STDs affecting the African-American community at an alarming rate, we figured now’s as good a time as any to put this list together!

Kool Moe Dee “Go See The Doctor”

Kool Moe Dee’s 1986 single “Go See The Doctor” may have been the first hip-hop song to directly address STDs.  The hilarious song is a bonafide hip-hop classic and set Kool Moe Dee’s solo career in motion!

I rocked her to the left / rocked her to the right / She felt so good / Hugged me so tight / I said “Goodnight / Three days later / Woke up fussing / Yelling and cussing / Drip drip dripping / and puss puss pushing / I went to the bathroom and said “Mama Mia!” / I’m a kill that girl next time I see her

88 Keys feat. Redman “The Burning Bush”

From 88 Keys’ The Death Of Adam concept album, Redman tells a tale about catching syphilis from some random girl he hooked up with.

Got drunk got high then I took a p*ss / I’m like… Aww s**t! / Knowing that it’s syphilis I got scary / Cuz every pee drop was hotter than curry!

Wu-Tang Clan “America”

Taken from the Red Hot Foundation’s America Is Dying Slowly compilation, Wu-Tang’s “America” was just one of many songs that dealt with the AIDS epidemic in the country.

Yo, as she lay, she wore a silk gray negligee / Alizé pours, the radio play, Marvin Gaye / What’s Going On? As she screams Sexual Healing / Couldn’t fight the feeling her legs hit the ceiling / Hittin all positions dipped in for quick love / She’s professional she does this shit in strip clubs / Flied in June until she Acquired Immune Deficiency / Now misery is the Syndrome

Boogie Down Productions “Jimmy”

KRS-One isn’t known as “The Teacher” for no reason.  In “Jimmy,” the Blastmaster educated hip-hop heads about the importance of wearing condoms.

When Jimmy releases, boy it pleases / But what do you do about all these diseases? / Jimmy is Jimmy, no matter what / So take care of Jimmy cos you know what’s up / ‘Cuz now in winter AIDS attacks / So run out and get your Jimmy Hats / It costs so little for a pack of three / They’re Jimmy Hats for the winter attack

Ice Cube “Look Who’s Burnin’”

One of our personal favorites, Ice Cube’s tale of running into an old flame at the free clinic while he was there to pick up some free condoms (suuuure, Cube), is one of the best songs in hip-hop about safe sex.

Yo, it ain’t my fault you got the heebie-jeebies / But you still try to act like you didn’t see me / So I walk over, and say “Hi, b***h don’t try to act surprised” / You shoulda put a sock on the pickle / And your p***y wouldn’t be blown’ smoke signals.”

A Tribe Called Quest “Pubic Enemy”

“Bonita Applebum”‘s line about all the “crazy prophylactics” that Q-Tip and crew had weren’t their only acknowledgment to the need to stop the spread of STDs.

Suddenly, she’s been distracted / By something that has been attracted / She poked and poked and smacked at it / Then she broke down and she scratched it / Now, I think you understand / Clinic, saw the doctor flex his biceps / Then he picked up a pair of forceps / Her pretty face showed fright / Right then and there, she fainted / A really grim picture is painted / The brotha who she acquainted / Was the enemy, scary ain’t it? / The Pubic Enemy

Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg “Nuthin’ But A G Thang”

Snoop Dogg dropped a little nugget of wisdom in his verse on Dre’s classic single.  These are words to live by, folks!

Perfection is perfected, so I’ma let ‘em understand / from a young G’s perspective / And before me dig out a b***h I have ta’ find a contraceptive / You never know she could be earnin’ her man / and learnin’ her man – and at the same time burnin’ her man / Now you know I ain’t with that s**t, Lieutenant / Ain’t no p***y good enough to get burnt while I’m up in it

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Eminem “I’m Shady”

We still don’t know if Em was joking or being serious when he spit these lines…

That’s why I’m still broke and had the number one club hit / But they love it when you make your business public / So f**k it, I’ve got herpes while we on the subject / And if I told you I had AIDS y’all would play it / cause you stupid motherf*****s think I’m playin when I say it

Ol Dirty Bastard “Raw Hide”

Dirt McGirt wasn’t exactly a poster child for safe sex, as he fathered 13 children. In the song “Raw Hide,” ODB makes it known that sharing needles is a sure fire way to get the HIV virus.

