o ahead, drop the needle and hear the words that changed hip-hop: "You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge." Then listen to Dre's hypnotic beats and Ice Cube's clever but lyrical profanity. Now tell us that N.W.A, once labeled "the world's most dangerous group," still doesn't get a rise out of you.
Released in August 1988, N.W.A's groundbreaking record Straight Outta Compton and its incendiary singles like "Fuck Tha Police," "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Dopeman" blasted a path for gangsta rap to follow. Two decades hence, it still sounds just as revolutionary and relevant.
N.W.A founding member Ice Cube, now one of hip-hop's most influential artists, is still keeping it bitingly real while talking up street knowledge on Raw Footage, his excellent new solo album. After performing in Europe this summer, 39-year-old Cube kicks off a U.S. tour August 21 where fans will hear him rapping out some of N.W.A's classics and adding his trademark wicked wit and intelligence to new songs like "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It." He proudly claims that Raw Footage is real, raw hip-hop for the brain.
A South Central L.A. native and former architectural drafting student who started writing "Fuck Tha Police" while in school, Cube has become an international music and film icon, creating an ever-expanding brand that marks him as an impact player in the entertainment business. While Raw Footage is his ninth solo record, he's been increasingly involved in the film business through his Cube Vision Productions company, and as an actor, writer, director and producer. Starting with his breakout acting role as Doughboy in Boyz N the Hood, Cube has carved out an impressive career that includes such diverse fare as Trespass, Friday, Three Kings, two Barbershop films and more. In his new film The Longshots, out August 21, Cube plays a football coach in a true story about a female quarterback who leads her team to a championship. His edgy comedy Janky Promoters is out next March, and possible remakes of The A-Team and Welcome Back, Kotter are on the horizon.
Before the release of Raw Footage Playboy.com spoke with Cube about the lasting impact of Straight Outta Compton, whether he considers Barack Obama "NWB," the growing influence of black filmmakers and why gangsta rap made him do it.