Imagine, gettin shot up with Ol Dirty insulin / You bound to catch AIDS or somethin / Not sayin I got it, but n***a if I got it you got it!!

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10.

Movie: Four Brothers
Ractor: (Marky Mark)Mark Wahlberg(sorry Andre 300) as Bobby Mercer

Released in 2005 with an all-star cast: Tyrese, Andre 3000, Mark Wahlberg and Terrance Howard, Four Brothers bordered the line of ridiculousness and cool. Mark Wahlberg’s performance of a hot-headed rebellious foster son seemed effortless.

9.

Movie: 16 Blocks
Ractor: Mos Def as Eddie Bunker

Bruce Willis and Mos Def? However these two managed to come together in a film about a lazy cop and framed baker is irrelevant–their chemistry and acting abilities overshadow the randomness. Although Mos Def’s voice was truly annoying and almost unbearable it added to the innocence of his character.

8.

Movie:8 Mile
Ractor: Eminem as Rabbit

Eminem didn’t have to dig too deep to get into character as Rabbit, the story was about him. But it’s Eminem’s dedication to the role that gets him a spot on this list.

7.

Movie: Friday
Ractor: Ice Cube as Craig Jones

The Hood classic “Friday” had a budget of $3.5 millions dollars and grossed over $20 million dollars in its first week. Craig and his always high side-kick Smokey had to come up with $200 by the end of the night for Big Worm. All hell broke loose when big-bully ex wrestler Debo’s money was stolen out of his apartment. Craig knocked him the f*ck out just like he did his first major acting role.

6.

Movie: Bad Boys
Ractor: Will Smith(The Fresh Prince) as Mike

Having grossed over 10 billion dollars in sales for all his blockbusters Will Smith is one of the greatest “raptors” of all time. Will Smith played his bad boy, sexy, cool cop role to a tee!

5.

Movie: Paid In Full
Ractor: Camron as Rico

Cam’ron proves to us over and over that he is smarter then his dumb rhymes. Cam played the perfect Rico. Coming from slinging rocks before rap he really embodied his corrupt character.

4.

Movie: New Jack City
Ractor: Ice-T as Scotty Appleton

Ice-T, going against all his “I hate cop” verses delivered a believable police officer performance. You would of though he would play either Pookie or the drug dealer but he went the other way.

3.

Movie: Juice
Ractor: Tupac as Bishop

Tupac Shakur attended a performing arts school with Jada Pinkett while growing up so you can expect nothing less than a great performance on the screen. His character in Juice was ruthless and as gutter as it gets, he truly made the transition from rapping into acting look easy!

2.

Movie: Boyz In The Hood
Ractor: Ice Cube as Darren

Ice Cube and John Singleton teamed up for the first time with “Boyz In The Hood” and a hood classic was born.  Ice Cube delivered a riveting performance of a young man straight out of jail living a life of gang-banging. His greasy Jheri curl couldn’t even steal the scene!

1.

Movie: Set It Off
Ractor: Queen Latifah as Cleo

The number one spot belongs to and is very well deserved by Queen Latifah. Men and women both respect “Cleo” for how she went out in “Set It Off.” She played a lesbian bank robber with more balls than the typical male. The Queen owned the movie with her brash personality and corn-rows. This movie of all women tops off our list!

**Honorable Mentions**

Bow Wow- Roll Bounce
Rah Digga- 13 Ghosts

Roll the credits…

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The only reason most people tuned in to the BET Hip Hop Awards last night was to see they cyphers.

If you were able to make through 120 minutes of black men screaming in to microphones while walking back and forth on stage, you were probably relieved every time one of the cyphers came on and some people who could actually rap got some screen time.

We certainly were, until we couldn’t take anymore and decided to catch up on the hours of programming on our DVR.

If you missed the cyphers, check them out below!

The G.O.O.D. Music Cypher: Kanye West, Common, Big Sean, CyHi Da Prince, Pusha T

Raekwon, Bones Brigante, Wiz Khalifa, Yelawolf

Tyga, Kuniva, Diamond, Royce Da 5’9″

Rev Run & his sons Diggy and JoJo, Ice Cube & his sons OMG and Doughboy

Reek Da Villain, Zawcain, Mickey Factz

Videos courtesy of Yardie!

Who killed it in each cypher?  Let us know your opinion in the comments!

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Common and Ice Cube were engaged in a vicious war of words in the mid-1990′s.

The situation almost turned violent until The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan held a meeting at his Chicago mansion and urged the rising rap stars to peacefully resolve their differences.

Since then, both artists have gone on to have immense success on the silver screen.

Ice Cube, who recently produced the series Are We There Yet? for TNT, has starred in groundbreaking flicks like Boyz N Tha Hood, in addition to executive producing and starring in his own hit movies like Friday and Barbershop.

“When we had our little issues in the 90s we sat down with Farrakhan and he told us why we needed to be brothers and squash it,” Ice Cube told AllHipHop.com. “Since then, I aint never had an ill feeling towards Common. We’ve seen each other on several occasions and it’s all love, like it never happened. I’d be down to do a movie anytime. Anytime.”

Read the whole article on AllHipHop.com!

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The news is significant because the pair had one of the most legendary and well chronicled feuds in Hip-Hop.

Ice Cube and Common went back and forth over Common’s classic song “I Used to Love H.E.R.” from his 1994 album Ressurection.

The track drew the wrath of Ice Cube and his group Westside Connection, who released the track “Westside Slaughterhouse” in 1995, which featured Mack 10 and W.C.

Common then replied the same year, with a scathing diss titled “The B**ch” in Yoo,” which was produced by Pete Rock.

The beef between the two camps grew so intense that it took a sit down with The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in 1997 – in the aftermath of the unsolved murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. – to successfully diffuse the mounting tension within Hip-Hop.

“Point blank, when Cube and I had beef, I was a fan of his first and foremost, I grew up like loving Cube,” Common told AllHipHop.com. “I still respected him as an artist, but I had to come at him. It’s like a boxer; if somebody challenge you in the ring, you got to go at him. But we all good now, and maybe we can produce a movie together or something.”

Read the whole article at AllHipHop.com!

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Oshea Jackson’s children have been found safe, but not before she made the news due to her unique name and forehead tattooo.

From L.A. Weekly

LAPD have put out an alert looking for a woman who allegedly abducted the three children she was ruled incapable of caring for in Arkansas. She’s apparently brought them to L.A. Police lament that they have no photos, but they do offer a revealing clue to help find the woman.

She’s 39 years old, five-foot-seven inches tall, African American woman with black hair and brown eyes. Most revealing: She has her name “Oshea Jackson” and “Ice Cube” tattooed on her forehead.

Read The Whole Story

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Ice Cube may not have been able to get Dr. Dre in the studio for his upcoming album, I Am The West, but he did get two rappers very dear to his heart to make guest appearances on the album:  his sons Doughboy and OMG.

Doughboy (named after Cube’s character in the film Boyz N Da Hood) and OMG (hopefully not named after the Usher song), join their father on two songs on the record, “She Couldn’t Make It On Her Own” and “Y’all Know How I Am.”

Take a listen to “She Couldn’t Make It On Her Own,” produced by Bangladesh.

Are Ice Cube’s sons a chip off the old block cube?  Let us know in the comments!

Ice Cube’s 9th album, I Am The West, hits stores on September 28th!

1. A Boy Was Conceived
2. Soul On Ice
3. Life In California (feat. Jayo Felony & WC)
4. She Couldn’t Make It On Her Own (feat. OMG & Doughboy)
5. Urbanian
6. Y’all Know How I Am (feat. OMG, WC, Doughboy & Maylay)
7. Too West Coast (feat. WC & Maylay)
8. I Rep That West
9. Drink The Kool-Aid
10. No Country For Young Men
11. It Is What It Is
12. Hood Robbin
13. Your Money Or Your Life
14. Nothin’ Like L.A.
15. All Day, Everyday
16. Fat Cat

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Popular movie rating site RottenTomatoes.com has been keeping tabs on the highs and lows of Ice Cube’s movie career. From his forays into action (Anaconda, Trespass, XXX:State Of The Union) to more family-friendly flicks, (Are We There Yet? The Long Shots) Cube has established a respectable resume in Hollywood. With his latest movie, The Lottery Ticket, opening today the RT team did a roundup of his highest rated movies based on user votes.

Which ones made the top of the list? Click over to RottenTomatoes.com to find out!

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What would you do if you won the lottery? Borrowing liberally from the Friday movie template Ice Cube and Bow Wow give us their answer to that oft-asked question.

Drafting a supporting cast of Brandon T. Jackson, Terry Crews, Loretta Divine and many more of Black Hollywood’s neophytes and veterans, Lottery Ticket has hopes of being the next in a long-line of “tales from the hood” to earn a spot in your DVD collection. But is it worthy? Here are five good reasons to check it out.

1.    Bow Wow—Admit it ladies–when 13 year old Shad Gregory Moss hit the hip-hop scene we took one look at those baby caramel eyes and skin and thought the same thing: “When he grows up that boy is gonna be trouble!”  Out of the oncoming slew of rappers making a run for the silver screen, Bow Wow is ahead of the pack.  After an impressive turn in 2005’s “Roll Bounce” Bow Wow brings an endearing earnestness to his portrayal of an 18 year old boy in the hood with a lottery ticket and a dream.

2.   Brandon T. Jackson—Nick Cannon has made no secret that he plans on being the ‘next’ Will Smith, but he may have to sit this round out with Brandon T. Jackson on the scene.  If you remember his riotously funny turn as Al Pacino in “Tropic Thunder” you know what I’m talking about.  Jackson also knows how to dial down the humor as witnessed in this year’s “Percy Jackson & The Olympians.”  In ‘Lottery Ticket’ Jackson and Bow Wow share an easy onscreen camaraderie which lends to some of the funniest moments in the movie.

3. Fight Night –Deciding to let the young’uns take the lead, Ice Cube channels his inner “Pops” in his role as Mr. Washington, the neighborhood recluse.  With his slow, shuffling gait and snow-white hair, this retired boxer offers a piece of invaluable, level-headed advice: “protect yourself at all times.”

4. Teairra Mari Needs A Sponsor—No urban coming-of-age movie is complete without the beautiful and heartless gold-digger right?  As Nikki Swayze, the neighborhood hottie who set her sights on Bow Wow and his newfound fortune, Teairra Mari makes a convincing case to men everywhere as to why you should always have a condom—and a prenup.

5. Foot Fetish—“The Lottery Ticket” may go down in history as the world’s first sneaker porn flick. When Bow Wow and his entourage decide to buy out the local mall’s Foot Locker–including a $5,000 pair of Clark Kent Air Force-1s–sneaker pimps may need to smoke a cigarette after.

Verdict: While Lottery Ticket plays fast and furious with every stereotype known to black cinema (the pimpalicious pastor, the ever-praying bible thumping Grandma, the sexually ambiguous ex-con etc.), it’s the perfect summer chaser to those of you still arguing over the spinning top at the end of “Inception.”

-ReBecca Theodore-Vachon

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The film comes out August 20th.

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An expected reunion with former NWA rappers Ice Cube and Dr. Dre has fallen through.
Ice Cube is wrapping up work on I Am The West, his upcoming album, but he hasn’t been able to get in contact with Dr. Dre.

For that, he’s said he’ll finish it without his former bandmate.

“Many asked about Dr. Dre working on my album. Negative, Dre has been M.I.A. for a few months now. I asked Snoop has he heard from him and he said, no. I can’t wait,” Ice Cube said  on his blog.  “I gotta turn my s**t in by Aug. 20th to make street date…Sept 28th. I’ll keep you posted if anythang new develops.”

RELATED: Dr. Dre Speaks On Influence Of Other Producers

The rap legend said he is almost finished the album and expects it in stores in September.

“I’m almost done with my record, I Am The West. I’ve been mixing songs and dealing with paperwork all week and I’m down to my last 4 songs to mix. It’s bangin,’ he explained. “I think we’ll end up wit about 15 songs when it’s all said and done and I’m real happy wit it.”

Read the whole article on AllHipHop.com!

RELATED: Ice Cube “Drink The Kool-Aid” [VIDEO]

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Ice Cube’s brand new video for “Drink The Kool-Aid” proves that Cube hasn’t lost a step!

The video, taken from Cube’s forthcoming album I Am The West, features the legendary west coast emcee rapping into a smoking microphone (cuz Cube spits hot fire! No Dylan)

Check it out:

RELATED: Was The Source Magazine Right About These “Five Mic” Albums?

RELATED: Ice Cube: “Single Mothers Want Love, Too”

With the recent announcement that Bun B’s brand new album, Trill O.G. received a perfect 5-Mic rating from The Source, it’s only fitting that we take a look at all of the albums that have received the coveted rating.

44 albums in the magazine’s history have been given a perfect rating.  29 of them have been given retroactively.  The other 14 were received at the time of release.  It’s those 14 that we’ll be focusing on here.

The Source was dogged in the early 2000s amidst accusations that a good rating, which had become as important as a Grammy Award, was bought by the artist.  While many of their ratings were valid, there were more than a few head scratchers in the magazine’s later years.

A Tribe Called Quest
People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

I remembered two Tribe albums getting five mics, but I always thought it was The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders that got a perfect score.  But lo-and-behold, research proves that Marauders only got four mics.  While it’s very difficult to listen to an album 20 years after its release and get back to the mindset of the hip-hop fan in 1990, I honestly can say that I never viewed Tribe’s first album as a classic.  Does it have classic songs?  Most definitely.  “Bonita Applebum,” “Can I Kick It?” “Footprints,” “Luck Of Lucien” are all hands down some of the best that hip-hop has ever seen, but the album feels a bit uneven and scattered.

Eric B. & Rakim
Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em

This is another album that I never realized received a perfect rating.  Why?  Because Eric B & Rakim’s albums got progressively worse as their four album career went on.  Rhythm being their third album was not as good as Follow The Leader, and definitely not as good as their debut, Paid In Full (which was awarded 5-mics long after it’s release… a rating I highly contest due to the inclusion of songs like “Chinese Arithmetic,” “Extended Beat,” and, depending on the day you ask, “Eric B Is On The Cut.”)  Rhythm‘s title track is classic status, as is “Mahogany,” but once again, I never saw this album as being five-mic material.

Ice Cube
AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted

Ice Cube’s split from N.W.A. was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to the rapper, who penned most of the group’s lyrics.  His defection from the group led him to leave the west coast for the east where he linked up with the legendary Bomb Squad production crew, who produced all of Public Enemy’s classic albums.  The switch in production crews wasn’t as different, as a lot of N.W.A.’s sound had that Bomb Squad-esque, chaotic collage feel. The result of Cube’s collaboration with the Squad resulted in an album that built upon N.W.A.’s penchant for shock factor and married it with Public Enemy’s politics.  This album was very unique at the time of it’s release and deserved it’s five-mic rating.

Brand Nubian
One For All

Brand Nubian were almost like a 1990s Miami Heat with three legit soloists-Lord Jamar, Sadat X and Grand Puba-creating a hip-hop rarity: a group with no weak link. Puba’s salacious wordplay was balanced by Jamar’s rugged baritone and Sadat’s nasaled tales from the hood. Hailing from the outer reaches of the New Rochelle they extended the hoods borders a little further north incorporating the 5 Percent teachings with break beats funky enough for the radio and the clubs. One For All spawned two classics “Wake Up” and “Slow Down” along with the title track of this undisputed masterpiece.

De La Soul
De La Soul Is Dead

The Long Island, NY trio one-upped their instant classic debut, 3 Feet High & Rising, on the follow-up. De La Soul Is Dead was a conscious effort to abandon the D.A.I.S.Y. Age/pseudo-hippie image that people associated with them based on their debut.  The result was one of the most engaging and interesting hip-hop albums ever released.  They toughened up their sound and lyrics without sounding like they were fakin’ the funk yet still kept the sense of humor and quirkiness that made fans and critics alike fall head over heels for 3 Feet High & Rising.  Is De La Soul Is Dead perfect?   Far from it, but its imperfections are what made the album, as well as De La themselves, endearing and an album that still sounds fresh and fun 19 years later.  This one deserved its five mics.

A Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory

The difference between Tribe’s debut album and their second, The Low End Theory, is like night and day.  They may sound similar, but for the first time, Tribe put together a focused album.  Though it starts to lag a little towards the end (when’s the last time you listened to “Skypager?”), all is forgotten once one of hip-hop’s greatest posse cuts, “Scenario,” closes out the album.  Five mic worthy?  One could make a case for giving it four-and-a-half, but anything less than that would be absolutely criminal.

Nas
Illmatic

The album that really sparked the whole craze behind The Source’s mic rating system was Illmatic.  Miss Info’s five-mic review of Nas’ debut was both a blessing and a curse for the Queensbridge rapper.  His subsequent albums would always be compared to this one and each one seemed more and more disappointing.  Illmatic was pure NYC hip-hop — raw, intelligent, rewind-worthy, quotable, and it knocked in the whip.  The Source got it right on this one.

The Notorious B.I.G.
Life After Death

With Biggie dying shortly before this album’s release, it’s easy to peg The Source’s five-mic review of his second album as just a nod to an MC that died far too soon. And you’d be right.  While Life After Death has no shortage of great songs, it’s length as a double album was it’s biggest flaw.  If cut down to a single disc, Life After Death probably could have been better than Ready To Die.  But the beauty in this album is that most people probably would not be able to agree on what songs to keep and what songs to trash. However, since we are stuck with all twenty four songs, this album probably should’ve been knocked down to a four-and-a-half, at best.

Outkast
Aquemini

Outkast’s finest moment, hands down, and worthy of about six more mics.  We’ll even let “Mamacita” slide.

Jay-Z
The Blueprint

I will be totally honest.  I was not checking for Jay-Z until The Blueprint dropped.  Jay had singles that I liked, but I didn’t consider myself a fan until The Blueprint.  The production was fresh. Jay probably hadn’t been this inspired in the studio since Reasonable Doubt.  He captured lightning in a bottle on this album.  He’s been chasing this album ever since, and hasn’t come close, with the exception of The Black Album. The Source hit the nail on the head.

Nas
Stillmatic

And here is where The Source’s mic ratings all went downhill.  After a string of disappointing albums (hello Nastradamus!), Nas probably sounded better on Stillmatic than on any album since his debut, but this album was nowhere near five-mic worthy. Nas’ album of outtakes and leftovers, The Lost Tapes, was way better than this.

Scarface
The Fix

Scarface is one of hip-hop’s most underrated emcees. When The Fix was released, most of us were expecting a monster album, and based on songs like “Guess Who’s Back” and “My Block” it seemed like that’s what we were going to get.  But after listening to the album, it’s hard to understand why the album got a perfect score.  Perhaps it was just Scarface’s lifetime achievement award?

Lil’ Kim
The Naked Truth

By this point in the Source’s life cycle, the mic rating system ceased to have any sort of meaning.  When it was announced that Lil’ Kim had received a five-mic rating for this album, which featured the song “Lighters Up,” most people agreed that The Source had no authority or credibility left in hip-hop.

Bun B.
Trill O.G.

The Source had the internet all abuzz in the days before it was announced that Bun B’s Trill O.G. had received a five-mic rating.  The mag released a list of great albums released in 2010 saying that one of them would receive instant classic status in its upcoming issue.  While we have yet to hear the album, Bun B definitely has it in him to release an album worthy of five mics, but is it another situation like The Fix?  Is this just a lifetime achievement award, or a consolation for the loss of his partner in UGK, Pimp C?

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With over 20 years of experience in the rap game, Ice Cube has certainly left his mark on the world.Though his last several albums haven’t lived up to the standard set by Cube in his early years with NWA or on his first three solo albums, he seems a bit rejuvenated on what we’ve heard from his upcoming album, I Am The West.

Take a listen to Ice Cube’s latest single, “Drink The Kool Aid” and let us know if you think Cube’s back!

Keep an eye out for what sounds like a diss to Dre and Eminem during the second verse.  Even though Cube says it’s not a diss towards them, it certainly sounds like it to us!

RELATED: VIDEO: Ice Cube “I Rep That West”

RELATED: Ice Cube Turns 41 & Celebrates 20 Year Anniversary Of Debut

With his latest sitcom Ice Cube hopes to redefine reality TV. The hip-hop vet turned Hollywood powerhouse is spinning off his successful 2005 film, “Are We There Yet?” into a series on TBS of the same name. In the film Nick (played by Ice Cube) is driving his girlfriend Suzanne’s (played by Nia Long) kids across country in an attempt to bond with them. The show picks up six months into Nick and Suzanne’s marriage as they attempt to adjust to their new life together.

“Anybody who’s dealing with a blended family, any man that has a girl that got kids can relate,” Ice Cube told TheUrbandaily.com. “We’re not going for the cheap over the top stuff that ain’t really based in reality.”

Ice Cube and Long’s roles are now played by Terry Crews (Everybody Hate’s Chris) and Essence Atkins (Half-And-Half) who, who along with their kids, are trying to adjust to new careers and an overbearing mother-in-law Marilyn played by Telma Hopkins.

“It’s a family trying to be the Huxtables but they ain’t there. They’re far from it,” says Cube who now plays Suzanne’s older brother Terrence on the show. “They’re dealing with iPad issues and stuff that’s modern.”

For example, in an up-coming episode an old video of Suzanne dancing becomes a viral video hit but not everyone is happy about it.

While laughs are definitely on the menu Cube feels there is a bigger message about family that he wants to convey as well.

“[This show] is very important for all the statistics of fathers not being in the home, [because] there still are those who are in the home,” he says. “It’s important to show that to the new generation. It’s not just a world of single mothers that stay single. Single mothers want love, too. Single mothers want to put a family together still, even if it didn’t work out with the first man. If at first you don’t succeed try again.”

If ratings for the show are up to snuff Cube says that TBS will pick it up for 90 episodes, just ten shy of the coveted 100 needed for syndication.

“We want everybody to check us out,” he says underlining the shows universal appeal. “Americans of all colors and creeds are dealing with this issue.”

As for TV, is there any chance that Cube’s other successful franchises like Friday will make their way into our living rooms?

“This ain’t gonna be the last one we do,” Cube says confidently. “We’ll do more niche kind of stuff in the future. We’re just getting our feet wet in the TV world.”

Catch “Are We There Yet?” Wednesday night on TBS. Check your local listings for time.

RELATED: Ice Cube Turns 41 & Celebrates 20 Year Anniversary Of Debut

RELATED: AUDIO: Ice Cube & The Roots “Straight Outta Compton”

June 15, 2010 marks the 41st birthday of O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson, one of the best MCs to ever touch a microphone.

The month of June also marks another important anniversary in Cube’s life: the 20th anniversary of his debut solo album, Amerikkka’s Most Wanted.

Cube sat down with XXL Magazine recently to talk about the album track-by track.

Read a snippet of the article below, and find the full piece in the June issue of XXL Magazine, on stands now!

2.“The N***a Ya Love to Hate”
Produced by The Bomb Squad
Co-produced by Ice Cube and Sir Jinx

Ice Cube: That record was actually an N.W.A record. It was originally called “The N****s You Love to Hate,” and I was writing it as an N.W.A track. Then, when I left the group, I just went on and put two more verses on it and kept it for myself. So the song was in my notebook, kinda there… Eric Sadler would come in with these crazy, amazing-a*s bottom beats that just was the s**t. I would start rappin’ off of ’em. So when one of those bottom beats took hold, and he had Steve Arrington’s “Weak at the Knees” looped up, I rapped on that with N.W.A’s “Gangsta, Gangsta.” If you listen to “Gangsta, Gangsta,” and listen to “The N***a Ya Love to Hate,” you’ll see the difference in production. But those are the same loop. One of them is just going faster. The other is thicker and slower. So, after you do that, it’s all about just layering on top of it. So once we had a bottom beat and a rap—see, that was a song that we can go and record now. All the s***t that you gonna put on top of it wasn’t done until we got to Greene Street [studios]… We had the song, and we were trying to do scratched hooks all through the break. And I was like, “Since the song is ‘the n***a that you love to hate,’ the hook should be ‘F**k you, Ice Cube.’ And it should be people complaining about the kind of records I’m doing.” That was a big argument between us, about, should somebody say fuck you to themselves on their own record? Specifically, I guess I remember Jinx not really wanting to do that. He had his reasons, because he was in the inner thing with me and N.W.A. Dre is his cousin. He didn’t think it was cool, at the time, to do that, and I was like, “Man, it’s the perfect time.”

Read a lengthier excerpt at XXLMag.com, or purchase the June issue for the full article!

RELATED: Ice Cube Reminisces On His Very First Gig And Single

RELATED: AUDIO: Ice Cube & The Roots “Straight Outta Compton”

God bless ?uestlove.

When Ice Cube appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon last week, ?uestlove badly wanted to cover an N.W.A. song. Even though Cube’s people told him that he wouldn’t do any N.W.A. songs, ?uesto asked Cube anyway and fortunately for us, Cube said yes!

On the flipside, their performance of “Straight Outta Compton” wasn’t aired on the show.

But being the giving soul that he is, ?uesto leaked an mp3 of the “mutha-mutha” performance.

Listen closely and you can hear the band’s surprise as their guitar player, Captain Kirk, kicks into Eazy E’s verse without anyone else knowing that he was gonna do it!

RELATED: Ice Cube Reminisces On His Very First Gig And Single

RELATED: DETOX WATCH: Ice Cube To Be On “Detox”

During his recent appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Ice Cube briefly spoke about his very first gig and single.

The gig was not with NWA, but with his first group, Stereo Crew, who released a 12″ on Epic Records in 1986 called “She’s A Skag.”

The record was produced by founding member of the World Class Wrecking Cru, Alonzo Williams, and Andre “Dr. Dre” Young.

A member of Cube’s official website posted the song on the day of his appearance on Late Night.

Here is Cube’s appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon courtesy of Yardie.

RELATED:  DETOX WATCH: Ice Cube To Be On “Detox”

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